Paradise Bay AKA Velika Luka

 

Our first night at anchor. We had to motor down to Velika Luka because there was not enough wind to sail, isn’t that always the way. But once there it really is paradise bay, Velika means large and Luka means bay or cove, next door is Mala Luka which means small cove!!  Mala Luka is too shallow for us at just over 1 metre but a few motor boats were at anchor in there.

The Konoba had lights on so they must be open we shall have to check it out tomorrow.

 

Konoba means small bar, usually one that only serves drinks and snacks. A boy ran out from the bar to take our lines, very helpful.

It’s called “La Spuz” which means the snail, I think that refers to the pace of life here.

Well it was definitely worth the agro of getting the dingy and outboard off, the beer was cold and the surroundings were amazing, like being in the Caribbean.

We asked about food and were told they cooked what ever they had on their equivalent of a BBQ, the large outside fire in a purpose built open fronted oven.

The bar was made from the side of an old boat and everything was made from abandoned bits and pieces.

The cab of an old boat served as a sort of plant shelter.

The sewing machine and table had all sorts of oils and condiments.

Not sure what this was but now it seemed to be a good place for a siesta.

After a couple of beers Dave moved onto white wine, too hot for red!!

Then after a very pleasant afternoon we headed back to the boat.

It’s out there somewhere, now which one is it?

A Day Trip to Split

As we still can’t get out sailing we decided to go to Split in the car. We took the coast road which follows almost every cove and headland so the views were terrific.

We took a detour down a small road which looked like it went down to a small cove but the tarmac turned into concrete and then dirt and finally rubble so we gave up and turned around. However we passed through a small village with a little chapel.

 

Further down the coast we stopped for a picnic lunch and watched a wind surfer who seemed to spend more time in the water than on it and children splashing around in the shallows.

A large motor yacht was anchored in the bay, I think it had a British flag.

We arrived in Split and found a parking space right on the front overlooking the ACI marina. Parking ticket cost 5 kuna which is about 60p for an hour and a half, UK parking companies please note!!

Split is Croatia’s second largest city, after Zagreb, and the main port of arrival for visitors. Sometimes there can be as many as 8 cruise ships in port which can make the town very busy, we seem to have picked one of those days.

The heart of the city lies within the massive 25m high and 2m thick walls of the Diocletian Palace which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

The south facade, which used to rise directly from the sea, now has a marble promenade called the ‘Riva’, and is lined with expensive cafes overlooking the Adriatic.

The palace was built in the third century by the Roman Emperor Diocletian as a retirement residence. After the decline of the Roman Empire the palace was abandoned. Later it was occupied by refuges from Salona who divided up the vast imperial apartments into modest living quarters and converted the Emperor’s mausoleum into a Cathedral.

 

Parts of the palace are still derelict but the bars and restaurants make use of every available space.

 

Each of the four outer walls has a gate, called the Golden, Iron, Silver and Bronze Gates they are connected by two streets which run east-west and north-south.

Off these are numerous little streets and alleyways which meander through the shops and houses.

The Golden Gate is the most impressive and best preserved.

Outside of the Golden Gate is a statue of Bishop Gregory of Nin. It is considered good luck to touch the big toe of his left foot and it has been worn gold by hopeful passers by.

We stopped for a beer in a shady bar and behind Dave you can see the temporary seating that is erected in squares and courtyards during the Split summer festival of classical music and opera.

Outside the Palace the town has spread with Venetian-Gothic influenced architecture and classic Italian Piazzas paved with gleaming white marble.

We had intended to return home on the motorway so that we could visit Skradin  on the way back but instead we returned on the coast road so that I could take some more photos, I had been on the ‘wrong’ side of the car on the way down.

The restaurants were preparing the evening meal, spit roasted pig over a wood fire.

Will have to return another day and make sure we stop at one of them to test it out, it certainly looked good.

Croatia

Well we have been in Croatia for 3 weeks now, the temperature has on average been 30 dec C during the day and 16 dec C at night, a slight breeze most days has made it very pleasant but the humidity has been 45% on occasions and that is uncomfortable as you feel constantly damp!! 

However a cold beer in the Marina Bar always helps to bring you back to normal again, well as normal as normal is normally!!

The boat is looking cleaner now, we spent over 2 weeks cleaning the inside and now its time to start on the outside. Too hot during the heat of the day so early morning and late afternoon is the only option. Hence nothing else to do in the day except laze around or take a walk into town to pick up some supplies and, of course, have an obligatory beer in a shady bar, 15 Kuna a half litre about £1.75

At the week ends the town really fills up, car parks full and the tow truck works 24 hours picking up cars with it’s crane and depositing them in the pound, must be making a fortune. The streets are bustling and the restaurants are full of happy sunburned diggers. We have found a couple of back street bars that only serve beer and wine and they stay quiet until the diggers finish their dinners which is when we leave and return to the peace and quiet of the cockpit on the boat.

Come Tuesday the place calms down, the charter boats have gone out sailing and the diggers have gone home or to the beach and the town is very pleasant, the fruit and veg market is open everyday.

The supermarkets have everything we need, well almost everything and nothing we can’t do without. The restaurants have space to eat at any time of the evening and you can walk along the pavements without being barged onto the road by pushchairs, why do parents use them like weapons? 

We haven’t been able to take the boat out for a sail, Dave’s hand has not healed enough yet to handle ropes.  We have checked the instruments though and it looks like a couple of them need to be recalibrated so we will need a couple of days at least to get everything checked out. However in the meantime we have fitted the new water purification system and the Navtex both of which are working fine.

So,  we have found a happy way of living with the change of pace but we are looking forward to the end of summer when it cools down a little and the diggers go home for good,

AND the Geezers Ken & Carole come out to stay with us for a while.  Roll on September 4th  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John Radcliffe Hospital

 

Dave had his operation on 3rd June and I went in to see him in the evening, he was in a private room and above is the view from his window. They decided to keep him in overnight so that he could see the surgeon in the morning so I left him to get some shuteye.

He came home the next day with a plaster cast on his hand and wrist. It weighs a ton, he has to wear a sling to keep it raised. The feeling is gradually coming back into his fingers so that is a good sign. His next appointment is on Tuesday 14th June to have the cast removed and the stitches taken out, fingers crossed, hehehe.

Birthday

Birthdays are supposed to be fun!!!

And I thought April showers were supposed to be in April!!

But we are going out to dinner tonight so that should be fun and I have some lovely flowers to cheer me up in the meantime.

And birthday wishes from far and wide, cards delivered, e-cards in my inbox and messages on facebook. Thanks everyone.

Squatters !!

We have now packed up and moved to Barnstones in Banbury. But before we left Dave was washing the RV and he could hear a chirruping coming from under the bonnet, when he walked away to coil up the hose pipe three baby robins dropped out onto the floor and huddled together by the front wheel. He left them alone hoping they would find a better place to hide. Later we went back to see where the nest had been……………………………………………

Looks like a cosy place, between the brake servo linkage and the bulkhead. We didn’t see them again so hopefully they did find a good place to finish their growing up. 

Change of Direction

We have decided to change direction again and go back to sailing. During a short trip to Croatia we have purchased a yacht, a Bavaria 42 Ocean which is a centre cockpit sloop in very good condition.

Now the real work begins, all our possessions have to be transported and found a home for, there doesn’t seem to be as much storage on the boat so they will need a serious thinning out as well.

We will have to get new radio licences each and one of us will have to get a Certificate of International Competence, so training is on the horizon as well.

The boat is a bit short of navigation equipment so we are researching radar, GPS and plotters for fitting in due course. In the meantime Dave has to have his hand operated on so we will probably start with getting our tans topped up.

Then this blog will take a new direction as we will be away from our friends and family for some time so anything and everything may be recorded here, including beading and quilting!!  I will have to change the description at the top of the blog to our travels in ?? currently the boat is called Sanja but we are toying with the idea of renaming her, we are told that can be bad luck so even more to research and think about!!

The boat is moored in Kornati Marina in Biograd a nice little town on the Dalmation coastline amongst the 1000 islands of the national park who’s name I cannot remember. So plenty of places to go and see and test out our sailing skills which will be a little rusty.

It has reefing sails but with a different system to our last boat so more to learn and I expect our rope knotting will need some practice. I will definitely have to brush up on the terminology and now it will be in a different language as well!!

So now the adventure part 3 begins…………………………………….