Day 4 of Paradise with the Pelletts

We had breakfast out this morning of Bacon and Eggs and coffee at the restaurant at the end of the marina followed by a walk around Pula again to see the square in the daylight this time. I am just blown away by the cute little stone buildings and cobbled paths. My camera is getting a work out!

We headed out of the marina at 11:30 this morning to go south now to head back towards Sukosan. We had a good sail today with the boat healing over the wind. Then after some time the wind completely stopped so we went for a swim and you should have seen the water. It was as blue as can be and soooo clear and very very deep.

On our way we saw a small pod of dolphins which was really neat. They swam across our path not far in front of our bow. It was beautiful to see. They are such beautiful creatures.

We ended up at the same bay we stayed at a couple of nights ago on Unije as the bay next door had lousy anchorage. So after many attempts we finally felt secure.

Pivo time, swim time and another scrummy dinner. Hey guess what I even managed to get the lettuce off the boat grocery man.

So its been another fab day.

Day 5 of Paradise with the Pelletts

No wind today so we commenced by motoring to Dugi Otok. Along the way we managed a bit of a sail. The highlight was snorkelling over a shipwreck, an Italian Cargo ship which ran aground back in 1984. As the water is so clear and the wreck is not too deep (maybe 5m) the visability is amazing. There were little schools of black fish silhouetted against the bluest of blue backdrop fading from light to dark, absolutely crystal clear. There were some bigger silver fish too with a black stripe - it is a real haven for fish.



We anchored at Pantera Bay which we weren't happy about being charged for. S&A checked up on the internet afterwards and found we had been rolled. They are cheeky!

There is a huge boat which stayed in the bay - it must have been at least 100 foot long with all the toys, like a fizz boat probably about 30' plus jet skis  and a rocket pack which he attached to himself and propelled him out of the water. Talk about money to burn. How the other half live. There was also a huge yacht which had windows that you could see all the way through the boat and there were candelabras and vases  of flowers on show.

We also saw a huge old tall ship in the distance which had 3 masts with about 20 sails.

There was another beautiful sunset which had Steve, Bryden and I all vying for the best camera shot. Of course I won - tee hee

Tracey

Day 6  Blog by the Pellets in Paradise

OMG the weather is glorious. Early morning swim to wake up at 7:30 and the temp of the water is warmer than the air temp this time of the morning.

We stopped off at a tunnel in the cliff which was used for storing U boats in WWII. The scale of this thing is huge and it made people standing inside it look miniscule. We explored by dingy and then I jumped overboard to swim back to join Ange and Wayne on their swim back to the boat. The inside of this tunnel is lined with caged rooms probably to store provisions, tools for maintenance quarters and amo.

Had a brief stop for lunch at Idula Island and managed to squeeze in a quick swim too.

We headed back to Sukosan for restocking of provisions and water (and of course for the mandatory icecream)

The Velebit mountain range was looking misty with huge clouds forming which looked like another storm may be brewing.

Steve reversed the boat into the marina again like a pro. No worries there but he does get the meer cat look about him about a mile or so before getting into a marina. Very alert and switched on to what needs to be done. Yes that's the other thing if you mention rocks to Steve he pops up from where ever he may be and definitely looks like a meer cat. Ha!

WB & I scrubbed the deck til  it was sparkling.

Another swim was in order and a terrific shower to scrub up for dinner which we went to Laguna Restaurant at the end of the pier. You should have seen the meals - we have never seen such huge meals. I cant believe Bryden ate it all. Mixed grill was chippies, pork steak, 2 types of sausage, crumbed chicken and kebab.

Spoke to Emma tonight - so sorry to hear their cat Jack - their baby  had passed on. Thinking of you guys heaps Emma and Arj.

That's it for today.

Tracey x

Day 7 of Pellet Paradise

I went to the supermarket to buy extra food for Bryden as I realised after the amount he ate last night that we'd been starving him.

We rafted up with Annie and Cam for coffee and then set off at around 2:30pm to head South.

We headed to Pasman Island to bay where Marinas photo was taken for her facebook page. Steve said to her one of these days that boat in her photo will be his boat in the photo and it is.

On our way the clouds formed over Biograd and we witnessed massive fork lightening and thunder once again, but no rain. The wind then picked up to 38 knots and we sailed at 7+ knots. Wayne was happy  as he was at the helm.

We walked to the top of the hill overlooking the bays on both sides of the island for a million dollar view. We were taken with the handmade rock walls and huts made of stone which are usually for shelter we believe. This bay is known as Zincena Bay (aka Bonky Bay - there's a story there). The little holiday homes are very cute and are all solar powered.

Swimming everyday - so refreshing and clear.

Day 8 of Pellett Paradise (20 July)

We are setting off for a fresh water adventure to Skradin. Here there is a fresh water river which is about 24 nautical miles of sailing or motoring to get there.

We passed lots of villages with churches usually placed at the top of the village purched on top of the hill overlooking or guarding the village. Croatia is very strong on Roman Catholic religion. So there is a church at every village and sometimes more than one.

At Sibenik there are mulitcoloured beach huts and a huge castle wall at the entrance and we weaved our way along a maze of rabbit warrens that eventually took us to where we stayed in Skradin. There are heaps of mussel farms along the coast - dozens all selling the same product.

There are 2 bridges to go under and the first one is 30m height so our mast of 22m was looking a little close at first.

It was a fun trip with loads of scenery. We took the dingy across to the marina and caught a ferry to the National Park. What an amazing place. Fresh water waterfalls which were breathtaking - even better than the NZ ones in my opinion. Swimming here was beautiful. We also walked the National Park which has beautiful trees and ponds and heaps of trout etc. It was well worth the visit.

The church tower in Skradin and surrounding buildings are very quaint. The church bells rang every hour and half hour and there was a wedding her too.



Fabulous place.

Tracey x