2013-09-22

Croatian boat trip Dubbo to Spilt - Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia

Dalmatian Cruise

Sat 25 May 2013 Day One

Set sail late morning on our gulet (motor - sail) cruise boat, named 'Javorak', unfortunately with rainy weather but with a week of sailing ahead of us, at that time we were we were optimistic. Crew consisted of vessel owner / Captain Ante, his son & First Mate and second sailor, Ivor, along with waiter Boris and chef Mama Susi. Crew were all tolerant and fun loving and it was very easy to eat too much good food accompanied by too many drinks! On-board tour guide, Amanda, was a very competent young guide with an impressive level of Croatian cultural and historical knowledge…seemed to reflect her genuine personal interest in learning about wherever she travelled. Damien another ‘Busabout’ guide from Croatia came along for the ride back to Split, providing much entertainment along the way. So, six plus one crew and ten passengers, joining us were: Kim (Aus) and his wife Rachael (UK), Kim & her partner Lee (Roy) (UK), Barbara (Canadian), Carmen, Katie and Maree (Aus)…awesome group with everyone getting along well and providing great company.

On the first day Amanda explained that Croatians are very gregarious by nature and totally sports-mad. Seems that performing really well (3rd place) in the European Championships ranked 3rd, 1998 helped their national identity – the country’s crest is displayed on the premier team’s logo (Hajduk Split) and the team spirit was always evident, eg footy-field sized hill side emblem seen just out of Slano.

Learnt a few Croatian words but the ones routinely used, being a fairly young group, were ‘Zivjeli’ – i.e. Cheers especially when sampling one of three local beers, or the local cherry liquor Irakia Rakije and Hvala– thank you. Local cuisine has been nicely influenced by the different ethnic groups and successive conquerors…Dalmatians, Slavic’s, Greeks, Romans, Austrian-Hungarians, French, German…. Need to be mindful of recent history; much more to learn about the Balkan Wars (’90-‘95), post WWII, the death of Tito and different regions developing their own desire for independence…..Understandably this is still a little raw with older Croatians having personal connections with different groups during some horrible events associated with the break up of the former Yuogoslavia, fighting between the ‘Slavs, Croatia, Serbia…. monarchists vs facists and partisans (communist party)…..ethnic cleansing, eg experiences of Vukovar on the border of Croatia - Serbia…with Slobodan Milosovic invading, with some believing events being motivated by wishing for the attention of international media. Travelling in Croatia created the wish to research the history (eg BBC account recommended: Death of Yugoslavia).
Traditional seafood cooking was supposed to be true to the Croatian saying "fish swim three times – once in the sea, once in oil – and once on the plate’…. but the delicious seafood we tasted didn’t seem to be soaked in oil, fortunately.

Would love to have heard some of the traditional ‘Gulpa’ music, groups of five men singing in harmony, archipelago style. …did hear some tunes played on local radio but bit more like pop music version than traditional style.

Sailing from Dubrovnik towards Korcula was to include an overnight stop at Mljet to enjoy a walk in the national park, but weather was against us and we pressed on to Slano instead, finding a morning swimming stop in a sheltered bay along the way. Only a few brave souls dived in…. water probably OK but chilly wind kept air temp pretty cool. Docked at ‘Slona’ and enjoyed an afternoon walkabout before a welcome Chef’s BBQ on board.

Sun 26 May – Day Two - Slano to Korcula

Set sail at around 6am with strong unseasonal northerly winds pushing us on to ‘Korcula’. Weather not conducive for morning swim stop, still this gave us an afternoon to explore the quaint walled old town and beyond, home town territory for Grandfather Botica (family friends since Rottnest Island days)? Korcula town planners were clever in setting out the town grid in herringbone pattern to improve ventilation.

Enjoyed a hilltop stroll around a lovely wooded park, discovering a fortress tower right on the hill top, apparently built in Napoleon’s time (rel modern at 1800’s) with plaques added to commemorate local men who died during Italian occupation in the second World War. The town’s main claim to fame was as the town that Marco Polo set sail from (around 12th C)….not necessarily undisputed, but the family name of ‘de-Polo’ is the equivalent of ‘Smith’ around those parts! Apparently the local folk are also the last to carry on a traditional sword fighting dance (Moreska), associated with the story of a black ‘bad’ king and a white ‘good’ king fighting for the hand of a white princess…. Area also renowned for stone cutting and ship building, both of which remain important regional industries….activities seen as we sailed past.

Mon 27 May - Day Three - Korcula to Hvar

Morning sail to picturesque very sheltered little bay for some brave souls to have a (short) swim in the clear Adriatic waters (Keith included) before then sailing on to Hvar for an overnight stay. Although cold, the wind allowed the Captain to put up a headsail which was great to see, even if still motoring along.

Apparently Hvar is popular with American movie stars such as Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and even Boy George has performed there. Although we were on the lookout, we didn’t see anyone noteworthy, I guess predictable given the lack of super-yachts at the time, maybe too early in the season?

Town was set on one of a group of islands (Pakleni islands) very close to the mainland, with Hvar a busy trading port in days gone by. Old town typical of classic Venetian - Croatian style with high density, narrow 4-storey houses on narrow laneways with innumerable marble steps, wending around a town square, old churches and monasteries.

High on the hill overlooking the town was the ‘Spanjola’, an impressive hilltop fortress, with foundations dating back to first millennium BC but with the present form begun by Venetians in 13th C, completed by Austrians in 16C. Whereas most get sacked various times, this one was well laid out and even saved the whole town’s population from the Turks in 1571. Unfortunate that soon after a re-build the fortress was hit by a lightning bolt that went straight into the gunpowder store – boom! Later the town lost its strategic importance with the advent of motor boats making the sail trade boat route redundant in the 1800’s and from then the fortress was for ‘the fairies to dance in at night’ ….and tourists by day.

Most sunshine seen this day since beginning of trip, stayed sunny all afternoon which was lovely making exploring around town very comfortable….not like the first week this season when it actually snowed around these parts (very unseasonal weather).

Tues 28 May – Day Four - Stari to Grad

Short sail around to the other side of the Island of Hvar, to the ‘old town’, known as Stari Grad, the original main town before Hvar took over…dated back to early BC with a Greek city built on top of prehistoric settlement….usual story of various empires. Strolled along wooded pathway into the harbour and town. Enjoyed exploring this UNESCO World Heritage town, including seeing archaeological evidence of early Greek land subdivision, casting geometric plots of land some 24 centuries ago. Dominican monastery and church of St Peter, Martyr, 1481, now a museum, contained some impressive Renaissance / Venetian art works, including the ‘Lament of Christ’ by Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto. There was also some impressive old books, as well as fossilised fish. A local architect Petar Hektorovic, helped build the church, as well as building himself and his friends a lovely little ‘fortress in town. Apparently Petar was quite a poet and philosopher as well as being rather obsessed with fish, hence his home featuring a massive fish pond. Would have loved reading one of the books contained in the museum written by Petar entitled ‘ Fishing and Fishermen’s Conversations’….later in the day we explored his place. Good chance this guy was the original ‘Deep Fisherman’!

Stari Grad / Hvar region is also well known for producing some of the best wines in Croatia. Enjoyed a dinner and wine tasting session at a local vineyard. Everything used in the meal was produced on site incl all herbs, veges, milk, cheese and of course wines. Wooden stove was used and energy produced by wind and solar … beautiful, wines, food, vineyard, vege garden, peach tree orc*********keys, cellar and sunset.

Wed 29th May – Day Five - Markarska

Morning sunny with light wind, stopped for a morning swim at Zlatni beach, which tempted everyone rto brave the cold water and swim to the pebbly/sandy spit beach….to then hop straight out and warm up, sunbathe and soak up the stunning scenery. Catch was the need to dive back into the cold clear waters to get back to the boat a while later. Sailed on to seaside resort town of Markarska for an overnight stay (with lunch and another swim stop along the way); relatively modern township situated on the mainland with an imposing backdrop of sheer rocky Biokovo mountains separating the town from Bosnia (hence the reputation for being the Riviera for Bosnians. Classic seaside holiday feel along the beachfront with market stalls and even carnival rides….good for preparing pirate paraphernalia ahead of a Captain’s dinner and pirate party.

Associations with St Peter, included church, monastery and huge bronze statue of St Peter holding the key to heaven on headland at entrance to harbour (sculptor Tomislav Krznjavi). Sheer cliff face nearby had reputation common to several island spots of being a local ‘jump rock’ site, not to be advertised to any boat based tourists inebriated under the age of sensibility…. reminded me of Rottnest and similar tradition / rite of passage for the young and foolhardy….and scary height when looking straight down .

Another noteworthy statue fast gaining reputation is that of a tourist couple along the harbour boardwalk, where rumour now has it that if you touch the girl’s boob, it’ll make a wish come true?! Good to see equality of the sexes now in play with the guy’s ****** fast becoming as shiny as his partner’s most popular attribute.

Although shell museum (purported to house the largest shell collection in the world was closed), wandered down a nearby laneway and discovered a fascinating fish museum. Small one room display of all sorts of amazing sea creatures, including massive crayfish with huge crab-style front pincers, caught in nets from the beach….and weird looking sharks (blue, angel, and sea-pig….skin so rough it is used for sandpaper). Guy in the museum was a knowledgeable fisherman who caught /collected and preserved most of the specimens himself ….. included an impressive scorpion, over 10cm long, caught inside the museum room itself! Learnt about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dolphins, apparently the good ones are the ones you commonly see (such as we did that morning when cruising along) and the ‘bad’ ones are extinct, killed by fishermen because they were a more aggressive species that kept getting tangled in fishermen’s nets!

To mix the routine up a bit, instead of dinner at a restaurant we enjoyed a picnic on the beach.

We have slipped into an enjoyable relaxed daily routine – morning sail to swim spot/s …lunch on board before a short sail on to where we dock for the night, afternoon explore around quaint historic town before dinner at recommended restaurant…. Evening harbour-side stroll, optional happy hours on the boat and night clubbing for those keen…… leisurely 8am breaky on board before it all starts again, very easy to get used to…although more sunny warm weather would have mde it perfect.

Thurs 30 May – Day 6 - Orris

Relaxed start to the day which is probably just as well after an evening where Keith joined a few others solving the problems of the world over an extended rum tasting session. Thunderstorms in the morning saw the skipper opt for a run past Brach Island straight on to Omis, home of pirates, successfully attacking Crusaders, Venetians, assorted Pope’s vessels in long thin boats that could attack then retreat quickly up the Cetina River. Venetians built a couple of impressive hill top fortresses as protection against attacking Turks. One, Mirabella, built to echo to give the impression of many more troops than there might have been inside…. And a tower with a secret second exit… we enjoyed a climb up to the top to see impressive views – no pirates in sight at that time. Enjoyed Amanda’s folk tales, like a local Joan of Arc, ‘Mila’, tricking a Turkish general by seducing him then setting his camp on fire and trapping him….

Relaxed afternoon just wandering, drinking coffee and snoozing, before an evening Captain’s Dinner on board and ‘Pirate Party’. The Captain was apologetic about the cold rainy weather and thanked us for our understanding and patience; in turn we thanked the Captain and crew for their service and hospitality which gave us a great holiday experience irrespective of not being able to sunbathe and swim more. The boat itself has an interesting history, built in 1930 from local forest timber (not now available?) and reconstructed twice. It started out as a cargo ship then used for transporting wine before being used for tours. In WWII it was used to carry medical supplies to the islands when land routes were blocked and also came in handy for supplies in the more recent Balkan wars to get supplies through. Captain Ante has been a boat captain for the last 50 years and owner of the boat for the last 8 years.

Friday 31 May – Day 6 - Split

Still raining so unable to climb to higher fortress in Omis, instead lazed around until Captain Ante comfortable to sail once storm front passed. The end of our sailing journey arriving in Split early afternoon. Amanda escorted us on our orientation walk around old town; Split second largest city so very big and busy compared to other towns visited. Old City full of cultural heritage sites, well preserved Roman ruins arguably in better nick than Western European cities (no doubt why given UNESCO World Heritage status) . Landmarks include impressive Diocletan Palace (built for Roman Emnperor’s retirement in 17 th C), like an acropolis – whole town within fortress walls. People’s Square( Narodni Tng – no wonder I can’t pronounce any Croatian words) included a huge statue of Bishop Gregorius (another statue worth rubbing for Good luck, this time, his big toe which was golden and shiny)……also a quaint tiny little chapel where some of us were blessed by a welcoming nun…. Unfortunately only a brief look at the palace basements and no time to walk through Marjan Park overlooking the town. Next time, must allow time to have a good look and venture inland to reputedly amazing waterfalls and lakes (esp Plitvice Lakes NP).

Enjoyed last dinner together as a tour group, followed by quiet drink and early night, ready for morning departure. The highlight of the trip was the company – great people (readily accepting us oldies) who easily offset bad weather and somewhat cramped quarters (that may not have mattered as much if weather had been fine). Reflecting on different boat trips, would recommend Croatia as a great bare-boat cruising option as the Croatian coast is a great place to explore – beautiful natural landscapes, interesting cultural sites and great coffee culture.

[RS1]pany

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