TE Croatia South 2024
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At Port Montenegro we cleared customs and headed up the 45 nautical miles to Dubrovnik, Croatia where we would clear into the EU and Schengen. We passed by the city and headed around the point to the Frapa Marine on the back side of the city. We were directed to first go to the customs dock, a pretty rough jetty. On entering the office Dan was immediately charged with crime of passing between the island and the city, despite there being no signs or indications on the charts. $200 later he starting the process..go to the harbormaster a few blocks away, get papers then go to port police on the other side of the building up the stairs and give up papers, then go to customs on the other side of the building and get new papers and then you can go to the marina that is on the other side of the same building.
The old city of Dubrovnik is a short bus ride, or for Marcia an long walk. This is a wonderfully restored or maintained, hard to tell, walled city straight out of Game of Thrones. It has now become one of the most crowded cities in Europe; however, it is still delightful.
Our friend Lisa joined us here for the cruise north to Split. Our first stop was at Sipanska on the island of Otok where we anchored up for lunch and a swim. On to Gastro Mare in Broce where we had a wonderful meal prepared by a renowned chef Ante Bjelancic who is also great fun. The service was interrupted by Lisa getting locked in the shower…longer story.
The next day was 25 mile run along the island of Mijet that is mostly a National Park with crystal clear waters and hiking trails. On to the charming walled city of Korcula on the island of same name. This is little Dubrovnik without the wall to wall crowds. Once again very nice docking facilities Med moor styled. Throughout these island there are thousands of miles of stone wall most of which must have been built in ancient times.
From there it was a 70 mile run to the Lav Marine in Podstrana a cab ride away from Split. Lisa departed to continue her adventures and we rented a car for another of our road trips. We headed back south down the coast to have some famous Moli Stan oysters and visit the walled city of Ston. Unlike most walled cities that all full to the brim, this is mostly walls with a single fortress on the mountain top. On the lovely city of Mostar in Bosnia with its famous bridge. While the city was heavily destroyed in the civil war, it has been beautifully restored.
Continuing up thru the mountains of Bosnia, we reach the capital of Sarajevo. After spending a few hours wandering around, we decided it was time to move on, not much of interest here. Next stop was Travnik, a charming smaller city up in the mountains with its great fortress. It was then back to Split where we spent some time exploring the city before returning to the boat.
We had a few days before our next guest would arrive so we headed over to the island of Solta on the north end at the village of Maslinica and spend a night. It was a double back but we decided to visit the island of Hvar and docked a Vrboska. We had heard about Stari Grad on the same island but the guides discouraged us from docking there, so we took a cab over. We really like Stari and planned to return there on our way back.
We next headed to Trojir where we hoped to get a couple of boat issues resolved and were very fortunate to find a good shop at the marina. We also found a delightful city that is closer to the Split airport than Split.
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