Day 9 of Paradise with the Pelletts  Sun 21 July

We rose early so we could walk to the top of the hill to a Fortress which is a round stone building. It was a nice walk up lots of little stone stairs.  Even the ceiling is made of stone which Wayne said is constructed by building a wooden frame first then laying the stone fitting like bricks over it.  Next step take the wooden frame away and run just in case it caves in. Theoretically this lets the weight of the roof lock it all together.
Back to the boat to set sail after our morning coffee at a waterside cafe.
The wind had picked up and we began to drag our chain to a water depth of 3.4m - our draft is only 2.2m so we needed to get out of there quickly.  We motored out and went around the corner for a last swim in the semi  fresh water before continuing on another adventure in the sweltering weather.  The temperature over here has been around  30 - 34 degrees Celsius.

Our plan was to get to Solta today which is about 40 Nautical miles. We motored out the passageway which was like a rabbit warren back to the castle wall entrance of Sibenik.  From here we had some lovely sailing where Bryden took the helm for a while.

We followed the coast of Croatia passed Split and Trogir and across to Solta. Along the way you could see the clouds forming again over the Vellabit ranges and again we witnessed some fork lightening without the rain.  Unfortunately the little bay we planned to stay at was only big enough for 3 boats and we were number 4.  The other bays around here were too deep to anchor so we went across to Brac Island.  We finally picked up a mooring buoy at Lucice on Brac as it was getting late in the day and Steve didn't want the hassle of drifting or worrying that the anchor hadn't taken. Beautiful bay with 3 restaurants surrounded by clear turquoise blue water.

We had a lovely swim throwing the balls around and 2 hours later we were all hot again! Thankfully a nice cool breeze came through in the evening to cool us a little - normally the nights are really hot too.  Basically you don't even need to sleep with a sheet on!

The things I like about Croatia: the lighthouses, the swimming, the cobbled alleyways, stone buildings, shuttered windows with flowering pots on window balconies, terracotta tiles, intricate doorways, gateways and arches. I also love icecream and Anges cooking, speaking of which we had roast chicken and veges with Blitva.
Tracey

Day 10 of Paradise with the Pelletts Mon 22 July

Up at 7am to head to Korcula which is about 45 nautical miles.
We travelled along the coast of Hvar where there are more lovely bays and villages built up against steep cliffs. How do they work their fields on such steep slopes and you'd think the water would just run straight off?
We stayed at Loviste which is a bay at the end of the peninsula of the main land Croatia.  This saves us on Marina fees at Korcula and we can nip across to Korcula tomorrow morning and still be there early.

Not much sailing again today as not much wind.  At one point we were in 72m of water depth when the warning alarm sounded saying we were suddenly in 2.9m of water!  Ive never seen Steve move so fast. Everything was fine the gauge went back to 72m again shortly afterwards.
We arrived at Loviste around 3pm and went for our ritual swim and snorkel.  Not much fish life here though.

We went ashore for Pivo and nibbles then walked back around the shore looking to a point that was closer to the where the boat was moored and Steve collected us from in the dingy.We enjoyed looking at all the lovely buildings which are mostly new and modern using the old stone work. We ate more icecream! There were loads of people on the pebbly beach which they tend to stay on the beach till late swimming and basking in the sun.

Heaps of boats and dingys tied up against the shore wall .  The water is a clear turquoise and is a cool 23 degrees today. Brrr!
Lovely moon rise and sunset.

Tracey

Day 11 of Paradise with the Pelletts Tue 23 July

It took about 2 hrs to get to Korcula this morning.  The ride to Korcula was scenic with lovely little villages along the way, narrow channels and plenty to see. The houses are built right down to the waters edge with lots of terraced fields and houses built up into steep cliffs and even a beautiful house perched on the waters edge with a vineyard.  No wind again. We couldn't get diesel here as there was apparently no diesel left!
We stayed at Lumbarda on the marina which is where Steve and Ange had Jim and Judy visit them while they were on their Mediterranean Cruise about 3 weeks ago. In fact S&A moored their boat in the space next door to where we are today. We took a photo of us doing the same thing as Jim and Judy did when they visited!

We caught the bus to Korcula which is only 25 kuna return pp and had a good look at all the old old buildings, churches, towers and art shops. We purchased some prints here. Bryden and Wayne went back to the boat and did some windsurfing at the beach around the corner from the marina. Ange and I checked out the markets and I bought a little box made out of Limestone from Brac and a little sailing boat made out of olive wood. I am fascinated by the age of the city and the stone construction. This is the home of Marco Polo.

Ange said the city was designed with the alleyways to face the breeze to make it cooler.

                                                                                                                     






                                                                                 




We saw a cat like Jack and took a photo. Steve showed us a photo of the same cat he took a photo of 3 weeks earlier on the same wall.

We had dinner out at a bay which we walked to  from Lumbarda and had yummy pizza.  Mine was a closed pizza Calzone and it was very good. We came across the first sandy beach on our way to this restaurant. The sand must be shipped in as there don't seem to be any other sandy beaches - not  that we have noticed anyway.


Day 12 of Paradise with the Pelletts Wed 24 July

I went for a windsurf with Bryden and was fun as he showed me some tricks and gave me some tips.
The operator tried to rip us off as he said Wayne could have the kayak for free and then tried to charge us - conveniently forgetting.  Funny! Even the marina tried to charge Steve an extra 100kuna.

We headed out again but this time we managed to fill up with diesel and motored on to a bay at the northern tip of Korcula called Tri Luke where there are 3 fingers of bays to choose from. It was very protected here with some holiday homes in the bay which most have been illegally erected. Swam in a cool just under 22 degrees water - this was definitely the coolest yet. We paddled the dingy around the bay to check out the other boats and houses. Wow the water is so clear even at 10m you can see the bottom. Unfortunately at the end of one bay there is a heap of rubbish which has been washed up from ships and boaties.

It is very pleasant sitting in the cockpit having drinkies and listening to Anges music through her ipod.  There's no roughing it here. Steve adjusted the hatches to stand up and catch the breeze to direct it downstairs so its much cooler now.
Dont know how to spell this but we had yummy chivapi (croatian sausages) and pesto potatoes and coleslaw for dinner tonight.
Beautiful full moon as it rose it reflection was painted on the glassy water. Very pretty bay.
Tracey

Day 13 of Paradise with the Pelletts Wed 25 July

Breakfast as usual in the cockpit but boy that sun has some heat in it already.
We headed off at 10am but not before I plunged into the cool water again. Not that it is cool for long - its actually very refreshing.
We are heading to Hvar to a bay about 20 nautical miles away.  We did sail for a bit but mostly motored. We veered course as Steve spotted a fender in the water which he retrieved.
Its been really misty today which is not good for photos.
We tried anchoring at a lovely bay called Soline on the island of Klement which is just opposite Hvar, but the anchor wouldn't hold so we moved on. Most of the boaties over here are in the nude.  We call it the Slonger and Growler alert.
Bryden and I went for a blat in the dingy and came across some lovely kiwis from Gisborne: Murray and Lynn with their son and daughter in law Gordon an Bex.  They welcomed us on board and gave me a glass of wine and nibbles. They have a 56 foot boat called Brigetta.
Back to our boat for pasta dinner and another swim.
Another fab day.

Day 14 of Paradise with the Pelletts Thu 26 July

We had a visit from Murray and Lynn to meet Steve and Ange. It was good for them to hear where each other had been and what their recommendations were.
We left at about 11am after another wonderful swim. Sailing Yippee!
Solat was too busy to moor at again so we carried on to Brac and popped into a bay called Milna which is a bit like being on a motorway - boats everywhere. We stopped briefly to buy supplies and move on to Bobovisce .  Milna is built right to the waters edge with heaps of older buildings.

Bobovisce is where we did our first stern anchorage.  This was a bit shaky at first but all good and not a problem  (Nemoproblemo)

Swimming this afternoon was the warmest water yet at an amazing 26.5 degrees.  It was like getting into a warm bath and what I actually wanted was to get into a cold one.  It was amazing. The water in the Adriatic is so salty you don't even need to tread water in order to float - It would be like being in one of those therapeutic flotation tanks.

This is yet another pretty bay dotted with some nice houses and lots of boats tied up along the shoreline.
Cooking in the galley we literally had sweat dripping off us forming pools on the floor - it was soooo hot.
We had dinner of hash browns and frittata over candlelight in the cockpit with the stars twinkling overhead.
Fantastic.
Tracey

Day 15 of Paradise with the Pelletts Fri 27 July

We leave this paradise tomorrow very early and am not at all happy about leaving. We swam in the bay for our last Croatian swim and headed to Split to moor on the Marina. We motored there and arrived to a very pretty Split 2 hours later.

The water was glassy like a super clean mirror and I guess that was a good thing as the marina had a very tight passageway like a rabbit warren which we had to back into for quite a distance navigating our way to the berth nominated to us.  This could have been tricky if there was a wind to catch you side on. We showered and hit the streets in a blazing 33 degrees.  Why we bother showering I don't know cause 5 minutes later we are drenched again!

Split is 1700 years old and is the location of the Diocletian Palace.

I ventured to the top of the bell tower. The steps up are very narrow and are probably twice the height of normal steps.

At one point I even had to duck to get through the entry to the next passage.  The view from the top is breathtaking - 360 degrees view of the harbour, marina, old Split and high density housing.

The marble cobble paths are highly polished from years of people walking over them. We descended the staircase into the palace which has been converted to a market place.  The stone work of this palace is amazing and the temperature is so cool inside.
Once again I was overwhelmed with the beautiful old buildings, alleyways, shutters, balconies and stonework.

We dined for lunch at a restaurant just opposite the bell tower and were allowed to go upstairs to take photos with a better view than ground level.
There are loads of alleyways here all of which open up to bigger squares with old and fascinating buildings and some of which allow more views of the Diocletian Palace.  We walked around the markets of flowers, fruit and vege, plus clothing, souvenirs and nick knacks all on display on  melting, sticky hot streets.
After sitting at the promenade under as much shade as we could find we met up with Steve and Ange again and found a pivo place which had a fan that sprayed water.  It was still stifling hot.
After this we walked in search of the right restaurant to dine at for dinner. We entered a new square which we hadn't seen before and Steve and Ange were amazed we hadn't come across this in our explorations today. But then after dinner we stumbled upon another square with a statue and more Roman buildings in which they hadnt seen before and we had!  Tee hee.
We had a lovely dinner which we shouted Steve and Ange in appreciation for all they have done for us.
Its a bummer holidays have to end. We have had an amazing experience and have thoroughly enjoyed travelling on Split Enz with S & A. It has been awesome.
We arrived back on the boat about 10.30pm after weaving our way back along the very busy promenade full of tourists enjoying the music and entertainment along the way. We needed to pack and get some sleep before getting up for our taxi the next morning.
Steve had arranged Neno to pick us up at 5am the next morning to take us to the airport.
Well thats it - Thanks for reading and thanks to Steve and Ange for having us for 17 days.  We wouldn't have had such a good time if it wasn't for you guys.  Thanks for showing us around and taking care of us.It was awesome!