Tuesday 12th July

Our visitors came, and our visitors went home! The last ten days have been hectic and writing this blog is one of the tasks that somehow got ignored whilst we had a full boat. My other excuse is the fact that we've had problems getting online (it's always tricky in another country when you don't know the systems and, even if you do manage to buy a sim card, you can't ready the instructions!)
Regular visitors to Zaffina, Tim and Annabelle, arrived in Montenegro 12 days ago, along with Charles and Liz, and as anticipated, the weather immediately took a turn for the worse. It was still hot though, but the overhead expanse of blue was obscured by grey tinged clouds by the time our guests boarded, and it was a few days before things settled down again. We stayed in port for the first night, then took ourselves off to explore the fjord, spending a glorious, still, night at anchor before heading back to the ancient walled town of Kotor. Saturday night was spent at Le Galeon, a restaurant Frank and I had already visited, but this time we sat on the covered terrace as the rain belted down around us. It didn't dampen the spirits and the evening was punctuated by much laughter and culminated in the six of us abandoning our seats and dancing to the live music - something the other diners and staff clearly weren't used to!
Sunday started with a headache.
The weather was still iffy and having decided to stay in Kotor marina for another night, we wandered into the walled town to find somewhere for lunch. We hit lucky with a little restaurant which had only been open for a couple of days, where the staff were eager to please and the rooftop terrace gave us a lovely view over a square buzzing with tourists. After lunch, we continued our exploration of the town, and Charles, Liz, Frank and I somehow found ourselves on the path leading up to the castle which stands high on the cliffside overlooking the fjord. Tim and Annabelle had the good sense to abandon us and head back to Zaffina, whilst we climbed, and climbed, and climbed. By now, the sun had decided to come out again and blast heat at us, and whilst the views were amazing, the hike to the top was pretty exhausting, and the price of the bottled drinks on sale got progressively more expensive the higher we climbed! It wasn't quite the Itex Walk, but it still felt like quite an achievement when we reached the top, and quite a relief when we reached the bottom again!
Our main task on Sunday was to refuel in Porto Montenegro. Fuel here is half the price of Croatia or Italy but there is one stipulation - you have to leave the country within 24 hours of refuelling, so Monday morning saw us up and out at around 7am, and finally on our way to Croatia. As we left the fjord, the heavens opened, and instead of the glorious arrival in bright sunshine which we had anticipated, we sailed into Cavtat in the pouring rain!
Tim had been offered use of a mooring in Cavtat and once we had finished our check in formalities, we manoevred Zaffina into the space which was just a stone's throw from the picturesque waterfront. It wasn't until the middle of the afternoon that the last raindrops fell and the sun eventually came back out, but since then, the weather has just got better and better.
The four of us went for a walk around the little town before finding a restaurant on the quay for dinner, and the following morning Tim and I zipped up to the supermarket and fruit & veg market for a fridge restock in readiness for nights at anchor. Once back on board, we left harbour and headed north past Dubrovnik. We had heard about all the islands off the coast of Croatia, but hearing about them and seeing them are two different things! There are dozens and dozens of islands, all with inlets and coves to explore, and the sea conditions were perfect as we made our way to Mljet. We had also heard about the habit of pulling into a cove and being offered lazy lines by restaurateurs, and sure enough, when we got to our destination, we were immediately offered a mooring on the quayside lined with restaurants. The deal is that if you take the line, you eat at the restaurant, so it was a relief to discover that we had chosen well, and the restaurant we moored up to was probably the best in the village!
Mljet was lovely and is already earmarked as a place to return to, but we wanted to explore further with guests on board, and the next day our destination was the island of Korcula, where we anchored off in a wide bay and spent the afternoon swimming, eating and sunbathing. And maybe drinking a little wine. In the evening we went into Korcula Town which we had been told was lovely and sure enough, it lived up to expectations - another ancient, walled town, oozing with character. We ate dinner outside the walled town, in another new restaurant, and again we had a fabulous meal, after which we decided we ought to at least have a look at the town centre. As we walked across the bridge and under an arched gate in the moonlight, our feet treading on stones worn smooth by centuries of footsteps, the town bells chimed for midnight and it was a magical, memorable experience.
The morning brought us back down to earth! As we came to pull out of our mooring we had been warned to drop back properly before engaging the engines, for fear of getting one of the ropes tangled. What the marina staff had failed to tell us was that the rope was actually already caught around the prop, and must have been since we arrived as they had given us the wrong lazy lines...cue another diver and a long delay as the whole fiasco was sorted out. By the time we left Korcula (with the marina having admitted it was their fault) it was early afternoon and the day was baking hot. We had another glorious trip up to an island whose name I can't even remember, just south of Hvar. We dropped anchor in a secluded inlet and then Frank decided we should follow local practice and drop a line back to shore and attach it to a tree. No prizes for guessing who had to swim ashore, which turned out to be a much greater distance than originally anticipated, and it wasn't until three ropes were tied together that our line finally reached the chosen tree! Still, it was worth it for the fantastic anchorage, a great barbeque and the glorious evening we spent under the stars. When I went back for the rope prior to our departure the following day, I kept hold of it after untying from the tree, and thoroughly enjoyed being pulled rapidly across the water and back to Zaffina! Not quite waterskiing, but fun nevertheless!
Our next anchorage was quite a contrast, in a busy bay where all size and manner of boats were moored. Again the weather was beautiful and the water warm, and the time passed all too quickly. In the morning we passed close to Hvar Town as we moved back southwards, and immediately promised ourselves that we will make a visit later in the season as it looked lovely. However, time was running out for our guests, and we had to get back down to Dubrovnik, a four hour trip away. The sea conditions were exceptional - some of the best we've ever experienced, and Zaffina glided across water which barely had a ripple in it. Before we reached the town, we stopped at another small island and chose a bay in which to drop the hook for the afternoon. It was another great choice, and just a stone's throw from Dubrovnik but only a couple of other boats shared the anchorage so we had a peaceful afternoon in the sun. The water, by the way, is deliciously warm but still refreshing.
Early evening saw us heading up to the Dubrovnik Marina, and yesterday we decided the explore the town itself. Dubrovnik is fabulous; if you haven't been here, then put it on your list of places you must visit. The temperature was 36C in the shade, so sightseeing was pretty exhausting but worth it. We had seen plenty of pictures of the town but nothing quite prepares you for the impact it makes, and we wandered around marvelling at the beauty of it. After returning to the marina for a swim in the pool, we got a taxi back into Dubrovnik (it's about 10 mins away by car) and ate at a stunning restaurant overlooking the sea. It was a memorable last night for our guests and again, the evening air rang with laughter.
And today? Well today is quiet. Everyone has gone except for Frank and me, the boat has been cleaned externally and the fourth batch of washing is in the machine! It's very hot and I think that very shortly the pool is going to prove an irresistible attraction!