Making our way up the coast

Sipanska Luka

 Croatia is beautiful!  Mountains, lush green landscape, islands galore and deep blue water.  There are lots and lots of boats all around but our first anchorage on the lovely island of Sipan was nice and not too crowded.  It was actually all good until a huge motor yacht had to do some fancy maneuvering to get out of the way of the ferry.  He got very, very close to us... a bit nerve wracking!

Sipanska Luka Anchorage

The houses and buildings here are largely limestone with red clay tile roofs.  Against the backdrop of mountains and the lush vegetation the uniformity of the gray and red structures paints a very pretty picture.  It would look abnormal to have different colors of houses.  Similar to all the white and blue structures in Greece - anything else would seem out of place.

Beautiful sunset at our first anchorage

The entire region is known for their lavender but for now the only lavender we are seeing is in the night sky.  Our next stop was on the island of Korcula.  Although we did not visit the town sailing past it looks like a mini Dubrovnik with its city walls.  We only spent one night on the island anchored in a small bay.  Most folks anchor near an old monastery but this bay looked a little more protected.  As it turned out the wind did kick up that night but the anchor held well and we felt very secure in the little bay.  Even if we did feel that our presence was possibly a bit intrusive for the town folks.

Old woman sweeping the sidewalk in Korcula

We are making our way up to Split without lingering too much as we have an appointment with a fellow to see about upgrading our solar.  Our solar panels are ancient by today's standards and they are pretty inexpensive these days.  So we are at least going to investigate our options.

Anchorage on Korcula Island

As we make our way back down the coast we will take the time to visit the places that we just sailed past on the trip up the coast.  Our plan is to be in Croatia at least another month so we will have time to linger. 

Old town of Korcula

 We will see the touristy places but prefer to see the places the cruise ships don't go to!  Hopefully, we will get off the beaten path soon. 

Welcome to Croatia

City walls of Old Dubrovnik

For many Europeans, Croatia is sailing heaven. Or at least it was.  Since Croatia has grown in popularity so have the fees associated with sailing in their territorial waters.  In some places they even charge you a fee just to drop your anchor!  For many folks that is just a bit too much.  For those reasons Croatia was not on our radar.  We thought maybe we would just do the touristy thing and fly over for a quick visit.  So, so glad we did not do that.  

Entering Dubrovnik Port

 We finally got our weather window we were waiting for and off we went.  By the time we were able to check out of Italy it was two in the afternoon.  For the first part of the afternoon and evening there was decent enough wind and we were doing over 6 knots.  By the middle of the night though the wind died off completely.  We arrived in Dubrovnik at nine am and went to the customs quay to get checked in to the country.  

City Walls of Dubrovnik

Although we prefer to anchor out we went to the marina across from the customs quay as we were done for the day.  Tired and needing a nap we got tucked into the marina and got caught up on some sleep.  

The Stradun (main walkway)

In the end we decided to stay an extra day at the marina so that we could go to see Old Town Dubrovnik.  Medieval Dubrovnik is an UNESCO world heritage site.  It is a magnificent city fortified with massive stone walls that surround the Old Town - the outer walls are an impressive 13 to 20 feet thick!  The old town also has some well preserved 16th century architecture that contrast with all the modern shops and restaurants now lining the main street (Stradun).  

 

Dubrovnik

Down many of the tiny, narrow streets that exemplify the city you will now find accommodations for visitors. We did not walk the city walls on this trip but that is the plan on the return trip.  On our way back down the coast we will spend some more time in Old Town Dubrovnik as we most definitely have not given the city its due. 

Old Dubrovnik port

 After our return trip, I promise to post photos of the historic buildings and the city walls.  Dubrovnik is stunning - a giant step back in time.  We are so very happy that we decided to sail to Croatia after all as our first impressions are very good!