Letter from the Med- Croatia Cavtat-Korcula

by Ian and Andrea Treleaven on 14 Sep 2006 Hi Everyone

With a chill in the air, the days are still hot but the evenings are getting cooler, we are now visiting the last country for this year, Croatia.

Our port of entry is Cavtat, a gem of a town near the airport where we are to pick up daughter Janey. A permit to cruise for one year is now $400.00 for our size boat. We have no problem with this but we do have a problem when we anchor outside the old port of Dubrovnik and they want $50 for the privilege of a couple of hours.

Coming on board for the day is Trevor Richards from Yacht Grot, Fremantle, and his partner Marilyn. We spend a beautiful day on the island of Lokrum just off the medieval fortified walls of Dubrovnik which has to be the finest in Europe. Waiting to pick up their charter yacht, they have rented an apartment over looking Dubrovnik with its Romanesque, Gothic to Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Trevor remarks ‘he has died and gone to heaven’ it is such a beautiful sight.

After the usual supermarket shop, lunch of fried squid and mussels in the Gundulic Square, we head north to the pine forested islands and blue clear seas. This is our fourth cruise along these islands and as there are 1000 islands with only 50 inhabited we are sure to find somewhere we haven’t been.

Its two years since our visit to the island of Sipan and it is surprising to see how Sipanska Luka has developed into a stylish port with very welcoming cafes, bars and restaurants, and all the cats from last time have disappeared.

Restaurant Kod Marka has been recommended but we are disappointed to find that bookings are essential so stay an extra day. When booking you give your preference and are served a set meal of only local fresh fish and vegetables. It is the best meal we have ever had in Croatia. Marka, the owner, shows us a book of top Adriatic restaurants he has featured in for the last 4 years, 'A Gourmet Cruise -the Adriatic Good Food Pilot' and we now have a guide to follow for good eating.

During the night a light Bora blows through but next day with local tomatoes, figs and apples from the village market under a 400 year old tree, we swim then move on to Ston where the salt works from Roman times are still operating.

Mljet national park with its narrow inlets resembles lakes that make this area a very safe anchorage. Out to the east, 23 nm away is back to nature Lastovo which has only been open to the public in the last few years, as it was a strategic military base. The island, with a fertile plateau, is surrounded by very clear water and a stone town that came out of the 1500s.
It is a peaceful holiday destination just developing and a great place for yachts with many sheltered anchorages.

Zaklpoatica port is an ideal anchorage for a night with a natural island for a break water. Lobster is still in abundance around the island as Ian selects two from the underwater cage at Restaurant Triton on the wharf. It’s delicious, fresh but expensive. Tonight the restaurant is full and pulled up outside are NZer’s Tony and Andrea Trubuhovich, Rick and Karen Woodroffe, and Brian Ward and Gaye Manson on their chartered Lagoon 440 catamaran. We may fly an Aussie flag but the Kiwi’s still love a drink together.

The weather looks good for a crossing (10 knots if you are lucky) back to Korcula and spend a very calm night in the bay off a 14th century Franciscan Monastery and who should pull in the next morning… the NZer’s! Rick had just bought 2.5 kilos of piper from a local fisherman, something he had been looking for the whole trip. You make your luck here; since fresh fish is hard to find, if you spot a fisherman returning to port make a beeline straight for him. Thanks to Rick, breakfast for all of us was delicious.

Korcula town is still as beautiful as ever. This year there are more yachts than previous years and the marina is full to the max including the outside wall. Luckily there is a very sheltered bay around the corner where we can commute by dinghy.

Oh yes, I did smell a rat! Thankfully it was easy to find.

Cheers Andrea and Ian