Wow What a Duomo

The next morning, we jumped on the subway to begin our site seeing adventures. Steve tells me the first thing on the list of must-sees is the Milan cathedral. I have seen so many fantastic churches that I kinda rolled my eyes, but went along. When we came out of the subway, we are faced with one top three cathedrals I have ever seen in my life. And I don’t even know for sure what the other two would be. This church is so over the top. It is a gothic church covered with statues and a lacy top of stone carved gothic arches and spires. This thing has more statues on it than entire European countries. And that is saying something. Beautiful stain glass windows punctuate the outside walls making the whole church very delicate. I was wowed by something that I never expected to be impressed with. We wandered through a half a dozen museums and wandered through the “designer section” of town that makes Rodeo drive look like a slum. Yeah it is pretty up scale. Who’s who in the fashion industry all have posh stores where they only buzz you in. There are about 4 clerks to every shopper. We just googled through the windows and made catty remarks about some of the really far out designs.

The Last of IT

As we wing our way home we stopped over in Milan for a couple of days. It is a city that I have always wanted to visit. This is a very modern bustling city with the vibrancy of modern life threaded together with a glorious past. This is the city of Leonardo Da Vinci who spent most of his adult life there. It is also the home of one of his most iconic paintings, “The Last Supper”. DaVinci was commissioned to do a fresco in the newly built Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie. Except that Da Vinci did not want to be confined by the limitations of fresco painting. So he sealed the wall with tar pitch and gesso, and began to paint in the same way he painted his famous canvases. By doing this, he could add more detail and more subtleties than traditional fresco painting. The results were spectacular. It was hailed a masterpiece as soon as it was done. Unfortunately the technique did not work. Water weeped into the wall and the paint began to peel off even during Da Vinci’s lifetime. By 1556 — fewer than sixty years after it was finished, the painting was already "ruined" and so deteriorated that the figures were unrecognizable. The painting began a series of disastrous restorations starting as early as 1726. Each restoration effort seemed to be a reconstruction or interpretation of this masterpiece. I was wondering if there would even be anything left that Da Vinci had actually painted. While I wanted to see this iconic painting I wasn’t expecting much. What I saw was spectacular. There was a final restoration that lasted 21 years. It was finally completed in 1999. The claim is the technicians were able to remove all of the added paint, grim and additions to the painting and getting back to the original brushstrokes of this renaissances master. It is a beautiful painting with much of the original detail still in tact. Well worth a trip to Milan to see.

Rising Out of the Ashes

We are now coming into the home stretch with our winter port only a week away. One of the charming cities we visited on the east coast of Sicily is Catania. It is a big brute of a city with grimy grand buildings that make a strong baroque statement. It contains some of the most imaginative lava-built baroque buildings in Sicily. This is a city that has been around for centuries. Strategically placed for trade between eastern and western Europe, it has had it’s share of conquerors and commercial success. Things flowed to a stop when Etna erupted in 1669 sending a mile wide lava flow that swallowed up most of the city. What was left all came crumbling down in a devastating earthquake in 1693. You would think with such tramatic distruction, the story of Catania would end. But instead, the residents took the lava and cut blocks of this black stone and rebuilt everything more grand and more elaberate than ever. The black stone is found on most of the buildings, churches and homes. They took the blocks and made solid streets that have been walked and driven on every since. It is a credit to the people of this town to take what has been given them and turn it into one of the most interesting cities along the coast.

Flying South for the Winter

We leave Alan and Rod at Dubrovnik and start to head south. After checking out of Croatia in Cavat we head to Kotor bay in Montenegro. Montenegro is a very small country sandwiched between Croatia and Albania. Even though the coastline is not long, what they do have is spectacular. And at the very center of the coast is a deep bay surrounded by sheer mountains that rise dramatically to the sky. We head to the town of Kotor which has been around since before the Romans. When the Romans finally did take it over, they built amazing walls the wander all the way up to the top of the mountain peek. The terrain is so steep, it seems insane that they were worried about an army attacking them from the rear. Leave it to the Romans to make sure the city is impenetrable. As a result, this fortified city remained fairly protected from invasions throughout history. We spend a couple of days absorbing the stone town and the handsome guys around town. The sailing season is quickly coming to a close. While the weather remains sunny and pleasant for the most part, we are resigned to heading to Italy where we plan to keep the boat for the winter. So we turn west from Albania and head for the shores if Italy. The crossing is about 10 hours. Fortunately the weather was wonderful, the seas pretty calm and with a little wind, we were even able to sail part of the time. We skip our way along the eastern coast of Italy taking bites of pizza and licks of gelato as we go. It is nice to be back. Italy is such a wonderful country. I am looking forward to spending next summer sailing Sicily.

Dubrovnik

Sailing back down the coast, I am able to finally visit the crown jewel on the coast of Dalmatian, Dubrovnik. This is one of those few wealthy cities that have risen through history like Venice and Florence. It’s marble streets; grand fountains, baroque buildings and elaborate churches dazzle your eyes as you enter this treasure. The fortification walls that surround the city are unmatched in anywhere I have ever been, rising to 85 feet in some places. The residents of Dubrovnik had no intentions of bowing to any world conqueror. They wanted to control their destiny. And throughout the centuries they were pretty successful at it. The history of Dubrovnik dates back to 7th century when barbarians wiped out the near by Roman city of Epidaurum. Those that were left picked themselves up, move up the coast to a more secure spot and began building an unmatched fortified city. With the protection of the Byzantine Empire, they built one of the most successful trade centers by having 500 ships traveling the known world. And though the Venetians controlled them for about 150 years, for the most part they remained their own city-state. Caught in the cross hairs of the war that ravaged Yugoslavia, Dubrovnik was slammed with over 2000 bombs that heavily damaged almost all of its important monuments. Much to the resilient credit of the people of Dubrovnik, the city is once again restored to its former glory. Wow. What a city. After spending most of the last 6 months visiting the spectacular coastline cities of Croatia, I thought that I would be a bit jaded. I was not. I loved strolling down the marbled streets, peeking into the numerous cathedrals whose interiors are only topped by the next one we visit. The wealth of this city manifests itself in every direction you turn your head. While we were visiting a display of historical documents and documentation of the war in the Sponza Palace we heard a loud rumbling outside. It sounded like sound effects for the war room we were in. When we peeked out the window, we saw chaos in the streets. Everything was being turned over like a carpet being shook in the wind. As soon as it started, it was over. But what was left was a mess of tangled awnings, chairs, glass all over and people cowering in any available doorway. Dubrovnik had just been hit by a freak tornado. A few people were injured and most of the outdoor cafés were a wreck, but no real permanent damage happened.

Baptismal Fonts of the 4th Century

Dan left us in Split but we exchanged him for a couple of guys from Canada. They are our last charter for the season. Part of the fun of sailing is meeting new guys and sharing this journey with them. We will miss Dan but look forward to getting to know these two Canadians better. We sailed into one of the most beautiful bays in Croatia on the northern part of Miljet island. At the far end of the bay is an early Christian church that dates back to sometime between 300 A.D. to 400 A.D. One of our Canadian guests on board happens to have done a thesis on early Christian baptism customs. While exploring this early Christian church, he was thrilled to come across one of these very early baptismal pool that is almost as old as Christianity itself. He told us that the early Christians built these pools to baptize adults. The ceremony would begin with the adult that was willing to be baptized taking off all of their clothes and walking into the baptismal font. After being immersed completely they would step through the pool to the other side where they would be clothed in white. This ceremony clearly represented to them leaving their old life behind, going back into the womb and being born again naked, then coming out of the font and being clothed in white to remind them of their new pure life. The baptismal tradition began to change in about the 8th century when there were not enough bishops of the church to go around. Since it required the authority of a bishop to perform baptisms, the custom of baptizing only adults changed to baptizing everyone in the village at the same time regardless of age. The bishop would carry the infant into the baptismal pool and perform the ceremony. Since infants were now allowed to be baptized, the custom changed again to baptizing infants rather than waiting until reaching adulthood. The baptismal fonts also changed from being pools you would step into, to being large bowls where the infant was immersed. The baptismal pools began to disappear. Another change that occurred during the dark ages was the practice of putting covers on the baptismal pools. This happened because during the plague, Christians would steal the water in the baptismal font thinking that this now “holy” water would heal them of the plague. We have seen many of these large baptismal bowls with ornate covers on them at the old cathedrals. During the middle ages, over time, this immersing of infants evolved to sprinkling. The font changed again from the large bowls to just a small bowl. It is interesting to see how doctrine changed ever so slowly to become what is commonly practiced by most Christian churches today.

The Beauty of Krka

With those golden moments of early evening approaching quickly, we once again find ourselves in the freshwater lake of Skardin. This is the anchorage we were at early in the summer where the swans swim right up to the boat and like stray cats, look longing at you for something to eat. We enjoy feeding them some bread. Each time they catch a piece their little tails waddle back and forth like a puppy dog. So cute. Dan tells us that a group of swans is called exaltation. Thanks Dan. I didn’t know that. The next morning we take the dingy into the town of Skardin where we purchase tickets and board a shuttle boat to the national state park of Krka. This is a natural wonder with travertine pools spilling down from one to the next in cascading waterfalls. It is a Readers Digest version of the national park of Plvitza, where we were earlier in the year. The falls are not as dramatic and the area not as panoramic, but the effect is still pretty magical. We spent most of the day there walking raised wooden pathways where each turn opens up to some spectacular display of nature. The day is sunny and the trees shade the pathway with dapples of sunshine through the leaves. Croatia really has so much raw natural beauty. In the afternoon we return to the picture postcard village of Skardin for a late lunch of lamb and potatoes. The waiter is a cute young guy with dark hair and dark eyes whose family is from Split. He works at the restaurant each summer. We start talking about Croatia and our waiter shares with us some of the horror stories from the war in the early 90’s. Though he was only 12 at the time, he knows too well the brutality of that war. This small hamlet that looks so peaceful was actually at the center of the conflict. It was the last town between the Serbs and Sibernik. Armies on all four mountain ranges surrounding the town fought tooth and nail for this little bit of real estate. The Croatians were fighting for their lives and the Serbs fighting for control of Sibernik, a key city on the coast. You only have to look up from the restaurant to see the bullet holes and grenade damage that are still visible on some of the buildings. The fronts have all been repaired and repainted, but the backs still have the scars of war. I think the Croatians don’t want to repair all of the scars. To do so would lessen the sacrifice made by so many men and boys from this village. They have moved on with their lives, but that doesn’t mean they have forgotten those that gave their lives for their families and loved ones. It is a much more poignant memorial of war then some obelisk set in stone in some park or town square.

Racing a Regatta

As September turns to October, we find ourselves heading south to warmer weather and calmer seas. We pick up Dan who is sailing with us for about a week. It is fun having him aboard and sharing this adventure with him. While we were sailing between Zadar and Split, on a Sunday afternoon, we found ourselves in the middle of a regatta race with about 30 boats coming up from behind. Just as they are about to kiss our bow, they all shifted starboard in unison like a school of sardines. In an instant, the entire race turned on command. We found ourselves alone with the regatta off our starboard side. The wind changed 180 degrees and instead of sailing into the wind, the wind was now coming from directly behind us. We split the mainsail and jib to form a butterfly pattern. This maneuver catches as much wind as possible and only works if the wind is directly at your back. No sooner do we set our sails then we find the regatta raising their colorful spinnaker in hot pursuit of us. I actually was quite happy at how closely we were able to keep up with them even without a spinnaker. This catamaran really knows how to move with the best of them. As the regatta, with us in the middle of it all, came around the corner of an island, we all alter our course to the starboard side a bit. Our sails readjusted easily. The spinnakers were much more tricky. Experienced crews handled the turn with flawless ease. Some of the racing boats were not so lucky. Several were blown sideways so far the boat rail was dipping into the water. They almost flipped. Most of the racing crews were able to recover and finally get back into the group. One boat seemed to flail about and as the race moved forward, they became a distant sight. For them the race was finished. We ended up peeling off in the direction Sibernik and head towards Skardin where we are headed for the night.

Fertility 2.0, Burning Man

Yes this seems completely insane to jump on a plane and travel for hours to make our way back to San Francisco only to pack up a truckload of equipment to spend a week out in the middle of the hot, dusty dry, remote desert of Nevada. But we do it anyway. Steve has been attending this annual event for 11 years. I have only been going for 3. I guess we are committed to going no matter where we are in the world. Yeah it is crazy, but then, so is Burning Man itself crazy. It is hard to describe what Burning Man is to anyone who has not attended and difficult to describe even to those who have attended. Someone once said, “Burning Man is like a county fair that has gone very very bad”. A lot of people revere Burning Man as feeling like going home. They talk about the world we live in as the default world. Burning Man is the real world where things are as they should be. And when you are there, you do get the sense that this just feels right. Overwhelming and permeating throughout everything else is a since of community and creativity. It certainly is a place where thinking is not restricted to what is expected. And perhaps the underlying current of the whole experience is the gifting community. There is nothing to buy at Burning Man except ice and coffee at center camp. After that, everything is given freely to those attending. Literally hundreds of camps are set up to gift to those attending anything from bacon, pancakes, crepes in the morning to music, dance, art, root beer floats, ice cream and pop corn in the afternoon. But there is much more than that. There are spectacular fire events throughout the week culminating in the burning of “the man” on Friday night and the solemn torching of the temple on Saturday night. Burning Man is every bit a spiritual experience as it is a spectacle of creative forces when normal is anything but normal.

The Mother Ship, Venice

We sailed back to Pula and took a 3-hour ferry ride to Venice on our way home to attend Burning Man. We choose taking the ferry rather than sailing because we didn’t have to deal with all of the government paperwork of leaving Croatia, entering Italy and then coming back to Croatia. After spending so much time sailing into one Venetian outpost after another all through Croatia, coming into Venice felt like coming to the mothership. This is where all this commerce and political power was centered for centuries. There is no other city on earth like Venice. Its stately architecture combined with its unique waterways make it stand out in anyone’s book. You see the wealth in St Marco’s square and the commitment to make monuments that only the rich city coffers could afford. The kingpin to the square is Basilica di San Marco and attached Plazzo Ducale. It is crowned with sculpture treasure, and gold mosaic from all over the world. It was decreed by law in 1075 that every ship returning from abroad had to bring back a treasure to adorn this grand church. Legend has it that St Marks mortal remains are housed in the alter of this imposing church. The wealth of Venice was also spread out amongst its successful sea captains and merchant traders. A boat ride up the Grande Canal shows off the magnificent palaces they built right along the waters edge. Each building is supported by literally thousands of trees driven into the mud to hold them up. Despite all the sinking problems and erosion, one has to remember that parts of this city have been standing since the 10th century. The famous gondolas of Venice have been a part of the city since the 11th century. In 1562 it was decreed that all gondolas had to be painted black to stop people from making ostentatious shows of wealth. They may still all be black, but there is a bit of a rivalry to see who’s has the most plush velvet seating and brass ornamentation. There are only 300 gondolas allowed on the canals. So getting a license to own one of these cash cows is hotly contested. It is said that the truly wealthy citizens in Venice today are the men polling these ancient watercrafts.

Slipping Along the Coast of Slovenia

When we finally run out of Croatian coastline, we cross the invisible doted border into Slovenia. The towns along the sea are similar to the ones we just left. Mostly Venetian in their historical structure with a few modern hotels at their edge. We start at one end of the country and by noon we have eaten up over half of the Solvenia coast. At lunchtime we throw the anchor across the bow and hang out at the base of towering cliffs eating a pasta salad and dipping in and out of natures swimming pool at the stern of the boat. We could have easily made Italy with just a few more hours under sail. Venice is just across the bay and we are tempted to head over there the next day. But the thought of going through customs getting stamped stapled and verified for a few days on the canals turns our boat back to Croatia. We will be flying home through Venice anyway, so we will keep Venice for another day. By the time the sun is ready to turn the lights off on the day we are tucked safely in a deep bay that separates Croatia from Slovenia. I think our anchor is in one country and our boat is in the other.

So Far North

Good winds, flat seas and perfect weather come together like a well-rehearsed orchestra to make our trip up the Istras peninsula the perfect composition. We dart in and out of small bays that are linked together in the most northern part of Croatia. With the moderate weather, we are not too worried about good shelter, just good scenery. The towns have become mostly small villages. Each of them punctuated by a bell tower that soars heavenly and built on the highest point. Looking down from these celestial monoliths are red tiled roofs that step down the slope to the Adriatic Sea. The streets are more like alleys with crumbling shuttered buildings made festive by the days colorful laundry pinned to cording strung above our heads. Most of the streets are paved with stone block that have been there so long they have worn smooth to the point of being slippery. We are at the height of the tourist invasion and even in these small villages; there is a party mood that permeates the air. Loud music, dripping ice cream cones, gangly teenagers embarrassed to be with their parents fill the town square. Small children giggle with delight holding on to their parent’s hands with sticky fingers from the treats sold by vendors that line up on both sides of the strolling visitors like a corral making sure they don’t escape without emptying their wallets. Farmer markets greet us with quarter cut watermelons grinning their red smiles. Fresh vegetables are still weighed on a balance scale. The produce arrive from local farms still have the dirt that they were grown in clinging to them. We buy local breads baked that morning when the sun was just beginning to warm the day.

Raving

Rovinj The sun looks like an orb of butter as it slips below the horizon. On the opposite horizon, the white full moon rises in replacement. Across the bay lies the city of Rovinj. Its church at the very top of a symetrical hill. The town spiraling down around it in Venetian-style buildings plastered and painted in pastels. Looking across the bay, it is easy to picture this old city as it might have appeared centuries ago. We take our dingy into town as the sky is changing from blue to black. It is a city alive with energy and art and music. The narrow streets are filled with nooks hawking goods to the tourists that fill those narrow streets. A band is playing American cover songs that even in this distant country, the crowds lips sync up with the words. Young children dart back and forth amongst the gathered people playing children games and dancing to their parents amusement. If we ever stop to ask ourselves why we are here, the answer lies before us. We are a part of this. And yet we are observers looking from the outside in. Welcome to Rovinj.

The National Park of Brijuni

Just off the coast of Pula lie the Brijuni Archipelago islands. These 14 small islands became the playground of the rich Roman elite. Their beauty seems to be a magnet for the powerful even in modern times. When Tito rose to power after WWII, he chose these islands to govern from 6 months out of the year. I guess if you are going to be the leader of Yugoslavia, and these islands are part of your kingdom, why not move in for half the year and govern from there. Signing decrees and dispatching diplomats is every so more pleasurable from a beautiful island getaway. His own personal residence was a restored Venetian villa Tito would host heads of state and Hollywood’s elite from his private islands. There is an exhibit recording the famous procession of people that included Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, other sex goddess. Tito had a fancy for exotic animals. So like Michael Jackson, on this neverland, Tito built his own private safari park. Many of the animals in this zoo were the gifts from the heads of state that paid him homage. With the death of Tito, most of the big game was shipped off to zoos. But there are still elephants, ostriches, zebras, peacocks and other African animals wandering around. You can also visit the ruins of the Roman villas from when they took up residence here to govern their subjects centuries ago.

Can’t This Country Keep It’s Clothes On?

There is no country in Europe that likes being naked more than Croatia. It all started when the Germans and Austrians ruled this corner of the world. Their love of nudity combined with the beauty of the coastline was all it took for this lifestyle to take off like a firestorm across a Kansas wheat field. Every beach and every major town has a nude beach close to it. At virtually all of these beaches, “the gays” have carved out their own little part, usually on the rocks and usually with bushes close by. What is the point of being naked if you can’t have a cruising place to dance around in. And it appears Croatians love camping naked as well. Just outside of Porec, there is a naturalists camp with 559 tent spaces as well as trailer hookups and apartments you can rent. If tht is a little too small of sampling of naked bodies, across the river is another naturalists camp that holds 3000 people. No, that is not the biggest. There is a camp further south that holds 6000 people in camp sites, villas and apartments. Nudity is such an accepted aspect of Croatian culture, almost every bay we drop our anchor, the majority of boaters will drop their textiles. We love anchoring right in front of the gay section and see what swims out. For some reason, running around naked on our beautiful boat is like a worm on a hook. Most of the time we catch some very cute naked friendly guys. And if that isn’t a friendly enough gesture, check out the statue I saw in Pula. Now you gotta love two hunky bronze guys forever caught in a compromising pose.

Praising Pula

The Bora winds kicking up gave us some extra time to explore the charming city of Pula. It is a port town that has been around since prehistoric times. Pula is most famous for the spectacular Roman ruins that are very well preserved scattered around the city like jewels in a treasure box. The crowning jewel of these treasures is the first century amphitheater that rises at the bay’s edge. This Roman structure is the sixth largest amphitheater in existence and one of the best preserved. The outer white stone walls are pretty much still intact. The seating in the center of the arena is about a fifth of what it once was. Many of the square seating blocks were removed in the 15th century to be used to construct a castle and other city buildings that are still around town. When built, the amphitheater held 25.000 spectators. These stunning architectural Roman masterpieces are still amazing examples of brilliant engineering. Gladiator fights have given way to opera, rock concerts and, while we were in town, an international film festival. It is nice to see these old structures still in used today. I think the Romans would have liked that. The town has the usual pedigree of invaders and conquerors. Nowhere is it more evident than in the town square. Holding the kingpin position is a Roman temple that is still largely intact. This temple was built in the first century and part of the original Roman forum that once made up the town square. Next to it is a building that looks like it was built during medieval times complete with carvings of dashing knights and majestic coat of arms. One of the walls is from a Roman temple to Athena; the wall is all that remains of this temple. To complete the town square are building built by the Venetians who ruled this city for 800 years. The rest of the gems scattered around town are Roman gates and arched monuments to the once powerful Roman elite. Even Hercules has a single arched gate that is one of the best-preserved Roman monuments in the city. At the top of the arch is a carving of the head of Hercules with a club signifying his strength.

Blowing Bora

The weather in Croatia has been very consistent and predictable all summer. It is one of the things that we have enjoyed most about this country. Mornings are calm and so is the sea. Towards noon, the winds pick up to a strong breeze and the sea remains flat. At 5 in the afternoon, usually within minutes, the winds die down to nothing. Water becomes as smooth as glass. You can often see 30-40 feet down to the sandy sea floor. We sleep uninterrupted on the hook as they say (at anchor) for the night. This has given us some of the best sailing in all of the Mediterranean and has allowed us to be under sail almost every day this summer. We managed to squeeze almost a whole month of sailing on one tank of petrol. You gotta love that. But this week, for three days that all changed. Croatia is also known for the famous Bora winds. Its name is uttered with respect and awe and always in hushed tones. The Bora are winds that mostly occur in the winter, but can occur in the summer as well. A high pressure in the Northeast and a low pressure in Italy cause these mighty winds. Cold air gets trapped in the mountains that build up pressure until they are released thundering down the slopes at velocities of up to 110 knots. This week we were treated to one of these occurrences. We monitor the weather closely each morning. The prediction was for a Bora in two days. That gave us plenty of time to head to a safe harbor and button down the hatches. We lashed extra lines to shore and waited. The winds came, not continuously, but with strong gusts that shook the boat and everything around it. Flags stiffened out like they have been starched. I had to tie Steve to the mast so I wouldn’t loose him. (well almost) We didn’t monitor the wind speed but some friends we met from Canada clocked the winds at their peak at 55 knots. We too now speak of the Bora with reverence and in hushed tones.

Raving about Rab

This walled city got a huge buster shot when Augustus decided to make it a Roman city. Fortification came as well as civilization. It all arises from a peninsula that has just the right steepness to make it an easy city to fortify. From a distance you see 4 bell towers that stand as exclamation marks pushing skyward from the stone buildings below. The city itself has a great vibe to it with lots of energy and live music singing out standards that the whole world knows how to sing. Rab also has a huge harbor for it’s size that gives you visions of old clipper ships throwing their lines to the big brass mooring posts that are big enough to have dinner on. Rab also has a long history of nude beaches. Historical records on nudism go as far back as 1907. But it was dethroned King Edward and Wallace Simpson in August of 1956 that put this place on the map. Sailing down the coast, they stopped here for a little scandalous naked swimming. People have been peeling off their clothes here every since. Just a 2-minute dingy ride and a walk through the pine forest to the other side of the peninsula reveals an elaborate and well-developed nudist beach. There is a significant gay section at the end with the accompanying bushes for playful activities. Rab became a favorite of mine. We were planning to stay one night. We stayed three.

Heading North

After spending the last couple of weeks sailing the archipelago islands right off the coast to Zadar, we head further north to the Kvarner Region of Croatia. This is a big bell shaped area that is scattered with more small islands at the very north part of Croatia. It is here at the northern most area that Croatia kisses Italy and Slovenia. For the most part, these islands are long and skinny with ragged edges. Those ragged edges make for excellent places to spend the night. There are so many places to choose from. Like a kid in the candy shop, we choose the ones that look the most tempting. There aren’t many bad choices in this area of Croatia. We dropped off our last guests back at Zadar where their trip began and choose our first anchorage just north of Zadar because of its wind-protecting peninsula. As we are looking for a good spot to drop the anchor, Steve sees naked guys on the beach in front of us. We decide that this is in fact, the perfect way to drop the anchor. As it turns out, we accidentally stumbled onto a classic gay nude beach in the late afternoon when the guys that have been lying in the sun are ready for some sunset fun. Fortunately that fun ended up including the two Americans on the catamaran just off shore.

Sailing to Sali and Around

The winds continue to be perfect for sailing. We raise the white sheets and head to Sali. This small village is named after the salt works that operated during medieval times. Sali also became a favorite vacation resort town during those more prosperous times. Large houses in the gothic style were built during the Renaissance period. We ended up mooring to the town quay for the night. The next day we head to another delightful anchorage. We find a quiet cove right outside of Bozava. The weather continues to be calm and allows us some anchorages that we would not be able to take advantage of if the winds and waves were stronger. Spending the afternoon jumping off the boat and cooling off in the azure blue water, a little reading and napping and you have the perfect afternoon. In the evening, we walk the well laid out trail into town for some local cosine. What is not to like about an afternoon like that. We then went around the peninsula to Sakarum. This is a spectacular inlet with a beach that skirts the entire bay with sand almost as white as snow. This is clearly a favorite hang out for Croatians and one of the few sandy beaches around. There are laid moorings scattered throughout the bay that you can tie up to for about 22 euro a night. I think most tourists stay in hotels at Bozava and take a shuttle to this special place. One of the advantages to traveling by boat is you can drop anchor almost anywhere and spend the night. Often that gives us some of the best real estate Croatia has to offer. Our rooms come guaranteed with a view that changes nightly.

Kornati Islands

Right off the shore of Zadar is a series of islands that string out parallel to the mainland. They are on the bleak side and mostly uninhabited. Small pockets of civilization manage to cling to the best inlets. For the most part these outposts consist of a handful of red tiled homes, maybe one or two seasonal restaurants and a stone church. Often you will see remains of forgotten terraced farmlands crawling up a mountainside and leveled with stone walls. These islands are so rocky they had to do something with all the rocks, so terracing the farmland seemed like as good of use for all the rocks as any. The farms have long been abandoned. It is simply not practical to far such miserly soil. Instead the villages cater to yachters and day-trippers coming to view a lifestyle that has long been abandoned. The reminders are still there in the stone homes and village squares making for photo opportunities that remind people of nothing like the lives they now live. Komati National Park At the southeast tip of the island of Dugi Otok is the Komati National Park. The Arial photos of the park make it look magical with crystal blue water tapering to turquoise as it reaches the shore. The island has a very deep bay that has countless little coves. It looks like you could spend a week exploring this natural wonder. The passage to this bay is through a very narrow channel between two islands. We have to take turns with the boats coming the other direction to slide our way through the narrow passage. We planned on anchoring out for a couple of days there. But I have to say; this is a case where the promotional photos look way better than reality. The coast does have a lot of little coves and the water is an amazing blue fading to deep turquoise, but the land is mostly rock with scrub. It seems hotter than it should with little breeze. There are no facilities or restaurants. We end up having lunch and a swim there and then moving on to the village of Sali.