10.8.22
Landed 10:00 am.
Quick passport control
Luggage arriving at 10:15 am
In car at 10:35 am
Arrived at marina Katarina Line office 11:11 am in the Split
harbor.
Royal Caribbean, Regent and the Viking Sea are docked here.
We checked in at the office and dropped our bags. We found a
nice restaurant, Lvxor, in the walled
city for octopus, risotto, meats, and Greek salad plus local draft beer. It was
so nice. Lvxor is famous for cushions on the steps, but they also have a
sidewalk cafe around the corner.
We found our motor yacht docked at the marina very easily.
We waited on a bench people watching until the 2 pm check in.
We took a walking tour at 5 pm through the Diocletian Palace created as a retirement home for the Emperor. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site and a vibrant part of the city center. We came across a wedding celebration parading around the old city singing and dancing. We had a great sunset.
We met the crew. One captain whose
family owns the boat. Two sailors. Two bartenders/waiters. One housekeeper. Two
kitchen staff.
We sat with two couples from Canada. Dinner was very good.
We had tomato soup, chicken with polenta, carrots and smashed peas, and a
roasted peach for dessert.
After dinner, we went to bed early.
10.9.22 Bol and Hvar
We had a beautiful sailaway from Split.
Breakfast was a great buffet with scrambled eggs, sausage,
cooked prosciutto, and veggies.
We had a morning briefing. Our first stop this morning was the island of Brač, home to the most famous beach in Dalmatia – Zlatni Rat near Bol. Its shingle promontory shifts from side to side as the wind and waves constantly cause the beach shape to change. We had just over an hour to explore. We stayed on the yacht enjoying the views. We had a delicious 3 course lunch. The food has been much better that I expected.
Our overnight port was Hvar. We had a bit of a wait for the clearance into the busy harbor so the Captain put down the anchor and dropped the swim ladder and we jumped in the Adriatic sea. Glenn and I were so excited. "This is the moment in the brochure".
Hvar is the longest and sunniest island in the Adriatic,
known for lush lavender fields and breath-taking beauty.
We had a walking tour visiting the Renaissance cathedral with its original tower, and the oldest community theatre in Europe founded in 1612. It also has the largest square in Europe. The area used to be a moat separating the common people from nobility.
We sat at the marina for sunset and then had dinner at Giaxa
down one of the alleys with tables next to the old Palace walls. The fish stew
and fried zucchini blossoms were terrific.
We ended the night on Deck with our fellow guests. We are
traveling with five Americans, six Canadians, two Australians, six Brits, and a
couple from Ecuador.
10.10.22 Vis
Weather conditions weren't favorable for a Blue Cave visit this morning. We headed toward Vis, once a strategic naval Yugoslav base and closed to the public for years. We anchored in the bay to swim, but it was a bit too chilly to jump in. Since no one was swimming, the Captain requested an earlier docking.
We walked around the Vis waterfront. Zoran, our program director, offered an optional military tour of the island. We declined because I had some work to do.
We met back up with everyone at the Lipanovic winery. The tasting room is in an old bunker.
The wines were terrific - a deep red rose, a full bodied almost Mead - like white, and a very dark rich red.
Dinner was at Konoba Dol. Twelve of us went from the tour.
We pre-ordered a traditional preparation called under the iron bell. The chef
prepares a skillet of meat, potatoes, vegetables, and a delicious tomato based
sauce. They place on iron bell over the top and then place into the oven or
pile wood around and light. It cooks for over 3 hours. We chose octopus as our
meat and it was the best I've ever had.
We headed back to the shop for a nightcap with our new
friends.
10.11.22
We had some motion in the ocean yesterday as we crossed an unsheltered portion of sea over to Korčula. Korčula is known for its preserved medieval city. It was my favorite old town so far.
The alleys are designed to
welcome in summer breezes with straight alleys from the sea. Winter winds are
stopped with curved alleys that end at the city walls. We enjoyed walking
around the city. We had some pizze, ice cream, and local cookies. It was time for a break from our gourmet
lunches. We sat on deck enjoying the views and headed to bed early.
10.12.22 Mljet National Park
Today's visit was Mljet National Park. Mljet National Park is know for two salt water lakes. The lake were originally fresh water, but that led to malaria outbreaks. They dug a channel to the sea to allow salt water in. Now the lake is slightly salty and no malaria.
In one of the lakes is St. Mary Isle, home to an ancient Benedictine monastery, an old abbey and a Church dating back to the 12th Century. Plus a restaurant and souvenir shop. You can rent bikes or kayak.
We chose to swim. We came back to the yacht for lunch and then headed back into the park. It was very rocky. I wished I had water shoes. The water was brisk, but swimmable with the sun out.
After our day at the park, we joined half the group for
dinner at Melody. Melody is located right outside the National Park with a
large tourist friendly menu. The food was average. The company was fun.
More about our travel mates:
Pat and Liz live in Southern England. Mick and Jane live near Heathrow. They are good friends of Pat and Liz. Chris and Jo own a pub in southwestern England. Mateo and Amy are in their 30s from Toronto. Blake and Kate are from Alberta, Canada. They are both mechanics in the Canadian army. Kate is currently stationed in Latvia. There's a couple from Ecuador that doesn't speak English. Rhonda and Scott are from Saskatchewan. Allison and Bruce are also in their 60s from Queensland, Australia. Mike is from the west coast of the US. He was in the military. Sue and Laurel are friends from Massachusetts. Jake and Michelle are from Salt Lake City, Utah.
10.13.22 Ston
The day started with a swim stop in the loveliest spot. Originally, only three of us wanted to swim, but we convinced a few others to join us.
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We enjoyed a salad buffet for lunch. Then, we boarded a bus for the 30 minute drive to Ston. Ston is a medieval fortified city with a long walk. We climbed to a tower. It was a bit strenuous. I would have liked more time to do the hike up and back to enjoy the views along the way.
The highlight of the trip so far was the experience with the
Drazeta family tasting their oysters and mussels. We took a small boat out to a
small island. It is gorgeous. This is a very special, exclusive experience for
those sailing on a Katarina Line Deluxe Superior cruise. The oysters were chewy
and salty. The owner cooked up a huge pot of mussels and served some of their
local red wine.
We headed back to the yacht. It was Captain's dinner night. Everyone got a bit fancy. We had a guitar player and piano player join us. We had a fantastic table with lots of laughs. The dinner took hours, but we didn't mind. The menu was tuna carpaccio, shrimp risotto, tuna steak with a prawn, and chocolate lava cake. We even did a bit of dancing at the end.
We started the day sailing by the walls of Old Town. We got
one last swim stop and Glenn and I enjoyed the whirlpool as we pulled into dock
at Gruz Harbor by the Green Market.
Lunch onboard was a traditional beef dish with gnocchi.
We had a great dinner just outside the West Gate at Dubronaka. We took a taxi back to the ship.
10.15.22
We disembarked and headed to our AirBnb in Dubrovnik.
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