Barcelona!!!

September 14 & 15, 2013

After everyone was dropped at their destinations, Dolly and I were taken to the Split airport.  We were able to get a bite to eat before we began our journey. We were flying Air France from Split to Barcelona via Paris.  Ah Paris!

Our flights were uneventful.  We had a layover in Paris for a few hours and we tried to just relax while we waited for our flight.  We had a small meal in a great little bistro in the airport and then we cleared security to the boarding area.

Finally, at about 10:40 PM local time, we landed in Barcelona. We went to the baggage carousel to await our luggage.  We both waited and watched all of the bags go around and around, but not ours.  Little by little, the number of bags that were circling around was getting less and less.  Finally, we went to the baggage claim counter for Air France to complain.  We were asked for information and the color of our bags and handed a form.  The staff person said they would put a trace on our bags and they would be brought to us.  There was nothing else to do.

 

We caught a cab to our lodging for the night, Hotel Frontair Congress Aeropuerto, which was about a ten minute drive from the airport.  The hotel was quite modern and very slick.  Our room was very nice and we settled in as best we could.  Finally we went to bed.

 

The next morning we went to breakfast in a very nice dining room with a terrace.  All the while we were hoping that our bags would be at the front desk when we went down.  No such luck!  The hotel had a free shuttle into downtown Barcelona, so we decided to utilize that and get into town.  We only had our carryon bags.  As a note, I have long preached to carry a change of clothing and clean underwear in your carryon bag.  Somehow I did not and Dolly had just a pair of underwear I believe.

 

We got on the shuttle bus and were discharged in town.  We quickly caught a taxi and were taken to our apartment, Apartamentos Descartes.  I had received an email from the management that no one worked on weekends and that the key to our apartment would be elsewhere.  When we arrived, I called the number on the reservation, but got no answer.  Shortly, some people were leaving and they said they had gotten their key from a parking garage down the street.  I walked the half a block and the key was there waiting for us.

 

The apartment was very European modern and quite nice.  We settled in as best we could and made a plan regarding getting some interim clothing.  We had trip insurance and it had a monetary provision for lost luggage.  It was Sunday and we were wondering what was open.  We managed to get into the center of town using the Metro.  We got off at Las Ramblas station and began to look for stores.  We looked in a department store, but they did not have anything to fit me.  As we strolled down Las Ramblas we noticed a number of stores were closed.  A gentleman in one store we visited told us to go to MareMagnum, a mall.  It was at the end of the avenue.

 

We walked down to the mall and it was teeming.  It contained a variety of shops and boutiques.  We went into several menswear shops and they had no pants to fit me and we found one long sleeve polo shirt that fit.  We got that and went to look for underwear.  Finally, we found a store that had underwear to fit me.  Of course, we anxiously waited for a call from the luggage services office.

 

We went back to the apartment and waited a little longer.  No call. 

 

We went back to the hub of life for tourists, Las Ramblas,  to get some dinner.  We found a very interesting restaurant and had our evening meal. Before we decided where were going to eat, we got several "pitches" from people about their respective restaurants, but we chose a very active restaurant with a good menu.  The food and the service were good.  After I got some great gelato, we took the metro back to our apartment.  Another day without our luggage :-(

The Crew of Mediterraneo

Susan Lynch

 

Shirley Woodson

Dolly Turner Dixon

Denise Alston

 

Cheryl Green

 

Bertina Suber and Cheryl Green

 

The Captain, Gary Dixon

 

 

The crew onboard Mediterraneo

 

 

 



Time to Go!

September 14, 2013

Everyone awoke rather early.  People scattered to the bathhouse and got ready.  We managed to commandeer a cart so that the luggage could be taken up to the dock.  The charter staff came onboard to do the checkout of the yacht.  All was well.  We noted that we had no issues with anything during the entire seven day charter.

 

Before we left Sibenik a week prior, I had made arrangements with a local van driver to take everyone to their destinations.  Three of the crew were going to stay in Split and then go to Dubrovnik, one crew member was meeting a friend in Sibenik and taking the train to Istanbul, another crewmember was going to Split and Dolly and I were going to the airport to depart for Barcelona, Spain.  I had contacted the van driver the night before and we arranged a time for the pickup.  He was on time!

 



Waiting for the van

 



We took our last ride through the Croatian countryside and started making our drops.  We got everyone to their locations and Dolly and I were the last to be delivered to the airport.  What a time we had in Croatia!!!!!

Returning Home

September 13, 2013

This would be our last day at sea.  Our destination was to Marina Mandolina in Sibenik.  As we eased out of the marina area, we noticed there was a good breeze.  We were going to get a good last sail in!  We got out into the Adriatic and there were plenty of boats most of which were heading north toward Sibenik. 

We got the mainsail unfurled and set and then the Genoa was set.  We were rolling!  Great wind and it was on a great point.  We were moving along nicely.  Each of the crew stood a watch at the wheel for a time.  Everyone was having a great time.  We had a good heel going and we were making great progress.  We did not want to deal with bringing the boat into the marina in low light.

We wove our way between the islands and we could see after a while the town of Sibenik in the distance.  We were nearing the end of a great sailing day.  We got up into the entrance to the Sibenik harbor and charter docks.  We had to fill the diesel fuel tank, so we headed to the fuel dock like everyone else.  We got in line and waited our turn.  Finally we were pulling into the dock.  The attendant handed me the hose and nozzle and I began filling the tank.  I can't remember how much it took but we were finished in about 10 minutes and we gracefully pulled away from the dock and toward the marina.  

 

The marina was about five minutes or less away from the fuel dock.  I called the marina and found out our slip assignment, however, we could not find it right away.  As it turned out, it was the same slip we had left from.  I backed the boat down the lane and carefully put her in the slip using the bowthrusters.  The charter team was out and assisted with tying the boat to the dock.  We were back!

 

As is the tradition with Sojourner trips, the last night is the Captain's dinner.  Just a thank your for sailing with Dolly and me.  We decided to go to Stari Grad for dinner.  We had a great time and the food was quite tasty.  Our server was incredible.  He took care of our every need.  All was well. 

We retired to the boat to spend our last night before we all went our separate ways the next day.  The crew and captain were busy packing and getting ready to vacate the boat by 0900.  We drank some champagne and laughed and recounted the events of the past week.  Everyone voted to do another charter to Croatia soon.

 

 

The Perfect Storm

September 12, 2013

We got our coffee, tea and breakfast that morning after a good night's sleep.  As you might guess, there was more singing by some Swedes in the slip next to us the night before, but they retired early as well.

We pulled out of the slip and headed out of Milna to get out on the Adriatic Sea.  It was a little cloudy and the breeze was good. We

were looking forward to a good sail today, but we wanted to get out of the inlet first.  We were going to attempt to rendezvous with Royalty at another island if we could.  As we were exiting the inlet, which was a rather large bay, we were hit with a progressively intensifying squall.

We turned away from it and headed back deeper into the inlet.  We spotted what we thought was an opening and a creek or something on the island of Brac.  The wind was intense, but Captain Lynch and I managed to get Mediterraneo into the creek.  There were several other boats in the same location seeking shelter.  We explored a little and found a good place to drop anchor.  It was a very good spot.  

We were probably there about an hour.  During that time, we ate and enjoyed some fellowship.  Of course, an anchor watch was in order, but it was well grounded in about 30 feet of water.  We were holding tight!  While waiting for the storm to abate, we discussed where we were going to be for the night.  We decided two things--we would go to Kremik, near the town of Primosten and that we would probably have to motor or motorsail quite a bit.

We finally left and started out again.  The wind had fallen off to almost nothing and the sun was beginning to be visible.  We took off motoring and motoring fast.  Our chartplotter expert figured out a course to get us to Kremik the most direct route and we set the autopilot and dashed on.  The trip north to Kremik was uneventful.  We passed several other boats heading north.  We even had to navigate through a race that was happening on our way.  Everyone stood a watch during this trip to Kremik.  

Somehow we motored past the entrance to access the marina and went into Primosten.  We called the marina and were told that we had to travel back south for about two miles and then turn to port to enter the bay into the marina area.  We were told there was a sign pointing us to Marina Kremik.  Well, the sign was so far back in the entry bay that you needed binoculars to see it from the sea.  We got in and found our slip after a little bit of effort and docked the boat.  It had been quite an interesting day.  We settled in, cooked some dinner and sort of relaxed.  Some of the crew went to the bathhouse and showered and the rest just chilled.  It was a good day!

Anchors Aweigh

September 11, 2013

The next morning I awoke to see a gorgeous 5 masted sailing vessel rounding the point into the bay near Hvar.  She was so beautiful and majestic.  She flew the Croatian colors.

 

Five masted Croatian Sailing Vessel

 









One of our crew has worked on tall ships and she was enthralled by the boat.  So was I!

We aweighed anchor and took off for the island of Brac.

It was a pleasant leisurely sail to the entrance to the innards of the village of Milna.  We had a book that had the call stations to communicate with the marina.  We called on the designated channel and at first got no response.  We did get a response saying, "Come to the back".  There was a marina directly in front us and we thought  were where we were  supposed to be.  We were told to turn the corner and come back.  There would be a man in red shirt directing us where to dock. 

 

After a bit we saw a man in a red polo shirt blowing a whistle and waving frantically to us.  We figured what he wanted.  He wanted us to follow his direction.  He directed me to come to a space on a floating dock near the walkway.  I backed us up and thanks to bowthrusters I was able to get almost there.  I finally got it where he wanted us.  By the way, he spoke no English.

 

He handed me a lazy line and we got that cleated on the port side.  Then he started waving at another lazy line.  None of us understood what he wanted.  He jumped onboard and he cleated that lazy line on the starboard side.  Ah, they use two lazy lines here!

 

The crew dispersed to get land showers and just to look around.  I took the boat documents to the marina office and paid the fee.  I returned to the boat after inspecting the bathhouse and relaxed.  I encountered a black male with a crew of what sounded like Germans.  He was indeed a German.  We talked for a while and then he was off with his fellow crewmembers.

 

The sky was getting a little cloudy and then it got rather dark.  It began to rain, heavily at times.  Dolly returned to the boat after a shower and wanted to go out to eat.  I told her I was going to shower and  then we could eat.

 

She had identified a restaurant in the village and that's where we went.  It was still raining and we could not eat in the alfresco section.  We were in a very nice room with only two other couples.  The food was quite good and eventually Dolly and I were in the room alone.  We left and returned to the boat.  The rest of the crew was enjoying fellowship and talking.  We joined in for a while and then everyone went to bed.

 

The village of Milna





Island Hopping

Off to Another Island

September 10, 2013

Vis is a beautiful island!  However, we were considering going to the island of Korcula until Capt. Rob told us that from where we would make landfall on that island was at least a fifty mile sail.  That's a bit much for a vacation sailing adventure.  We decided to scrap that plan and go to Hvar with the crew of Royalty.  It was a short hop from Vis to Hvar.

This morning, we arose as we had and the activity in the kitchen had begun.  Coffee was made, water was boiled for tea and fruit and yogurt were also available.

We departed from Vis and headed to Hvar, a supposed playground of the rich and famous.  The short trip was uneventful and we made the sail over rather quickly.  We entered the cove and began to look for the village.  As we got further into the cove, we noticed a cruise ship anchored further in.  Also there was a 4 masted schooner at anchor there.

Of course there was other marine traffic as well like really slick looking tour boats and fancy and expensive motor yachts.

We approached the harbor of the village.  We slowly rode around looking for space on the quay.  There were none!  We thought something had to be wrong, but there were no spaces.  We decided to attempt to pick up a mooring.  The wind was rather brisk, but we knew we could do it. 

Well, it's not like a mooring in the BVIs.  Here you pick up the mooring and then you have to secure the stern to the land--a tree or perhaps another anchor.  We still thought we could do it. The truth is, it's a lot more challenging than we thought.  We found a mooring, but the boat hook would not fit in the eye of the pennant.  We opted to just anchor.  We got that done and settled in for a while.

We thought there were water taxis, but we wrong there.  We had a dinghy, but it was a little small for a crew of 7 without someone getting wet.  Five of the crew managed to flag down a boat and the captain consented to take them in.  Dolly and I stayed on the boat.  The crew returned and we hung out and chatted about what they had seen.  They said the village was gorgeous.  Soon all turned in for the night.

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

September 9, 2013

The sun awakened most of us and the crew started moving around getting something to eat.  Our next destination was Vis, another island about 15 nautical miles away.  Royalty pulled out as we were awakening.

 

We completed our breakfast and it was time to get underway.  After a near grounding (we were very close to the bottom), we eased through a narrow cut and back into the Adriatic.  The wind was fresh and we put the boat into the wind and got the main unfurled.  Next we pulled out the genoa and we were sailing and sailing well.  We tweaked the trim of the sails a little and one of our crew took the helm.  She was having a ball!  We hit 7.5 knots of speed and were really flying.

 

After about 4 hours we had approached the island.  We looked for the opening to the harbor and checked the chart and the chartplotter to make sure we were in the right area to enter the harbor.  We got the sails furled and started our approach to the harbor.  One good thing about the Adriatic Sea is that the water is quite deep and the islands are well marked.

 

We eased into the harbor area and spotted the place we wanted to dock.  They do Mediterranean mooring here which is stern to the quay and the bow pointed out. There are no pilings to delineate the spaces. I told the crewmember that was at the helm to do it.  She was a little skeptical and declined.  

 

I had done Med mooring in Greece in 2003, but had not had to do it since.  In Greece, we deployed the anchor off the bow about 50 feet away from the quay and then backed down to the quay.  Here in Croatia, that was not necessary.  They had what they called "lazy lines" which are attached to the quay but are led forward to the bow.  They are attached to the sea floor to secure the bow.

 

Where we were going to pull in was not acceptable to the dockhands and we were directed to a particular space.  He communicated that we did not need to deploy the anchor and to just back in.  All fenders were put in place and the process was begun.  Fortunately, the boat had bowthrusters and that made coming in a lot easier.  We got to the quay and secured the stern lines.  We were then told how to work the "lazy line".  That done we sort of settled back to relax a few moments.  We are really "shoehorned" into this place as another boat began their move in to our starboard side.

The quay in Vis

 

 

I left to go to the Harbormaster's office.  I had to take the paperwork that was given to me at the charter office.  I took the documents to the office and they gave me instructions about the bathhouse and gave me two magnetic keycards. 

 



 

I returned to the boat and Royalty was beginning their move to dock on the quay about five boats down from our position.  Our crew had dispersed to explore the village.  I saw one of our club members, Carroll Green, who was a crewmember on Royalty.  We talked for a while and then we went our different ways.  I returned to the boat and relaxed for a short period.

 

I went back up to Royalty to meet the rest of their crew.  Captain Rob informed me that he was having problems with his mainsail.  He said that Sunsail had made arrangements for a technician to come to the boat and remedy the problem.  Carroll said he saw us approaching them and then we just zoomed on by.  While there I had some snacks and eventually returned to the boat.  I was told that everyone was at a little restaurant getting a bite to eat.  I went to the bistro and joined the rest of our crew.  Food and drink abounded.  We came to a consensus that we would invite the crew of Royalty to join us later for wine and cheese.  The crew then dispersed to shop for goodies for our guests.

 

The crew of Mediterrane

 

Enjoying food and libations in Vis

Carroll and Dolly

 

 

The crew returned just as the crew from Royalty was arriving.  Another of our club members, Paula White, was a member of the crew of Royalty.  We all mingled for an hour or so and then dispersed.  We had gotten an offer from a young woman to eat at a very attractive restaurant. It had begun to rain a little later and everyone scrambled for raingear.  I had to borrow a parka from Paula because I had left my poncho in the baggage I had left at the charter office.

 

We were told that the restaurant was very close.  We started walking and it seemed like a lot further that we had been told, especially in a driving rain.  We took shelter in another restaurant during the downpour.  A short walk later, we were at a very picturesque restaurant overlooking a part of the harbor.  It was still raining!

 

The food was delicious and we all ate hearty.  It was our crew and one member of the crew of Royalty.  We had great food, fellowship and libations.  The rain abated and finally stopped and we left after thoroughly satisfying our hunger.

 

The quay was still busy.  People were walking and shops were open for business.  We went back to the boat to settle in.  Oh, there was one scary incident where a crewmember left her purse with her passport in it at the restaurant.  They returned and it was there and they retrieved it.  Whew!!!  All is well.  We sat around for a while and then everyone turned in listening to some Europeans' club songs being sung by the crew of the boat next to us.

 

 





Let's Shove Off!!

September 8, 2013

We all awoke, went to the bathhouse and returned to the boat to get a little bit to eat.  Most except me were having coffee or tea.  I opted for some OJ, bread and yogurt.  Shortly, after completion of our breakfast, we cast off from the marina.  We needed to get moving because we were supposed to rendezvous with Captain Rob Chichester and his crew who were leaving from Kremik, about 30 nautical miles south of us.  We eased on out and it was such a beautiful day.  We were underway!

We got out of the Sibenik harbor area and turned to port to get out into the Adriatic Sea.  Our trip was uneventful as we motored along and got a good course charted.  One crewmember decided to get the chartplotter to do the work for us.  I had pulled out my handheld gps and set a route for us to take as well.  We set the autopilot and began to cruise south.  

It appears that Sunday is the day of the week that the charter companies start their charter boats.  There were numerous boats out as we traversed southward.  There was some wind, but we opted to continue motoring so that we would arrive at a good time.  I hailed the other boat, but got no response.

After about 4 or 5 hours, we arrived in the area.  We cruised around looking for the other boat, Royalty, but to no avail.  After cruising around for about an hour we finally made contact with Royalty.  She was a little bit behind us.  Eventually, Capt. Rob and Royalty arrived in the area.  He brought the 50 footer in and dropped anchor.  We were going to raft up, but later chose not to.  We dropped anchor and settled in for the evening.

Two of the crew swam over to Royalty and visited with that crew for a while.  In the meantime, dinner was started.  Our crewmembers returned and dinner was served.  We sat around in the cockpit drinking beverages and talking.  A good day!

THE BOAT IS OURS!!!!!

September 7, 2013

Today is the day we take possession of the boat.  First I had to get all of the crew, minus one, from the apartments to the marina along with their luggage.  The rental was a very small Renault.  We thought about it and came up with a plan.  We got everything together and started executing the plan.  We got to the marina, but we could not enter the area at the boats where we could unload gear.  We managed to get a space where we could stay for a short period and we unloaded the gear and walked it to the charter office.

I returned to the apartment to get Dolly and the remaining luggage.  We made a stop to pickup the remaining crewmember.

We got a space and got settled somewhat.  We could not get the boat until shortly after noon.  We got the green light to head to the boat.  We were accompanied by one of the staff to our boat, Mediterraneo.  He gave the crew a quick but comprehensive orientation of the systems on the boat.  It had new sails!!  Everything appeared to operate perfectly.  We signed off on the paperwork and started to get settled.  

Folks were a little hungry so we went to the bistro on site and had lunch and talked about our float plan for the next morning.  We were to rendezvous with Capt. Rob Chichester and his crew who were departing from Kremik, about 25 nautical miles south of Sibenik at an island called Solta.  We figured out where it was and we arrived at a tentative float plan.

 



The crew scattered to take care of personal things and get settled in their respective cabins.  Some runs were made to the nearby grocery store to purchase some items and the provisioning company arrived with our provisions.  Sooner or later, everyone settled down to sleep so that we could make an early departure the next morning.

A Short Road Trip and Crew Arrival

September 6, 2013

A Short Road Trip and Crew Arrival

We decided to go to the Krka National Park.  It is a short drive from Sibenik, but getting lost made it a little longer drive.  We finally got there and the parking lot was really full.  We purchased our tickets to get in the park and we took a large tour bus to another area.  We decided to take the boat ride to the 500 year old working monastery located on an island in the middle of a river.  The ride took about 40 minutes and we went to the monastery.  It was quite idyllic and the tour was very short.

We boarded the boat and returned to our starting point.  We decided to walk some to find the different falls and sights to see.  We hiked through several beautiful areas with streams and waterfalls.  We did this for a while and then took the bus back to the parking area.  We had a small meal, found the car and headed back to the apartment.

While enroute to the apartment, we received a phone call.  Some of the crew had arrived.  They were at the apartment which was about five minutes away.  Two of the crew were walking toward the apartment when we were heading there and one was at the apartment.  Everyone got settled and we talked about our adventures.  Not long after that, we received another phone call from one more crew member.  She was staying in downtown Sibenik and we decided to meet at the bus station and then go to dinner.

There was a Medieval celebration occurring along the waterfront and parking was scarce, but we found a place close by.  We met our crewmember at the bus station and walked to dinner.

 

The crew minus one at a great bistro on the harbor





 

The Medieval Celebration

After dinner we walked around a bit.  People were dressed in costumes of the Medieval period and there were many vendors selling things from knives and swords to jewelry and scents.  We hung out there for about an hour and decided to head back to the apartment.  We walked our crewmember to her apartment, however, she could not remember exactly where it was.  She finally reached her host and he came out to show her where her flat was located.  The rest of us returned to the apartment. 

Road Trip

September 5, 2013

Road Trip!!!!!!

We awoke after a good night's sleep and had our usual European type breakfast.  It was good and satisfied my hunger.  We had decided to drive to Trogir, about 45 minutes south.  First, we decided that we wanted to go to the marina and look around.

We went to the marina and stopped at the first building.  It was a very modern and new office area for all types marine services.  There were outrageous megayachts at theis marina and not many sailboats.  We went in and asked for the office of the charter company.  We were directed further into the marina area and told where to go.  We followed her directions and found the office of the charter company, Dream Yachts.  We met Marina, the staff person in the office.  I had communicated with her via email regarding facilities and other important information such as the location of supermarkets and such.  Marina told us that we would be able to get the boat finished by noon on the day we were to have the boat.  That was great!!!!
!

We left the marina and headed south to Trogir.  The ride was quite scenic at time as we rode along the coast of the Adriatic Sea.  We stopped at an unofficial overlook just past the town of Premostin.  We could see the Adriatic in all of its splendor.  There was a marina below us at the area called Kremik.

While I was snapping pictures, Dolly visited a vendor who had setup shop out of the trunk of her car.  Dolly bought a bottle of wine.

Back on the road, we were in Trogir in short order.  We found the entrance to the historical site and parked the car.  We went inside after Dolly did some vendor shopping.  She saw a hat that she loved, but we left and went in.  The old part of Trogir was much like the Old City in Dubrovnik.  There were old buildings and churches with cafes, shops and restaurants throughout.  We walked through the area and headed to the harbor.  There were ferries and tour boats lined alond the quay.

We were a bit hungry and decided to have some lunch.  We picked a restaurant there on the quay and had a pizza for lunch while we "people watched".   After lunch, an American couple decided we were friendly Americans and the husband took our picture.

We toured around a little longer and decided to leave and head back to Sibenik.  This was not a very exciting place--an old fort, a church, and shops.

The drive back was pleasant and uneventful.  We went back to the apartment and relaxed for a while.  We later went into town to the harbor area and had a great dinner.  Full and happy we soon went to bed.







On To Sibenik

September 4, 2013

On To Sibenik

We awoke and  got some breakfast at a local restaurant.  We returned to the Villa Helena Glamour and told the person there, the owner's mother, that we were leaving.  She called her daughter and after Dolly told her what was wrong with the apartment, she said to pay the 600 kunas and be done.  We got a ride to the bus station and got a bus to Sibenik.  The ride was rather nice with a few stops and a stop in Trogir.  Two people got on the bus.  We proceeded on toward Sibenik and a neatly dressed man got on the bus at a roadside stop .  He appeared to be an inspector of some description.  He asked each passenger for a ticket.  The two that had gotten on the bus in Trogir had no tickets.  They were told to pay or get off the bus.  They got off.

We arrived in Sibenik and took a taxi to our next apartment.  It was a little way out of town, but it was quite nice.  We were taken to our apartment and got settled in.  It was a three bedroom apartment with a nice terrace in front with a great view of the Adriatic and a portion of the town.  We were ready to eat so we called our cab driver and went down into the heart of town.  I told our host, Silvio, before we left that we wanted a rental car.  He connected us with someone and the car would be delivered to us later.  We ate dinner down at the city harbor and returned to the apartment.  The car rental agent was waiting for us when we returned.  I completed the paperwork and we had a car.  We eventually went to bed after deciding what we would do the next day.

Return to Split

September 3, 2013

We thought we would be able to catch a 10:00 bus to Split, however, we were told that the earliest bus we could get was at 11:00.  We walked around the harbor in Dubrovnik and did a little shopping.  We were on the road promptly at 11:00 traveling to Split.

We arrived in Split and walked to the Bellevue Hotel to retrieve our luggage.  After retrieving our luggage we took a taxi to our next apartment, the Villa Helena Glamour.  Unlike the name, it was not glamourous!   We left and took the bus to the mall to look around.  After a couple of hours we returned to the apartment to get ready to go to dinner.  While were getting ready to go to dinner,  Dolly said that the bathroom was not clean and the room was quite tight.  We decided we were going to move out the next morning and relocate to Sibenik.

Dinner was great!  We returned to the apartment and I went online to reserve an apartment in Sibenik.  I booked the same apartment that we had for September 6, 2013.  It went through and we were set. 

Dubrovnik

September 2, 2013

We awoke today and had our usual Mediterranean breakfast of yogurt, bread or pastry and cheese.  We left the apartment and headed back to the Old City.  We arrived at the Old City and opted to take a ride on the tram up to a great vantage point on a mountain above Dubrovnik,  The view was incredible!!



There was a small museum commemorating the war and lots of great views.  There was a small restaurant and a gift shop at the summit.  We took the tram back down and walked to the Old City.

The Old City is magnificent.  There are shops, cafes and restaurants everywhere.  We climbed several sets of steps to a level about halfway to the top.  We wandered around sightseeing and looking for a place called the Booza Bar.  We found it and there were people jumping off of a cliff at the bar into the Adriatic.  We left there and looked for a place to have lunch.  We found a nice restaurant adjacent to a church.  While we were having lunch we noticed that a wedding was taking place.

After lunch we descended to the lowest level to start the climb to the top of the wall.  We had to purchase tickets to do so.  After purchasing the tickets, we started our ascent to the top of the wall.  It was quite a climb! 

We began the walk of the wall  with rest stops and photo stops along the way.  You could see for miles into the Adriatic and the view down into the city was incredible.

We walked further around the wall and we stopped at juice bar where we had a break and had a juice.  While there we met a couple and talked for a while and then we all departed to further walk the wall.  Our walk was shortened due to time.  We descended and caught the bus back to our area where we found a sandwich shop and had our dinner meal.  We returned to the apartment and packed to caatch the bus back to Split in the morning.   What a day!!!













Off to Dubrovnik

On September 1, 2013, we awoke early to get ready to catch a 10:30 bus to Dubrovnik.  I made arrangements for the hotel to store our luggage for two days.  Dolly was a bit skeptical about those arrangements, but we trusted the hotel to do the right thing.  We walked from the hotel to the bus station after having a buffet breakfast at the hotel that consisted of cheese, bread, fruit and yogurt.  Very Mediterranean!

We caught the 10:30 bus and headed to Dubrovnik.  The bus went through town and got on the new highway, a four lane divided freeway.  Not long after getting on this great new highway, we went off because it had not been completed.  After that we went through several small communities with narrow roads that were very close to the Adriatic.  Two buses could not have passed each other on some of these roads.

Shortly, the bus pulled into what appeared to be an immigration station.  It was!!!  An armed soldier got onboard and demanded to see each passenger's passport.  We were preparing to enter Bosnia-Herzegovina.  As it turned out, part of the settlement of the war was that Bosnia received 8 kilometers of coastline into the coastline of Croatia.  Below is a photograph of a part of that coastline.

There was a rest stop about 2 kilometers inside of Bosnia.  It had a restaurant and toilets.  It was time for a toilet break!  Downstairs was a small market and Dolly bought some items.

We proceeded on and quickly exited Bosnia.  We arrived in Dubrovnik in early afternoon.  As we got off of the bus and collected our bags, we were approached by a gentleman asking if we needed transportation.  We agreed and I gave him the address of the apartment.  We walked to his vehicle and it was not a taxi, but a relatively new Chevrolet Impala.  He knew exactly where the apartment was and on the way, he gave us many important tips on where to catch a bus and where the old city was in relation to where we were staying.  He rang the bell and our hostess came and told us to come inside the gate.  The driver gave us his phone number and left.

The hostess showed us to our apartment, a very comfortable one bedroom with a very nice terrace overlooking a playground.  The terrace was accessible to the living room and the bedroom.  She gave us the password for the Wi-fi, told us where to catch the bus to the old city and what number bus to catch and left.  We rested for a while and decided to go up to the Old City to eat and look around.

We got dressed and walked to the bus to head to the Old City.  We arrived and walked to a terrace adjacent to the walls of the Old City and the old fort.  We decided on an outdoor restaurant overlooking the fort and the Adriatic Sea.  Dinner was quite tasty and we left to explore the Old City.  We took the short walk to the bridge and gates to the site.  The place was teeming with tourists!  I was also surprised as we walked around at the amount "capitalism" there was.  There were shops, cafes and restaurants throughout.  The structure is quite old and the buildings were quite beautiful. We spent a couple of hours walking around and left and went to a restaurant to have dessert.  A long and beautiful day.  We took the bus and returned to our apartment.







Croatia Here We Come!

On August 30, 2013, Dolly and I were picked up by our Ubercab driver, David, in his luxurious black sedan and whisked to Dulles International Airport.  We were a little early so we had time to clear security, grab a bite to eat and relax before boarding the plane for our eight hour flight to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.  It was quite early in the morning when we arrived at 5:45 AM on August 31, 2013.  We had to change terminals for our next flight to Split, Croatia. Our flight was not until 11:35 AM and after a rather long bus ride we arrived at our terminal.  Charles de Gaulle airport is quite large.  We got a bite to eat and languished in the airport for quite some time until our flight began to accept passengers.  We arrived in Split, Croatia at 1:40 PM and after collecting our luggage, we were taken expeditiously to our hotel for the night, the Bellevue Hotel.  It was adjacent to the harbor and main promenade along the shore.  We were also within 500 meters of Diocletian's Palace, an extremely important tourist attraction.

After relaxing for a while, we ventured out to get dinner and ate at a very comfortable and casual  restaurant near the water.  The harbor was packed with people, some locals and many tourists.  We strolled along the promenade and stopped to get some gelato.  There are gelato stands all along the promenade and most were quite busy.   We realized our Croatian adventure had truly begun.  We sat on the promenade and watched the people strolling by and the boats that were at the quay.  We went to the bus station which was close to the harbor to obtain a bus schedule to Dubrovnik.  We walked toward the center of town  through a retail area where we encountered a "golden man".   After looking in some of the stores and boutiques, we returned to our hotel to get a good night's sleep after our long flight.  Tomorrow we would be in Dubrovnik, Croatia.



About Sojourner Travel Alliance

The Sojourner Travel Alliance is an organization with the aim of exposing adventurous people  to exotic and marvelous locations by sailboat.  Started by Dolly and Gary Dixon, both avid sailors, it was thought that others would enjoy the same excitement and adventure that was enjoyed by this couple sailing in foreign lands and waters.  The Alliance has promoted sailing adventures to the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, the various islands of the Andaman Sea and Indian Ocean in Thailand, along the barrier reef in Belize, Central America and the various islands in the Adriatic Sea along the coast of Croatia.  We have also chartered and sailed in the Sir Francis Drake Channel in the British Virgin Islands.  There is no end to the locations to experience this wonderful way to travel and explore.

Follow our blog and experience some of our adventures vicariously.  Better yet join us.  You will never regret having the experience!