Vis - Historic, strategic and so, so beautiful

What to do with two days. One night on Vis, another on Pakleni Otoci then back to Trogir...

Wendy and Sally sensibly decided since we'd been on the move everyday since leaving Slano we should just get to Vis and chill.

Two main harbours on Vis. There is Vis bay, with the town of Vis at one end of the bay and Kut at the other. This is the food and wine town founded in 800BC. Then on the other side of the island is Komiza, the 'young' city founded in the 11th century and is where the fish come from.

Yachts were streaming toward the Vis bay from all directions and we knew that wall moorings are tight. I chucked on another 500 revs and we managed to get ahead of the main bunch. The Vis end is subject to ferry wash so we decided to try Kut, waited for one boat to dock and we were next in.


What an enchanting little hamlet.... but for that bell tower. One bong for each quarter of an hour. So on the hour you get four bongs, then one bong for each hour. It begins at 5:00am but the 5:00am chime then goes into a two minute bing session just to ensure that everybody is awake.

I'd like a word with the priest!

The  town of Vis is a wonderful 3km flat bike ride away through winding narrow streets devoid of cars punctuated by bars overhanging the water and restaurants inviting you in with their charm.

The island of Vis is the most strategic in the Adriatic. As the saying goes.. "whomever owns Vis owns the Adriatic".

It is because of where it sits, slightly proud of the island chains of Croatia, it is easy to defend and is the only island with abundant natural spring water. For those reasons it is bristling with military relics mainly dating back to the second world war and then the cold war of communist Yugoslavia.

I took the kids on the 'military tour' which started at the submarine silo which we visited by boat a few days later. Big enough to accommodate three Yugoslavian subs or a couple of warships and still in amazing condition.







Then on to the gun placements. Tunnels everywhere, cannon bunkers and anti aircraft pods surrounded by machine gun nests... it must have been the most awful time to be alive.












When the Russians owned Croatia, they could not take Vis. When the Germans owned Croatia, they too failed and when the war of independence from Yugoslavia ended, Vis was the last place in Croatia to be vacated by Yugoslavian troops. It is now the least militaristic and most laid back place we have visited and the locals are very keen to keep it that way.





This structure sits above the big gun placements and is designed to disperse the sound of the blast to make it difficult to accurately detect its position on sonar.

Then of course there was the wine tour. Three wineries, all so different but a very enjoyable afternoon and evening. Winery one, with a view to rival Montenegro, the hostess to rival Princess Grace of Monaco and a tasting plate to match.

The wine? Drinkable.

Winery two. A little more viticulture a little less laid on but run by a passionate and realistic winemaker with a great sense of humour.

Winery three made good use of the military tunnels, on a much larger scale than one and two but by the time we got there they had had enough of these pesky tourists... The wine was great but it was 8:30 at night and we just went with the flow.

There is now no way we will get anywhere near consuming the wine we have on the boat. Just hoping it ages well and doesn't freeze during the European winter!

One more day of frivolity with the Frasers and it was time to head back too Trigor.... but wait....

There is a 5:30am ferry from Vis to Split. Then Greg discovered a 7:30 fast Cat to Split and magnanimously they took that saving us the 4 hour schlep and allowing us to remain on what is our favourite island in Croatia thus far.












Bye bye Greg and Wendy. Always way too much fun. Thanks so much for coming and we'll see you in Canada in December if your systems can handle it??

Korcula - a mini, nicer Dubrovnik and the home of Marco Polo

This shot courtesy of Google Images just illustrates what I mean when I say that it is as it was 1000 or more years ago. Whilst the city has expanded outside the original walls, they are still intact and the city inside is constantly and authentically restored. The only problem being that for the readers of this blog, everything will start to look the same through the lense of an IPhone....

I can assure you however that each of these places are unique and markedly different in atmosphere.

Berthing on the town quay is almost impossible in season, but we now seem to be over the hump and were fortunate to get onto the wall right beneath the fort a very short walk to the entrance to the city.

This is where Marco Polo was born and raised and if you're anything of a traveler, he would have to have been the ultimate although his father Nicola and uncle Mateo had already trekked to China once, they took Marco with them in 1271.They arrived in Changdu in 1275 and Marco was in the service of the Kublai Khan for 17 years before returning to Venice where he had moved to from Korcula. 

1271...Can you imagine?

A thoroughly pleasant place to amble, stop for a cocktail and amble some more but Lisa needed to be in Split the following day, so Korcula only got us for the one day. We may return.

Trigor - Near Split and Lisa's departure town

9:05 on the 10th September we pulled out of Korcula for an 8 hour 64 Nm haul. Fortunately the sea was glassy, the only cool breeze being created by our forward movement. Trigor is very near Split and an alternative for mooring. We had all been to Split and we wanted to see if Trigor would make a good wintering spot for the boat to save us having to trek all the way up to Slovenia missing huge chunks of Croatia as we went.

Once again the parking gods were on our side.
The wall reserved for super yachts right on the town quay was our objective which would make it easy for Lisa's 5:30am taxi pick up.

So, super yacht or not we simply pulled up alongside in a suitable slot. Rather than a rejection from Mr Wavy Arms, he took our lines and help us on. How long were you planning to stay? Just one night. You are lucky, I just had a cancellation from a 35 meter yacht.... Great!

The best view of the town quay was from the top of the fort. The fort is as you see it, nothing but stairs inside to get you to the top, but here is Trigor... We are parked alongside down there somewhere. Split is through that bridge and left. Not to be attempted by yacht unless your mast is of little importance to you.









A walled city, we never tire of the narrow stone buildings and marble streets, hole in the wall eateries, piazzas and konoba's.

Amble and get lost in your head and in these places for hours.

Lisa's last night, time to push the boat out. Trip Adviser suggested Konoba Capo which lived up to the recommendation. An earlyish night given Lisa was being picked up at 5:30am and we had planned an early getaway to make the most of the two days we had left with the Frasers.




Trigor at 5:00am. Squeaky clean ready for the new day and time to say farewell to Lisa. Such a pity we were stuck in Slano instead of sailing for 5 of her 8 days but perhaps it will serve an incentive to come back next year.. Who knows?









Bye bye Sas, hope you had a ball, we really enjoyed your company.

Luka Polace on Mljet Island just as it was 1000 years ago

Something very fetching about Croatia which might be due to a lack of earth quakes is that it all looks like it did in the 11th century or earlier. Everything is still standing, still inhabited, still used. It is clean, organised, beautiful but expensive. What would cost $20 in Greece for berthing, power and electricity on the town wall costs $120 to $150 here and a good feed is right up there with Sydney prices.

We had lost three days out of Lisa's 8 days and needed to get her to Split where she could fly out on the 11th so it meant hot footing it to see as much as possible before then.

Our first stop Luka Polace on Mljet Island. A stunning bay surrounded by the thousand year old town we slime lined onto the wall. Here there are two things of note...

An ancient Monastery situated on a small island in the middle of a 'lake'. It is actually an inlet but inaccessible by boat. A bus trip gets you to the lake, a ferry to the monastery. Ho Humm....

It was a monastery, then a hotel and soon to be a restored monastery but we were unable to see the restorations leaving us doubting there were any actually going on.

We did manage a luxurious swim, got chatting at the konoba (taverna) and missed our ferry ride. $30 got us a two minute taxi boat ride which was more than we'd paid in total...













And then there was the Cooking over the Belle..

Gather some fresh produce and get a fire going using locally pruned wood.

Take a large specially designed aluminium bowl, prepare a meal that will fit underneath it. Cover the meal with the upturned bowl and cover that in hot coals. The result is the very essence of this ancient place.

The bowls have a special rim to hold the coals.













Lamb and potatoes. What we couldn't eat, we took home. This meal will stay with us until we have the next one some time in the very near future.

We ate at this gorgeous spot and planned an early start to the famous Korcula in the morning

Back to a full boat

Greg and Wendy Fraser had been slowly working their way to rendezvous with us as soon as we could tell them where that would be. They sailed with us in 2014 and we were really looking forward to having the on board again.

Sally had been on the French adventure with her sister Lisa who was able to extend her trip to spend 8 more days sailing with us.... 

Well, three of those stuck in Slano while the Bora wind did its nut.

There were however some constructive ways to spend time whilst captive to the Bora in Slano..

There is Dubrovnik just down the road. A spectacular walled city that should be on everybody's bucket list and 'Game of Thrones' film set wherever you look.  I caution you however, it is beautiful, inspires imagination, really crowded and a rip off. 

We found a great restaurant off the beaten track, if that is at all possible. The food, the service, the wine was rank. 

We were sitting behind there sandwich board advertising their fare and I can't tell you how many potential customers we turned away before they made the same mistake. I think it's called Karma, or the instant version of Trip Adviser.

Then for something a little different, a taxi ride to Mali Ston for freshly shucked oysters with local beer. The oysters are flatter than what we're used to, I think as a result of zero tides but just as delicious.

Then a vigorous walk along the wall. An impressive ancient first line of defense to the north of Dubrovnik. It goes from Mali (meaning little) Ston up and over the hill to Ston. 

From the crest of the hill the views are well worth the effort, across the waterways and down onto Ston and the salt flats it is known for. 

We descended into Ston for more oysters and a long lunch

And finally, the unmissable Gusto Vista run by Tony. 

High on a hill above Slano a must do restaurant where Tony tells you what you're going to eat and its all cooked over charcoal. 

Looking at Tony you get an idea of the temperatures he is working in.

Natural oysters and oysters on the grill, wild boar with gnocchi, ox tail, whole garuda (fish), seafood marinara, it went on and such a feast. 

Some of the comments we heard more than once before arriving in Croatia have been derogatory toward the food here? Not sure what part of Croatia these people were on about....

And so finally the Bora settled and at 9:15 on Thursday 8th of September we cast off for Lisa's maiden voyage and headed for Luka Polace on Mljet Island and the land of food cooked over the "Belle"

The Bali digress.

Mark turned 21 on the 4th August and he requested that for his present I join him on a paragliding course in Bali. I thought that sounded like a cracking idea and so it was. On the 26th August I hopped on a plane for Bali and Sal and the kids for an amazing adventure in France with Sal's sister Lisa.

I was fully expecting to be sharing a room with Mark in a youth hostel so I was pleasantly surprised at our digs.

So good to see Mark again and he introduced me to the guys who run Cloudbase Paragliding, Chris Rogers and Mark Rossi a couple of good guys who run a tight show and are both very competent safe pilots from way way back.

For the first four days there wasn't enough wind to get beginners like us off the hill which really made things difficult for Chris and Mark. Their aim was to get us all to a novice endorsement in the week. 

It did allow us to plough through all the theory in the cool of a conference room rather than scorching out on launch waiting for it to come on. 


Mark, having been flying for a while and has the necessary grading was able to get airborne while we waited.

Wednesday came and so did the wind and we finally all got off the hill and experienced the full extent of the flying ridge revealing itself. 













Flying with my son was a big deal for me. I gave up Hang Gliding 18 years ago when Mark was three and his Mum passed away so being airborne with him now was very special.

This shot taken by Mark of me...







and this of Mark by me

There is a key difference between Hang Gliding and Paragliding and that is that Paragliders are slower which means taking off in milder conditions and avoiding going too far behind the ridge. 

If you do, and we did witness it a couple of time, you'll have a hard time penetrating back into the wind and you'll end up in the trees behind launch.

The section of ridge we flew itself is two to three kilometers long at a place called Payung Temple near Nusa Dua

And so for the next few days we managed to get heaps of flying in with as many top landings as flights. Some guys landed down on the beach when the wind dropped and they couldn't return to launch. Such a safe place to fly, the beach is an easy option if and when you sink out and for $5 a 'Balo' will come down on a scooter, pack up your glider and take you back to the take off. For $2 they will pack up your glider at the end of the day and there are always Balinese ladies with eskys full of cold drinks and specially packaged home cooked lunch.

They sit there all day and so cheap. AU$0.50 for a ice cold water, AU$1.50 a Bintang, AU$2.50 for lunch.

On a couple of evening we were flying on 'silk' when the late afternoon air becomes very buoyant and a truly beautiful time to be in the air. The boys allowed us to fly till dusk before getting us back on the hill. Bintang Time!

I was due to fly out at 00:30 on Sunday the 4th. The wind was only to come on in the afternoon so Mark and I decided to go play golf. 

A very expensive activity I'd have to say, we hired everything and caddies were compulsory. A neat set up though, one cart and the caddies get to stand on a platform at the back of the cart. 



Those are our caddies, that is the tee in the back ground and that is my ball to the left... just sayin!

Porto Montinegro - The way the 0.0001% live

We had four days before we needed to get to Slano Marina in Croatia where we leave the boat and I head off to join Mark in Bali and Sal meets her sister Lisa in Paris. We wanted to check out in Porto Montenegro and fill up with duty free fuel but not necessarily stay there because it is so expensive to do anything.

A neighbour recommended Donji Morinj, an anchorage with beautiful views near a renowned Montenegrin restaurant. Always an attractor so at 12:30 on Friday the 9th, off we popped. A short 7 mile motor and on arrival were a little underwhelmed. There was a small wall to go alongside on but close to the main road and uninviting. We do prefer being alongside to anchoring so we took it.

A few mega yachts lolled in the bay and there was a restaurant and swimming area a short paddle board away. Sunbed, spritzer and we were set before investigating this restaurant that we had now heard about from several sources including a young lady sunbathing on the dock when we arrived.

We heard that it was an old mill upstream on a little river that broke into the bay and freezing the top 6 inches of the swimming area, a weird sensation.

We decided to see if this river was navigable by dingy. It was. Just. We tied up in a picturesque spot, the greeting was not overly welcoming and felt it may have something to do with the way we were dressed. They warmed, there was plenty for the kids to explore and the food and service became world class.

We recommend that restaurant if only I could remember what it was called, but if you head for Donji Morinj,you'll find it.

The following morning we headed for another recommended anchorage nearer Porto Montenegro only to find the shoreline there covered in garbage. Nothing for it but to see if there was space for us in Porto Montenegro even though we had intended not to stay there. There was so we bit the bullet and went in.

It was hot so while we got set up, I took the bikes down and sent the kids off to the pool. In no time they were back,down cast for two reasons. They had to be accompanied by an adult and it was 25 Euro ($40) each for the day and it was already 5:30pm... Sorry kids it will have to wait until tomorrow.




Tomorrow came and I headed off with them. We were escorted to our day beds, each with fresh soft towels, complimentary grapes and water, the €100 plus service fee soon forgotten as the beautifully presented cocktails and canape's started to mount up. Oh,and it is quite some pool!

The evenings were for promenading. All so immaculately finished, this place is part owned by the Rothchilds and cost €500 million to build. It is the place where the really big swinging dicks hang out, perfectly tanned and accompanied by a younger miss botoxed and siliconed customarily weighed down by branded shopping bags.... Not sounding too bitchy am I.....? That is a crystal skull between vaulted windows... Very schick,

This is the main dock where the super and mega yachts are moored in full view of the central promenade. Paying homage to the fact that it used to be a military port this huge crane transformed into art. 

Now as if owning a mega yacht was not enough, you need to take it just one small step further in order to be noticed.... 

This place is well built, so well served, everybody having an amazing experience, so completely out of out league but well worth the time and almost worth the money. 

The Bora takes the place of the Meltemi in the Adriatic and it has to be said, it is worse. The Book advises that you seek shelter before it hits and if you don't make it then just call mayday. It was looking ominously like the Bora was on the day we were leaving as we had literally and suddenly been blown hard against the dock and had to use the engines to stay clear. We sought an official weather update from the marina office and were informed that it was all good as far north as Dubrovnik, north of there the Bora was pumping. 

We needed to get to Slano Marina some 12 miles north of Dubrovnik but plan 'B' would be to stay in Cavtat which was our 'check into Croatia' venue just south of Dubrovnik

Filled up with €0.90 per litre duty free diesel, I was driven around in a golf buggy to complete the checking out of Montenegro procedures and we left.

At least three people had cautioned us against going but we decided to go with the official weather update. 

Exiting the Boca into open sea expecting to be blasted, we enjoyed a calm, windless ride all the way to Cavtat. Moored, checked in, ATM'ed some Kuna (Croatian currency) and continued north.

Sal and I were in Dubrovnik, Sal pregnant with Summer 10 years ago. It was a good feeling to be sailing past it now with Summer on board thinking... "Who would have thought?"

Two miles north of Dubrovnik and we were introduced to the Bora. From nothing to 25 knots in seconds, then steadily climbing to 35 knots. Pouring down the mountain range to our east you can see that the white caps start at the waters edge, there is no protection from the land, in fact as I said before the mountains are responsible for doubling the wind speed.

We finally rounded to mouth of Slano Bay and worked our way head wind to the marina. It was still blowing 25 - 30 knots in the marina which made mooring interesting. Luckily the marina is designed such that there are no cross wind moorings.

Talk about luck. This marina opened in July this year. We had tried to book a spot in Dubrovnik marina for 16 days while we are away but they could not accommodate us for that time and suggested Slano. We called Slano and yes, they could provide a safe berth for the time required and because the marina had just opened, for every day we stayed, we got one day free! It would have cost nearly four times as much had we got into Dubrovnik.

So new the restaurant or bar has yet to open, fortunately the pool is open and the kids didn't need supervision.