Croatia Sailing and Venice - Trogir, Croatia
Trogir, Croatia
The return trip to Croatia begins tomorrow. I hope you enjoy this travel blog. September 2: I am at the airport after clearing security, very quick with TSA Precheck, but unsuccessful in getting on the earlier flight to Seattle, they don't do standby or changes without charging $25. Another example of the de-bundling of services in the flying business. It will be a sad day when it costs to use the restrooms, which seems to be coming. So, I am hanging out at PDX instead of SEA. However, I got close to two hours in the lounge in Seattle before boarding the IcelandAir flight to Reykjavik. No problems on this flight or the next one into Frankfurt, Germany. September 3: I had help calling the hotel I booked in the suburb of Kelisterbach and was instructed on where to stand, etc. I waited for awhile and then the person who help me with the initial call came out and said the hotel had called back to his number and said the shuttle bus had been in an accident and was not available. I grab a taxi, though the driver hadn't heard of the hotel and seem frustrated that he had to find out where it was. We took a slightly roundabout route but finally found the hotel. The trip cost 19.40 euros, a bit more than it should have and much more than the shuttle. I may have talked the hotel in taking me back to the airport tomorrow for no cost. After checking in, I took a short walk through a nearby park with a child's playground and waterworks (kids can open and close gates and divert water onto various paths). I walked around an adjacent green space with a large lake. There were signs up for wild pigs, rabbits and birds, though I couldn't read them. There was some unusual looking high voltage lines and substations at either end of a road on one side of the lake and possibly an archaeological dig going on. There were several tents erected and piles of dirt outside. I came back to hotel for a beer and scoped out dinner places. I had a cheeseburger at Main Pizza; pizzas only came in two large sizes so I passed on them. I walked to the train station to see if I could figure out how to buy a ticket. It looked pretty straightforward though the price was undisclosed and no schedule was posted. Train number 8 goes to the main city terminal and is the one to catch. I returned to the hotel via some quieter, residential streets. I checked in for tomorrow's flights, then blogged and read some before falling asleep. September 4: I made it back to the Frankfurt Airport easily but with some initial concern - there was no one at reception to checkout and arrange a ride. But things got sorted and I arrived to the airport. I got "special" treatment at security screening (hand searching of my backpack and additional chemical analysis of my portable battery charger). Arrived in Split on time, walked out to the bus stop fending off at least 5 taxi drivers who really wanted to take me to Trogir for 50 kuna. The bus arrived after about a twenty minute wait and cost 13 kuna. Checked in to Hotel Palace Stafileo. Joined up with Jan, Ron and Varis almost immediately, went to buy a nano SIM card for the iPad and to the market for a sandwich and bitter lemon drink. We completed another short walk around the island with Varis before retiring for drinks at a quayside restaurant. We enjoyed the beer and at 5:30, 5:45 and 5:55, incessant ringing of church bells. Ron says the bells "went off" at 5:30 am this morning too and pealed for an unusually long time. It sounds if they might have a problem with the timer. For dinner we went to the Alka Restaurant, la Terazza, the second floor terrace and the same place we ate when here in June. We shared a single fish with potatoes and grilled vegetables. The same waiter we met in June was serving. He is entering his second year of medical school in Split. We later learned that this is considered by the locals as one of the best restaurants in Trogir. Our warier suggested a local white wine which indeed tasted good. We ask about some carafes and jugs that were fermenting on the wall and was told it was a fig schnapps. He offered us a sample of a different schnapps which was good. I failed to catch what it was made from, though it was also a local product. It was potent though not completely acidic or lip numbing. September 5: Up early for a taxi ride to Agana Marina for breakfast, to chat with the Moorings people regarding our boat and sailing, and to size up the grocery stores. We had breakfast at the docks, viewed a few of the sailboats and Ron discussed a few issues with person from the company. Many of the details will be spelled out at the briefing tomorrow. The largest grocery store had a pretty complete selection, though no couscous or artichoke hearts. We started deciding on the amounts of needed provisions while waiting for the taxi to pick us up for the return to Trogir. We discussed the amount of the boat fund (largely needed to pay for mooring charges), deciding to start it with 2,000 kuna per person. After arriving back in Trogir, Ron and I visited the ATM. I withdrew enough to cover my share. We return to the hotel to await the arrival of Tyrae and Brent Mahan, the last of our sailing party of six. They arrived and after a quick lunch, we travel via motor boat to Split for some sightseeing. We focused on Diocletian's Palace, including the Cathedral, the underground passage, the four gates, the Belfry and the narrowest street. We had drinks at the Luxor Ono the main square. Jan and Varis walked up to the top of the Belfry. We had some difficulty finding the bus stop for the bus ride home. We ended up walking a mile or so to the station in a rain shower, and then riding for 3/4 of an hour to Trogir. We gathered for dinner and tried to go to a recommended restaurant by Lonely Planet, but it was full. The hostess recommended another restaurant on the quayside by the tower. We walked down to there passing by the San Snova, the boat we were on for the June bike touring. I climb aboard finding the captain and the purser. I asked about Tony and Adrian. Tony was serving as guide on the Romantica, which docked in front of the San Snova, and Adrian was back home in Germany. After a dinner of cevapita, I stopped by the Romantica and tracked down Tony. We had a nice conversation. He is off for a week, then has three more weeks of guiding on the Romantica and finishing the season on the San Snova. He told me that Adrian may starting his own company next year providing some sort of cultural education at various hotels. Several of the current guests were leaving and thanked Tony for his great work as a guide, so he has obviously maintained his high level of quality. September 6: Today was filled with getting prepared to sail. We had breakfast in Trogir, then packed and transferred via taxi to the town of Marina and to Agana Marina (confusing the town is named Marina). We listened in on a two-hour briefing on the islands, possible moorages, and sailing operations. We next spent about two hours shopping for provisions. We spent about 2,500 kuna for food which should be a large portion of what we need, though not all since the icebox volume is small. Moving five shopping carts of food to the boat was challenging, though we had delivery by car to the dock and then used carts to roll it all to the boat. Ron and Jan took the boats inventory of equipment and got checked out on boat operating procedures by a Moorings guy while the rest of us sat and tried to stay out of the way. When that was done we transferred luggage and food onto the boat and stowed it all. Every cubby hole is filled. We relaxed after loading, went to dinner on shore at a very good restaurant on the quayside, under a red awning. We used the facilities of the marina for showering, etc and retired. I have the bunk bed cabin, sleeping in the lower bunk and using the upper bunk as my personal "wardrobe." September 7: Today we traveled northwestward from Marina to the town of Rogoznica. It is a small island connected to the mainland via a 100-yard causeway. It has two large bays on each side with more bays connecting to the first two. There is a five star marina at the end of the western bay. The peninsulas have walking trails around them where the roads ends. We arrived at around 1:30 after motoring for over 3 hours. Nearly the whole distance was into a wind of about 4 knots. Our speed was 6.5 miles per hour. After arriving, we launched the dingy and rode to the town quay. We walked through the town and then clockwise around the island from the end of the causeway. The shore has a lot of sandy beaches, rocky shelves, pine trees, families sunning and swimming, and a few fishers. We took a break for a beer after arriving back into town. Ron and Varis took the dingy back to the boat. Tyrae and Brent went off exploring the western peninsula, and Jan and I walked back to the beach nearest our mooring site, which took us through the marina. After Ron ferried us back to the boat, I swam and showered off. The water temperature was comfortable. Since we were near dining places, we decided to take the dingy to the shore, and walk back toward the marina for dinner. We found a restaurant specializing in wood-fired oven pizzas. There were about 20 choices; we each had a different kind. Mine had ham, cheese, bacon, Slovakian spicy sausage ( which was like pepperoni), hot peppers, and an egg on it. We returned to the boat, had cookies for dessert and retired. September 8: Today we mostly motored with a little sailing from Rogoznica to Skradin, a distance of 32 miles. Skradin is up the Krka River. We turned into the river at Sibenik, which is a large, historical city that we hope to visit tomorrow (more on it latter). There is about five miles of narrow river, then it opens up for couple miles into a large lake like body of water with some additional tributaries coming in, and finally it goes back into a narrow canyon again. There is a large marina at Skradin, which is the furtherest point upstream large boats can go. We were able to reserve a mooring and had the fun of backing into our parking space. The skipper did a great job driving and directing the crew; the crew performed adequately in attaching three lines and 8 bumpers. Prior to arriving we enjoyed about 1 and 1/2 hours of actual sailing only. We were able to get both sails deployed and set, making about 5 knots of speed with a 9 to 12 knot wind coming from the port abeam. For lunch (prepared while in the river canyon) I suggested and got to lead preparation of Niscoise instead of lettuce, tuna, potatoes, green beans, pepper, and tomatoes. It was pretty good, healthy and amazingly prepared in the small, little galley. We wandered around town, finding out how to get up to the Krka National Park waterfalls and Lake Visovac, with its monastery on an island, and seeing a few city sights, including a ruined fortress on the hill overlooking the city and port (see the panorama photo). More on the excursion to the falls or "slap" as they are known in Croatian and the monastery after we complete the excursion tomorrow. We made dinner reservations at Toni Konoba for peka, or "under the bell" cooking. By the way "Konoba" means local or traditional cooking/fare. We enjoyed a 2-foot round platter of lamb, potatoes and vegetables. We managed to eat almost everything. We shared 2 bottles of very good local red wine also. We topped off the meal with Skradin cake, a flour less nut and chocolate cake. We walked back to the boat. The town was still busy with partying and singing. We had a god look inside the Roman Catholic Church in town, which was surprisingly still open at 9:00 pm. I surmise that a cardinal was visiting since we saw someone be chauffeured who was wearing a red cap and clerical garb, and on the way to dinner, a service was underway in the church. September 9: Today was mostly spent in Krka National Park. The park entrance is about fives miles further up the Krka River from the marina where we are moored. The park runs a shuttle boat every hour up to the park. The ride takes about 20 minutes. One pays for the ride as part of the park entry fee. This was the first of three boat rides. At the entrance we all bought another excursion on the upper lake that takes you to the upper falls. But first we toured the lower falls, a series of seventeen pools and cascades, though when walking around, it is a jumbled mess with lots of water going everywhere. There was some historic development, notably a grist mill, a thumper (pounds wool into felt), a washing tub, and a spinning loom (which we didn't find). We walked mostly on boardwalks above and next to the rushing water. To catch the second boat on the upper lake we had to walk about a half mile to the dock. We arrive a few minutes before the boat was scheduled to leave. Three-fourths of the way to the upper falls, we stopped for 30 minutes at an Anglican, and later Franciscan Monastery. A park guide meet the boat and led a 25 minute tour of the highlights. It was very efficient and just about enough time. Back on the boat, we rode the rest of the way to the upper falls. We had an hour here and time enough to walk a loop around the horizontal portion of the falls. The upper "falls" was a low sloped ramp of multiple riffles and then a vertical drop of about 40 feet. The ramp portion was probably 1/2 mile long. Off to one side there was some historic development including a grist mill of a similar design as at the lower falls. It had four stations of water wheels and channels, each with a pair of grindstones. One station was operating and grinding corn. We caught the boat back to the head of the lower falls and after some refreshments, we walked just over 3 miles back to the boat instead of taking the boat shuttle. After cooling off and cleaning up, we caught a bus for Sibenik, which is a large UNESCO city at the mouth of the Krka River. We passed it obviously on our passage up to the marina and our present mooring. We managed to push our way on board, rode to within two miles of Sibenik before the bus broke down. Everyone had to get off, wait for a replacement bus and then ride the rest of the way to the station. We did a walk along the waterfront, around the Cathedral of St. James and found a restaurant Pelligrini for dinner. After dinner we walked through the back streets to the bus station since the last bus was schedule to leave at 8:00 pm. The back streets were universally narrow bordered by three to five story buildings. I likened it to Trogir on steroids. It was built on a hillside so the streets followed the contours though with numerous ups and downs and there were long stairways going straight up the hill perpendicular to the streets. It would worth a little more exploration. But, we had to catch the bus which took us the 8 miles or so back home. September 10: Today we left Skradin and traveled over 32 miles to a marina at Murter. Since the weather is predicted to be bad, we are going to spend two nights here before continuing on to the Kornati Islands. We motored the whole distance today, though after turning north west we hoisted the gib and pick up a knot of speed. Our trip from Skradin took us down the river and lake system of the Krka and past the city of Sibenik. We could visually retraced our steps from the visit last night. We missed by a few feet seeing the remnants of the original eastern wall of the city. We could see the Cathedral clearly. We arrived in Murter at about 2:00 and by 3:00 it was thundering and raining hard. We all played on our gadgets, downloading photos and sending them among ourselves. The rain quit and I strolled into town. I met up with Jan and Ron and we got a few supplies at the grocery store, waited out another rain storm, visited the tourist information centers to discuss bicycle riding and with the national park folks regarding the Kornati Islands. We ate on board - Brent and Tyrae prepared African Peanut Chicken with pasta and green beans. It was supposed to be with couscous but we have not found any in any store. September 11: Today, the main course was rain showers, followed by more rain showers, and then walking in the rain showers. No sailing or motoring today since the forecast was for heavy rain and winds up to gale force. I am not sure we got that much wind but it did rain a lot. The streets have large lakes on the them. There appears to be drainage problems. I made French toast for breakfast, though no syrup but instead honey and jams. We hung out on the boat after a quick walk to town for coffee and a few groceries. We also collectively turned in our dirty clothes for laundry. It cost 80 kuna and they provided the washing, drying and folding in three hours. We had a Greek salad for lunch. We hung out on the boat until mid-afternoon when Jan, Ron and I took a walk which was a bit longer than we anticipated. We walked over to the next town Betina, saw a great cruising yacht named Pida (which we could get no information about from the web), along the coast to Plitka Vala, up and over to a second campground, Kosirina and then back to Murter, via the "old village." We walked about 6 miles of which at least 2 miles was in rain. We got back in time for dinner out at a restaurant across from the marina entrance - Rebac. We had a grappa-like apéritif on the house to begin with, followed by salads and various meat dishes. We returned to the boat for cookies and bed. September 12: Today, we motored from Murter to the island of Dugi Otok ("Long Island") into the bay of Telascica. This bay is famous as a favorite hangout for King Edward and Wallis Simpson. It is sheltered, being several miles long with lots of bays and islands between two parallel peninsulas. We arrived and toured the whole bay before deciding on a mooring spot called Mir. We tied up and off loaded the dingy just as the weather turned. It has been raining steadily for 2 hours. During the trip, we had clear skies and no wind. We came up between the islands of Zut and Koronati. We had one interesting encounter today with a large tanker plane which appeared to be on a training flight. It would land on the water, take on water, take off again without stopping ( touch and go) and then would climb to about 100 feet to dump its load of water. At one point it flew right next to us and gave us a wave. The pilots were having fun doing all sorts of approaches and at different angles to the wind. Telascica is a "natural cove" and a favorite place in the summer for "yachties"; it is not part of Koronati National Park, which is just SE of us (and our destination for the next several days). The limestone on the islands is laid down in layers which have been uplifted to near vertical, creating parallel arcs on rounded, humped islands. There are very few trees and not many bushes either. These islands are largely uninhabited but are now owned by the citizens of mainland towns and surrounding villages. They were originally settled by Illyrians, then Romans and Christians. There is a nearby salt lake which is not to be missed, but the rain prevented us from doing any walking this afternoon. The intensity of the rain was impressive and was blown across the water surface. The dingy had over three inches in it when the rain finally stopped. We hunkered down in the cabin and played on our various computing and communication devices. We had beer (a cherry lambic and then a dark porter-like brew) for happy hour, then moved on to dinner of chicken quesadillas and salad. After dinner, we watched the lingering lightning in the clouds. We managed to stay up to past nine before calling it a night. September 13: Today we paddled in the dingy to shore, walked along the shore to the end of the bay of Mir, up and over a small hill to the "Salt Lake," and finally to the sea cliffs. The salt lake as not necessarily the must see as the guide suggests, but the sea cliffs were. They are vertical cliffs cut through layers of limestone and dolomites. On the trail from the lake to the cliffs there were hundreds of cairns, short rock columns or standards. We wandered back along the cliff edges to above the restaurant, Varis and I got a cappuccino. We returned to the boat and prepared to depart. We mostly sailed for the first time ten miles to Levrnaka Island. We are moored to the a small dock that is associated with a restaurant. The mooring is free as long as you eat in the restaurant, though electricity will cost us 10 euro or 76 kuna, perfectly reasonable compared to what we have been paying. After docking, which was not completely efficient, we walked over a small pass to a shingle beach, and then uphill to a promontory with a great view of our mooring and surrounding islands. Jan, Ron and Tyrae went down and back up,to a second higher mount. Varis and I went back to the boat, swam and cleaned up. We all went to the restaurant for drinks, and then at seven, dinner. Seafood was the key order for dinner. The grappa on the house was notable. Tyrae had first class fish which was identified as pic, which when translated is pic (the web translators are not perfect). September 14: Today we motored from Levrnaka to Smokvica Vela at the very southern tip of Koronati National Park. The wind was almost dead calm. We passed a Byzantine fortress, a German movie set of stone houses and castle and in between several barren, rocky islands. We initially checked out the port of Opat, but there were no morning buoys. We moved to a narrow bay on the island of Smokvica Vela, an island of the southern tip of Kornati Island. There were about five to seven mooring buoys in the harbor as well two docks associated with restaurants. After mooring, we had lunch and then walked up to the top of the hill overlooking the bay. We journeyed over to a white cross just above a little catholic memorial complete with candles and statutes of the virgin mother and other saints at the SE tip,of the island. We walked back into town and around to the Restaurant Mare for a beer. The proprietor proposed a fish dinner to us for six at an acceptable price and after checking for acceptability we reserved it. Before dinner, everyone swam and cleaned up. I swam from the restaurant over to the boat as did Brent. Tyrae swam from the shore to the boat after finishing our walk. The others swam from the boat. We chugged in the dingy back to the restaurant. We had a large fish that served three people and three additional smaller fish. The proprietor told us that the large fish is what they serve folks 'under the weather' like when we serve chicken noodle soup. It looked like a flounder but was called something like rombo; the smaller fish were sea bass and something else. The fish were grilled and then covered in oil olive and seasonings, and were all very tasty. We each had a mixed salad and a platter of boiled potatoes. September 15: Today was spent motoring back northward to Toreta, the 6th century fortress ruin on the SW side of Kornati Island. We arrive in after 2 plus hours, anchored the boat in a small bay, and took the dingy to shore. We walked about 1 1/2 miles to the fortress, another half mile to a small church and back. There were no trails other than ones made by sheep. Otherwise there were many holely limestone, grasses and a variety of sticker plants. We had to scramble up to the fortress over large rock shelves. I talked with a girl who was part of a group of archeologists who were just starting a second season of digging inside the fortress. She told me that they would remove the dirt from inside, laser measure everything and then turn it over to "conservators" to stabilize the walls, etc. She said the walls had never been rehabbed. She also said the fortress was used by shepherds and therefore there was little in the way of archeological interest. The crew appeared to be working outside also. We walked down to the church, which also appeared to be under renovation and being enlarged based on original foundations. Our walk back to the dingy was uneventful, though we sampled a single ripe fig and saw a full, undisturbed sheep skeleton. We departed and headed to the outer side of the islands, southwesterly toward a marina at Piskera. We passed the island of Mana on which there were "mock ruins built for a film set." The film was made in 1959 and was called "Rage of the Sea." We sailed most of the way to Piskera, averaging about 4 knots. We motored into the marina, and did a perfect docking. We had Varis' meal for dinner on the boat - pasta, sauce, which we added garlic, onion and olives to and expanded with leftover tomato paste and some additional tomato sauce, sausages and a salad of leftover produce. It was good. And, we now need to go shopping for some more fruits and vegetables. We took showers, and retired rather early for reading and bed. September 16: Today, even though we got one more free night in the park, for stopping at the marina in Piskera, we moved south easterly to Prvic Luka, which is "a village worth visiting." After arriving, we can attest that it is a very quaint seaside town. We sailed for over 6 hours to arrive here, averaging a little less than 5 mph. Our top speed was 6 knots, but most of the time less. The wind was blowing much of the time from our 45 degrees off the starboard bow or starboard beam. The heading shifted around to the northeast so we lost speed as we turned even though we had the main sail out as far as we could. I have learned a lot about sailing, though with Auto or "Otto" and GPS, sailing and navigating is very efficient. After arriving in Prvic Luka, we took the dinghy over to shore, walked up to the highest point on the island, back to the beach, around the southern peninsula and the bay. We walked over 3 miles. We stopped at the market for a few supplies and more beer. Brent and Tyrae fixed dinner of lentils and rice, with a topping of caramelized onions, and cabbage salad. The bay is very pleasant, the weather fine and the water temperature perfect. We are however having some difficulty with consistent WiFi service. September 17: Today we go up at our normal time (7:00) and followed our standard morning routine - boil water for coffee and tea and eat cold cereal with milk, yogurt and fruit ( bananas and peaches). I have found that granola is better than muesli. After breakfast, we dinghied over to the quay to visit the Faust Vrancic Memorial and Museum. Faust was born in 1550s in Sibenik, spent his summers on Prvic in the family castle and later became a lexicographer and inventor. He is know for inventing and testing the first success parachute. He jumped off the Campanile in Venice at age 65. He also wrote a five language dictionary and published a book of about 50 sketches of mechanical machines, mostly water and wind powered. He also designed suspension bridges. He died in 1617 and wished to buried in Prvic, at St. Mary's church. I have a picture of his grave. The museum was very interesting and filled with working wooden models of many of his designs in front of his original sketch. We bought fresh poppyseed and cinnamon rolls for "elevenses." We detached from the mooring buoy and motored to Primosten, a "very busy and popular resort town." We arrived to Primosten in less than two hours. We had a quick lunch, then strolled around town. We walked around the perimeter and up to the belfry and church. The one notable sight was rock laid roofs. We picked up some supplies for the remainder of the trip. I am currently sitting on a shingle beach just outside of the town quay, under rather intense sunshine. Varis is swimming and I am about to. My Croatian water slippers are working well. Dinner was at a local restaurant Maestral, on their terrace, several stories above the entrance. Three of us had sea bream fish and the others had meat. We treated ourselves to gelato afterwards. We came back to the boat and spent about an hour troubleshooting our lack of AC power. We tried another plug, we swapped out circuit breakers and inspected the cable. Nothing corrected the problem so we are existing on battery power and make continue in this shape for another night. September 18: Today we motored mostly from Primosten to Maslinica on the island of Solta, just south of Trogir and about 12 miles from Marina, which we need to be at by Friday night. We tried sailing today, which added over five miles to our distance today. We had to tack back and forth in very light headwind. I spent most of the time navigating and watching other boats which were also motoring. We were heading mostly south back toward the central Adriatic toward the larger islands that are more heavily populated. We arrived and had to block a pushy boat that was trying to jump in front of us. We waited for a boat to dock, which was wider than the standard width and forced us into a space slightly narrower than our boat. It was the last space available, so we didn't complain, though the docking was challenging. Lots of bumpers were used between our boat and the boats on either side of us. I am the "lazy line" guy, which is a fixed line used to align and fix the bow of the boat. The stern is backed up perpendicularly to the dock, with a line from each side of the stern affixed to the dock. There are many young people import tonight as part of the Peace Fleet, a program that's puts disadvantaged youths on sailboats for a week to learn social skills, etc. The program was begun in 1995, runs each year in September and has grown to over 100 boats. The boat the preceded us in docking was part of the fleet. All in all, we were lucky to get a spot. We helped Jan fix tagliatelle with artichokes and beet salad for dinner on board, our last of the cruise. However, we could find no artichokes at any grocery store so she substituted mushrooms and olives instead. It was excellent. We ate outside on the poop deck for he first time. We then strolled around the town and enjoy a hazelnut gelato. Tomorrow we hope to rent bicycles for a ride and then motor 12 miles back to our starting point of Marina. Boat turnover occurs on Saturday. September 19: We were successful in renting bicycles today for some touring of the island of Solta. All of us except Varis did so and all but Jan opted for e-bikes. We got fitted up (my bike was a bit short) and took from Maslinica toward the bee man, a third generation bee keeper who Betsy and I met in June along with the others on the earlier Croatian tour. The e-bikes worked great and really assisted on the uphill parts. I am now convinced they are the way to go for long distance touring. I think others in our group agree. We stopped at the bee man place but he had just started giving his talk to another group of bikers, so we ended talking with his daughter. She suggested that we ride up a gravel road to a fire lookout tower for a panoramic view of the island. We did this and once climbing about 40 feet up onto the tower could see all the way to Split and both sides of the island. We biked back to main road. I saw Toni and we all got to talk with him. He was leading a group of bikers to bee man. We saw probably 6 to 8 groups of bikers on the island. We theorized that Friday was the day for tour groups to stop at Šolta, since boat turnover is on Saturday and Šolta is close to Trogir and Split, where the turnover occurs. In any event there lots of bikers on the roads going in various directions. Our little group rode SE along the island and then returned to Maslinica in order to sail away by the marina departure deadline. Everyone made it back with battery power to spare, except me. My battery ran out a few miles from the endpoint and fortunately it was mostly downhill. I ran my bike hard, accelerating quickly. Our total ride was just over 22 miles. We turned the bikes in and prepared to leave for the boat's home base of Marina, which was about 12 miles away. We had great wind and therefore a great sail. We reached 8 knots of speed. We sailed right up to the just outside the breakwater of the marina. We moored the boat and talked with the Moorings folks regarding issues for the boat - the dinghy leaked air, the dinghy motor's prop was bent, the lack of electrical power and a leaky toilet. With regard to the electrical power, there was a second breaker behind the radio that we never checked. Once it was reset we had power. However, it popped again when the water heater was turned on. We guessed the heater element is dying. We told the Moorings folks about our suspicions. We cleaned up, drank a celebratory champagne toast, care of Moorings, went to dinner at the same restaurant we ate at nearly two weeks ago. Varis asked each of us for one great moment during the trip. We mentioned the challenging moorings, the intense rain storm, walking along the cliffs, getting to see the two national parks, swimming, the on board dinners, the bike riding, seeing bottle nose dolphins, clear aquamarine water, the praying mantis and fungi sightings and the great last day of sailing. It was a great trip, with a great bunch of people, who enjoyed the wide variety of sights and activities. And, the skipper was quite "adequate" and was particularly cool under pressure. The crew upheld their end admirably. September 20: Today we awoke early to cloudy weather which by breakfast was rain. We tidied up the boat in advance of the cleaning professionals. We left a some food for them on he galley table. We finished packing and grab a cooked breakfast at the marina. Our transfer van driver arrived at 9:00 and drove off for Trogir to drop off Tyrae and Brent, who were staying the night before catching a flight in the morning. We went on to the airport to arrange a rental car. We were able to secure a one-way, diesel Fiat Doblo to Rijeka. We loaded up the car/van and drove northward toward Plitvice. All of this was done in rain. We arranged for three drivers and I got the first segment of the drive. We passed through some of the most amazing rain showers in terms of amount and intensity. We drove past Plitvice and checked into House Tina. Since many of the boardwalks were under water with the recent rains, we drove on the side road up to the top of the large falls. We viewed it from several viewpoints and then walked along the cliff side looking down at the lower lakes. We found a route that would take us back to the car that looped by summer homes and small resorts for about two miles. We then drove up to Villa Izvor, Tito's summer home. It was as spooky to walk around it as it was in June. We returned to our lodging for happy hour. Varis had bought a very nice, soft "mixed" cheese from a roadside vendor in the afternoon. We had it on crackers along with beer. We had dinner at House Tina's restaurant and talked with our waiter who was the same one who served our group in June. He was as gracious as he was then. I had grilled fish for dinner, which he deboned, in a unique way according to him, and the others had grilled meats. We all shared a salad of cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions, risotto with mushrooms, and grilled vegetables. We each had a crepe with ice cream for dessert. September 21: Today we drove from Plitvice area to Rijeka to turn the car in and to arrange transportation to Venice. We drove northward toward Zagreb on a two-lane, somewhat winding road interspersed among small towns with mountain character. We met the main interstate going southwest to Rijeka. About 6 miles before Rijeka, we diverted up into the mountains to a ski area. From there, we did a 4.5 mile hike up to a peak named Svenjski. We started at 3500 feet and topped out at 4800 feet. The last bit was a rock scramble among very nIce white limestone layers and bright green bushes. The contrast of colors was particular striking. The views were 360 degrees; we could see into Slovakia. We enjoyed a brief snack on top before picking our way down, very carefully. We made it with no mishaps. We drove into Rijeka, and after going around the city core a couple times found the correct place to park the rental car and our hostel. We had two rooms on the third floor of a very old building overlooking a square with two fountains. While the staircase up was a bit dingy and smelly, the hostel was very clean and well tended. The hostess was very knowledgeable and helpful. We had happy hour in our room, walked to the train station to check on tickets to Venice, and discovered that the taking a bus to Trieste and training from there was much more efficient than taking the train the whole way. We walked back to to the bus station and purchased tickets for the bus. We visited the main church which was brick and stone, very ornate, just as mass was beginning. We took an illegal photo and strolled back to the hostel to decide on a dinner place. Dinner was at Gardens, on the Riva (or quayside street), as recommended by our hostess. Jan, Ron and I had chicken dishes and Varis had pork cutlets, with salads all around and light dessert. Jan, Ron and I walked a bit around town, finding a pedestrian mall which was busy for a Sunday night, mostly bars. We retired to the hostel and shared bathrooms. September 22: We were up early to catch the bus from Rijeka, Croatia to Trieste, Italy by way of Slovakia. We checked our luggage for an additional 15 kuna a piece and crammed ourselves onto the bus. It had come from Zagreb and was mostly full of young people who were slumped over sleeping, which made getting no a place challenging. It was a pleasant enough ride with a 15 minute wait at the Croatia/Slovakia border for passport check. There was no stopping at the Slovakia/Italy border. We arrived at the bus station, walked across the street to the train station, and used the machines to buy a ticket to Venice. We caught the 9:38 am train with a minute to spare. We arrived in Mestre, transferred to the train going to Venice and arrived at around noon. We each bought a 72-hour water vaporetto pass and after standing a bit and walking a bit, caught a vaporetto to the closest stop to our hotel (Zattere). We walked out for a quick lunch in a small restaurant, very traditional and each had pasta. We came out and ran into Rudi, Seiglinda and Thomas, Varis' friends who we will be spending the next day and half with. They are from Germany. Thomas is the son, a sports journalist, who is "leading" his parents on this trip. We arranged a dinner get together and returned to our respective hotels. Jan, Ron and I went out exploring - over the Accademia Bridge, a quick stop in a violin museum, on to Piazza San Marco, by the Doge Palace, along the Riva to the Arsenale. There were two very large sailboats moored quayside that caught Ron's attention. They were massive and clearly high end ($50 million). It is always good to dream. We caught a vaporetto back to Accademia and prepared for dinner. We rode the #1 vaporetto along the Grand Canal to the train station and met up the Thomas, et.al. We walked a short distance to the restaurant "Al Canton die Artisti". We enjoyed a nice leisurely dinner, partially made by two intense thunderstorms. The second one included hail the size of marbles and sufficient to completely cover the ground. They were still in evidence the next morning. The hotel had to "shovel" it off their patio. We timed our departure from the restaurant after the major rainfall, rode back to our hotel stop and slipped-slided back to our hotel. We didn't get too wet. September 23: Today, we spent the morning to early afternoon on Murano, an island north of Venice which is famous for glass making. We met up with Seiglinda, Rudi and Thomas on the island. We window shopped for awhile. Seiglinda, Rudi and Thomas left us since they can't walk as far as we do. The had also arrived on the island an hour before us and saw a glass blowing demonstration. We walked from one end of the island looking for a similar demonstration, before finding one for tourists. We had to purchase a ticket for about 20-minute show. The glass blower made a vase with handles and wraps around the neck. When he was done, the explainer put a piece of paper in it. Even though it look cool, the paper immediately ignited. He didn't want anyone to come and touch afterwards. The blower than made a horse-four legs, tail and head with ears. He stood it in a reading position on its hind legs and tail. He finally blew a globe of glass up until it exploded. It is amazing what they do with molten glass. We grabbed lunch which turned out to be a bit heavy for me, so at dinner I ate light. But before that we motored back to Venice and stopped in the Frai, which has two famous Titian paintings and a Bellini. We enjoyed the massive altars and some of the side rooms. Dinner was at a restaurant midway between our hotel and Seiglinda, Rudi and Thomas' hotel. We met for drinks in the campo in front of the restaurant, and then enjoyed a last meal together. They fly back to Munich tomorrow. It was fun meeting them and sharing stories. September 24: Today was a sight seeing day. We had a leisurely breakfast thought he room was full of tour groups. We hustled over th San Marco Basilica, stood in line for only 15 minutes and got in. The interior is gold leaf mosaics with numerous domes. It isn't all that impressive except for its size and the amount of gold on the walls and ceilings. We paid for the museum tour and saw more detail of the mosaics, stonework and additional rooms. We also go to go up on the balcony with the four horses. While they have multiple signs up that say "no photography," many people were taking pictures openly. No photography evidently means "no flash photography." We then went next door to the Palazzo Ducale for a visit. We had to wait in line to buy tickets and then saw it t all. We started with the Golden Staircase, viewed the Doge's Rooms, progressed to the rooms of state, justice rooms, the armory, the prison, the Bridge of Sighs and the Council Room, one of the largest room in Europe. The walls in every room are covered in large paintings by famous and obscure painters. Likewise, the entire ceilings are covered in paintings in between ornate wooden carved frames. After the Palazzo Ducale, I went to Florian's, a cafe on San Marco, while the others went up the Campanile. They had hoped to walk up, rode an elevator instead. They were disappointed. Meanwhile, I had 13 euro beer and paid 6 euro for the opportunity to her the band. I had great people watching and chalked up as a "once in a lifetime" experience. Varis went off to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum and Jan, Ron and I went the industrial arts museum, which is located in a palazzo just off the end of the Accademia Bridge. We toured around the second floor and later outside and saw a few large pieces. There were three pieces by Weiwei, a Chinese artist, who had an exhibit at the Smithsonian that Betsy and I saw while in DC recently. We also saw some models of pieces by the guy who developed the Cloud Gate in Chicago, the large mirrored bean pod in their downtown park. We also toured an artist's work who is trying to capture ten sections of Venice over ten years. The artist was there and was very friendly and talkative. His style is ink drawings for the details with watercolor colors for background and highlights. He showed us the top of stairs for the palazzo, which was normally not allowed. It turns out the building was a private home for awhile, then the Austrian Embassy, before becoming a school/art exhibit hall. We had an early dinner before going to a concert by a group that specializes in playing Vivaldi compositions. We heard six pieces, four that featured violin as leads, one with a piano lead and two by a bassoonist. It was quite good. September 25: