Author: Nicole (Page 4 of 44)

Vandy had told me that there was a big open air market on Saturday in Preveza, so we decided to check it out. I didn’t tell Trip how long of a walk it was (and we had gotten off the boat late so it was hooooot), and he was complaining every time we walked past another little produce market. I was not to be deterred.

It was worth the walk. There were multiple vendors there with all sorts of produce to sift through. The supplies in Montenegro and Croatia had been good, but there were new goodies to sample like sweet cherries, sorrel, and spinach. Lemons and limes the size of a big man’s fist spilled out everywhere (the limes aren’t super juicy, but the lemons sure are).

There was even a man at the very end selling eggs. As I hadn’t expected eggs I had not packed a container, but he gently placed them in a special paper bag and I added them to the top of the pile and prayed that they would stay in one piece.

It turns out Vandy and Eric had gotten a late start as well and were at the market at the same time. We wandered back into town together and had a leisurely late & wonderfully long breakfast at one of the tavernas. Breakfast and the market were the only things we accomplished that day, but what an accomplishment.

We waited out the high winds of Wednesday and sailed down to Preveza on Thursday in a still sporty breeze, with both the main and genoa reefed. We managed to sail right into the harbor, and had a scary moment after dropping sails, when the engine wouldn’t engage in forward gear. I was about to roll out the jib again (we were starting to drift uncomfortably close to a rather large and expensive yacht), when Trip got the engine in gear and we were able to anchor safely.

Then the anchoring excitement started for the others around us. We watched one couple anchor five different times and drag each time, no matter where they were. It didn’t help that the water isn’t clear (you can’t see your anchor) and it was blowing over 20 knots. But the real excitement was watching another boat not only drag, but pick up another boat’s anchor and chain! Luckily the dragging victim rowed (rowed!) forward and got a line around the fouled anchor and chain so that they could release it. Another cruiser came by and held the dragging victim’s boat in place so that it wouldn’t start moving across the anchorage. I was really impressed at the lack of shouting and overall civility between everyone. I was particularly happy that the dragging boat did not anchor in front of us.

Preveza doesn’t look like much from the anchorage, but it’s a charming town and a fabulous place for a cruiser with all the laundry, chandleries, and shops for provisioning. While Trip went to get our transit log for the boat stamped by the local authorities, I took two massive bags of laundry down the quay to have them done. There’s no self-service laundry facilities in town, but those two huge bags only cost 20 euro and were washed, dried and folded in less than 3 hours. Time for me to peek around and get new sunscreen supplies against the brutal Greek sun.

We knew from a group chat that fellow cruisers from our winter berth in Montenegro were in town, and we managed to catch up with Eric & Vandy on their s/v Awildian, together with Heath & Pookie from s/v Sawasdeekat.

Pookie was kind enough to leave me a bag of Thai goodies: galangal, chiles, and kefir lime leaves. I made a simple syrup out of the lime leaves & galangal with local cherries, and then added lemon, seltzer water, and a splash of gin. Just the thirst quencher needed for these hot days!

We had come to Preveza at just the right time as the local choir was hosting the 42nd Annual International Choral Festival. Every night when we came ashore for dinner we would stop and enjoy one of the many performing groups in the town square.

It was to be a musical few days, as we also had music with dinner one night. We had seen posters for the Makari Trio performing at Villa Ferrari. A few blocks off the main drag, the restaurant had a beautiful courtyard half covered by bougainvillea. Dinner was good, but the musical trio was spectacular. A group from Sicily and Naples, they travel during the summer playing Greek/Italian/Syrian music. All the music was wonderful, but our two favorites were Misirlou (covered famously and used in Pulp Fiction) and Tu Vuo Fa L’Americano (so you want to be American?).

We were debating when to leave, and Trip had gone over to the fuel dock to fill up the jerry cans, when he called me to tell me that m/v Sally Forth (more friends from Montenegro) were in town. Mark and Sally were in the marina for the night, and were kind enough to invite us over for cocktails to catch up. Small world!

I’ve done it across the Mediterranean, why stop now?

Sailing through a new country can be challenging. Picking places to visit that look interesting and are safe for the boat. Apps like Navily and NoForeignLand can help, but they can also be overwhelming with too many options and questionable reviews. We’re lucky to count among our friends sailors who have already visited Greece and have trustworthy recommendations. Karin and Holger on s/v RiverCafe gave us the heads up on this spot.

We needed an anchorage part way to Preveza that would have protection from westerly and northwesterly winds that were forecasted. Two Rock Bay checked both of those requirements. We sailed a little bit, but the wind wound up dying, so we motored in. The bay did not disappoint. It’s a good size, with lots of big sand patches for good holding, and room for 20 or so boats. The water teems with friendly fish (some of whom immediately starting chomping away at the marine undergrowth on our hull). We decided to stay a few days.

One of the best parts of this bay is the small bar at the top of the steps leading up from the beach. Inexpensive cocktails, tasty hot dogs and hamburgers as well as fresh Greek salad, and cool old blues and rock & roll tunes. You sit perched over the bay, staring at the anchored boats as the sun goes down. If you’re lucky (and we were), you get a visit from the resident fox.

‘I think the world would be a better place if we all let out a little bit more chain.’ My new favorite quote from friends Mark and Susanne on s/v Lady Lea, a beautiful little Vindo sailboat. We decided to up anchor and move as we were swinging too close to a neighboring boat (aggravatingly, they left a couple of hours later and we probably could have stayed). As we re-positioned ourselves, a new neighbor called out and shooed us away from her fancy Hanse. In anchoring, we swung a little too close to the Vindo, and Trip offered to move. Instead Mark came up to his bow, let out some more chain (putting more distance between us), and called out ‘no problem’. Over drinks in their cockpit later that day, as we talked about the state of the world and the anger and war, Mark made that comment about the chain, which I really appreciated. If you’re someone that has some chain to spare, let it out and help someone else. None of us really want to argue or fight.

Trip was mildly horrified when I told him I wanted to go to Lakka Bay on Paxos. If you read the reviews, it’s clogged with charter boats that are constantly hitting each other and ripping each others anchors out of the sand. I told him we were heading south either way, and if he didn’t like it we could move on. At the least the sailing for the last hour or so was good, so he was in a good mood when we arrived.

We were lucky, there were only a dozen or so boats there, so we went right up to the front row (shallow water) and dropped the hook. The color of the water in this little protected bay is simply stunning. You can easily see why everyone wants to visit.

It was Saturday, charter fleet turnover day (everyone has rushed back to base), the one day a week things are quiet here. We were going to relish it!

Shore is cute. We walked around, bought olive oil and orange cake (for which this island is so famous), and had lunch. But all the great photos here are of the water, it’s the jewel. According to Greek mythology, Poseidon created the island Paxos to demonstrate his love for his wife Amphriti and its beauty represents their eternal bond. Awwwww.

And rather than lots of inconsiderate sailors, all we’ve seen are people nodding and talking and being rather polite in this tight little spot. Several have even appreciated our classic looking little boat and admired me on the manual windlass (the tour boat skipper watching me up anchor kept giving me a broad smile and multiple thumbs up). No regrets.

With the solstice upon us, we had an easy two-overnight trip down the coast. Unfortunately there wasn’t much wind, but the wind we did get made for some great sailing. The full moon made it easy to see for miles, even well past midnight. We dropped anchor in Sarande, Albania early in the morning. We didn’t clear in or go ashore, but friends Johan and Jenny of s/v Panic Major were back in our original anchorage and they came over (after we took long naps) for a good, long catchup. Jenny had outdone herself with the BBQ she had packed and we feasted for hours on board. It was so fun we stayed an extra day and spent the next day with them as well. Such good friends.

It was finally time to move on to Greece. The passage to Corfu is only 16 miles, an easy mid day run. Once again, we didn’t have good wind till the end of the trip (when the winds were picking up), but we take what we can get. We dropped anchor north of the city in a spot closer to the authorities that we needed to visit to clear in to the country.

The first day was a trip to the port police, followed by a long hot walk to immigration and customs (where they told us we had to go to the other customs office which is now closed). When arriving in your own boat, the formalities of clearing into a new country are mind boggling sometimes. These are the things we take for granted when we fly somewhere (customs and immigration all right there at the airport, no port police to visit).

The next day we split up – Trip went off to finalize clearing in and I went off to do laundry. Hannah had told me not only about the laundry but a great little shop up the street. I managed to snag a two dresses and two tops for 32 euro (when we went back later, Trip, of course, found yet another styling blazer for only 15 euro – pic to come when he finally wears it). We met for gyros for lunch, where Trip started his quest to pronounce thank you in Greek (epharisto). The taverna restaurant told him to stick to English, but he persists!

The next couple of days were a mix of errands and wandering around the old town, as well as moving the boat down to the picturesque, if busy, anchorage in front of the old fort. Stopping frequently for breaks (it is HOT these days), we walked up to the top of the fort and admired the entire bay.

The fort provides a great view of the city, and the bay is huge. It also allows for plenty of mega yacht watching. The cost to charter the three boats above (collectively) is well over 1 million euros a week! Unfortunately the tender drivers to these mega yachts tend to speed through the anchorage to the dinghy docks, making things a bit rolly. On the flip side, we had a stunning view of the fortress lit up at night, and were even rewarded with a concert and fireworks one evening.

Croatia was wonderful, some of the easiest sailing we’ve done in years, but it was time to move on. We got up at the crack of dawn and cleared out of Dubrovnik with no fuss. We were a little apprehensive, as we had not been able to check in with port police further north, and had been warned that we might be fined for this. Trip dressed his best (ok shoes, brushed hair, shirt with a collar and nice shorts) and we had no issues. I was shocked to see another boat pull up alongside (also to clear out) and the skipper and crew get off in bare feet to manage formalities – I think there’s a reason some authorities have issues with yachties when the yachties don’t show respect.

After all these days of easy sailing, Croatia decided to hand us a test on the way out. Our final night the winds had shifted from the SE to the NW. This would be favorable for us sailing south. However, an overnight storm stirred up the water, and what we thought would be smooth sailing were lumpy, bumpy big seas with a short period. The wind had come up stronger than forecast, and the sail was like riding a bucking bronco. Exciting for us, as everything was in our favor and we made it into Montenegro hours before we were expected, but glad it was only a day sail as those conditions can wear on the crew.

We came straight into Porto Montenegro with mixed results. After accepting ‘help’ from a marinero who didn’t pull the lines fast enough, we managed to smash the dinghy into the underside of concrete lip on the dock and do some damage. On the up side, we were able to stay on the dock there for a couple of hours, which allowed us to top off water tanks, do a load of laundry, take shore showers, and even pop over to a marina-sponsored BBQ which allowed us to catch up with friends that were still in Tivat.

It was a leisurely week in Montenegro. We dropped the anchor right in front of the Tivat promenade and enjoyed the show of all the local tour boats as well as a very talented water-jet-pack rider.

It was also time to catch up with friends. We were lucky to have enough time to see people en masse (BBQ, curry night), as well as catch up more personally one on one. We even managed to get in one last darts night.

And of course, more boat projects – namely dinghy fiberglass repair to the new crack.

And then it was time to head south.

It was time to rest for a few days. The wind was no longer in our favor and we had some boat projects to get done before clearing out of Croatia. Luckily, Kolocep Island was just the place to do it.

Natual swimming holes on the outside of the island. Note: the nude beach was luckily empty that day!

Kolocep is the first island outside of Dubrovnik, and is a popular day stop. Not that many boats stay overnight though, and the island doesn’t have any cars, so it was quiet enough to be just our style.

We went ashore after a day or so to explore and immediately found one of the friendliest cats and one of the most chill. Can you tell by their photos?

Each day we’d work in the morning, have lunch ashore, and then go explore. We found cool little coves, perfect spots for a cold beer. And lots of gorgeous flowers all in bloom.

We also discovered little old tractors of a sort with towing trailer that could haul gear or people all over the island. This is how the locals get themselves and their gear around.

We had heard about Okuklje from fellow cruisers, and as it was the location of the one expensive restaurant we were willing to try in Croatia, we wanted to give it a go. At Maestral, the chef is French trained, and like other places, you get a dock or a buoy for free if you eat there. Again, since it was the weekend, things were pretty quiet and we had no problem getting a reservation.

The village is tiny, just a cluster of houses and restaurants centered around a small bay. We grabbed a mooring and simply enjoyed the view, till it was time for a swim and dinner.

Dinner was totally worth it. We shared a sea bream ceviche, and Trip had a pistachio laced pasta, while I enjoyed the restaurant’s signature dish, squid ink fettuccine with shrimp and cheese foam. (I normally detest foam and think it’s a gimmick but this was amazing). Thank you Tihomir & Linda! (the owners).
It was really hard to move on in the morning (we strongly considered staying several days longer), but some winds against us were finally about to set in, so it was time for one more burst of sailing.

It’s hard to rush through such beautiful places, but we were only able to allot ourselves a month in Croatia, and the winds have truly been fabulous for sailing. From Korcula, we were off to Polace, which is part of the Mljet National Park. It was now high season, and the cost to be in the park with your boat is 100 euros per day! Luckily, we found out that if you take a mooring or dock space from a local restaurant, you don’t have to pay that fee. Even more luckily we had a recommendation from a fellow cruiser about this particular restaurant. And the best part was that Friday nights are dead quiet because all the charter fleets are headed back to home base for flipping on Saturday. We had the entire dock to ourselves.

We had some time till dinner, so we took a walk to the remains of a former basilica.

Then we went for a swim at the locals beach.

And then it was time to clean up for dinner.

We had pre-ordered ‘peka’, one of the most popular Croatian dishes. The cook builds a fire early afternoon, and lets it burn down to ash. They then add protein (lamb in our case) and whatever vegetables are in season), cover the dish with an iron ‘bell’, and let the dish braise for hours. It’s not inexpensive because of the time and effort needed, but it was a fabulous dish to sample right there. Of course the wine (plavac grape) is local from the island as well. What a treat.

Since it was so quiet on the dock, we didn’t have to rush out the next morning. We got up and walked into the national park itself, enjoying all the wildlife along the way. There is a huge lake inside the park, and the ticket includes a ferry that takes you around the lake and out to a monastery on an island.

It was a just a taste, and again we could have stayed longer, but we’re grateful we had the time to visit.