Crew: Hy & Verna Livingston
Karan & Gene Simonson
Sun., 9/19/04 Arrived Split airport from Venice. Proceeded to Marina Kastela via taxi. Hooked up with Migration and the Grinnells. Karen & Gene Simonson had arrived earlier. We all enjoyed a lovely reunion dinner at Bimbijana, the marina restaurant… Meats, veggies delicious.
Mon. 9/20/04 We headed out from Marina Kastela in Split to Stari Grad on island of Hvar. What a beautiful harbor town. The cobblestone streets and absence of any modern-looking storefronts or cars, etc., makes us feel as though the clock of time has been turned back 100 years. Wandering the side alleys is truly magical. Everything is so clean and well preserved. The stone buildings everywhere remind me of a medieval town. Hy, who hates to shop, even purchased a few tiny replicas of the buildings as mementos of this beautiful place. No wonder the entire coast is called one of Europe's most attractive and unspoiled shores.
Tues., 9/21/04 We traveled by car to Hvar town on island of Hvar. We hired a driver named Antun and his dog Bennie. Traveled past many abandoned farms on the road to Hvar town. The driver explained that they had been abandoned as a result of the war of the early 1990s. The coast of Croatia is beginning to re-emerge, albeit slowly, from this ugly period in its history. We toured this beautiful town of Hvar. Went to a small museum with a most unusual stone sculpture outsind its entrance. The kissing angels. Next we visited the Arsenal and an ancient theater which is supposed to be the first theatre ever built to entertain the common man. We had lunch at Palacia Paladini in Hvar town. This restaurant was once a palace belonging to a noble family named Paladinic (Paladini is Italian version) The Venetian influence is felt everywhere… The food, the language, the customs, etc. This area once belonged to the Venetian Empire.
Had dinner at Luna in Hvar (I think?)
Wed. 9/22/04 Migration sailed from island of Hvar to Pakleni Islands in Bay of Soline to the uninhabited island of Dobri.
Anchoring for the evening in this new spot was not to be believed. After motoring along the shore for a while, Capt. Mike spied a "safe anchorage." He immediately gave the order for Hy and Gene to jump into the dinghy and head to shore. Their orders were to tie up this 55', 25- ton Migration to a scrawny looking little tree growing at the edge of the rocky coastline. I looked on in horror as our boys wrestled with their task, slipping on the wet rocks, almost dropping the line etc. After a harried few minutes they finally had success tying up to this "wisp of a tree." They returned to Migation victorious. Almost immediately panic erupted on deck. There was more trouble ashore. The anchor line had fouled on the rocks. This time Gene & Karen hopped into the dinghy to re-tie stern line onto puny looking tree. At this point I questioned whether this whole "tying up to a tree business" was such a good idea. (Mike and Sheila assured me repeatedly that "this is the way it is done on rocky coastlines of Turkey" etc.) I was not convinced.
A short time after our second attempt to tie up the wind shifted. Mike made snap decision to move to a safer anchorage (Thank God.) We found what we began calling our "Hotel Paradiso" anchorage. It was actually a huge cement block at the bottom of the water with a buoy floating on top. This made Capt. Mike very happy, not to mention the exhausted crew.
Next Sheila and I worked on dinner in the galley. Actually, I chopped and she cooked. Our delicious dinner turned out to be Middle Eastern chicken with sesame seed paste, cumin and concentrated pomegranate juice, ground up walnuts, some oil and butter. It was served over Arborio rice with sautéed zucchini and onions.
A Croatian sailboat came into the bay to find the only three moorings were occupied. Since there was a cable layed down the middle of the bay, Mike offered for them to tie up along side Migration for the night. Later, Mike invited them aboard to share our dessert. They were quite friendly fellows and the wine/liquor flowed freely. All was well.
Thurs. 9/23/04 The morning began with a lovely breakfast aboard Migration. We found ourselves anchored in a glorious deserted cove with a mysterious and mostly uninhabited island before us. Mike decided that we should go exploring ashore. Hy wanted to remain aboard Migration and read while the rest of us took off in the dinghy. What we found ashore made me feel like we were practically the first ones to step foot on this island. Were we to find a wrecked pirate ship or buried treasure here? We forged ahead and followed a path that led us up into the hills. The beautiful bay spread out before us with Migration anchored safely in the middle of it. The boat appeared smaller and smaller as we scrambled over the rocky paths and continued higher and higher. At one point I, Verna, lost my balance climbing over some nasty looking sharp rocks. Mike came to the rescue, grabbed me and we both teetered for a few seconds in a strange dance, both almost falling over a small ledge. Mike was determined that I would not fall and hurt myself '"n his watch." He was right. We gained our balance and I was spared. We forged ahead. Before us, tucked into the side of our path, was what seemed to be abandoned and very rustic restaurant. A crudely painted sign outside said "Closed." We were disappointed but we nosed around a bit anyway. Ureka, the restaurant was still open and it was there last day of the season. We had found our hidden treasure and the owner was inside. The scruffy looking, tall, skinny gentleman explained in broken English that, each summer he left his home and family on the mainland and came to this deserted island to run his little restaurant for the cruising sailors and vacation swimmers. Almost no one lived there year round. There was no electricity on the island and his generator provided lights and refrigeration for the restaurant. The menu consisted of simple, authentic Croatian barbecue cooked over a wood stove. We could have dinner there that very evening if we liked. We were overjoyed and quickly put in our order for various grilled meats.
Mike, the good guy, hiked back to the boat to fetch Hy for the festivities. We all settled in for a great meal consisting of barbecued meat, a spectacular view, good company and some heated political conversation. Surprisingly, a few other hungry sailors wandered into our secret restaurant after dark. Guess the secret is out. We all tasted lots of weird home made cordials including slivovitz at the end of the meal. What a glorious night. Later, in the dark, our happy crew made its way safely back down to the boat.
Friday 9/24/04 We left our idyllic harbor and sailed back to the marina Kastela in Split. It was blowing hard and the seas were heavy. It was a bit scary and exciting at the same time to have some action on the high seas. After all, Migration could handle anything. It was to be our last night ashore before leaving this beautiful Croatian coastline. We decided to eat again in the marina restaurant. Among other things, our waiter suggested that we order a plate of Croatian style grilled calamari. What appeared before us made us all groan in unison. What had we ordered? We were stuffed and could not possibly finish that amount of fish. However, as soon as we tasted this dish, all reservations went out the window. The plate was empty in a few minutes. It was a highlight of our meals and perhaps the entire trip. Satisfied and happy, we sadly returned to the boat for our last night in Croatia. We said our goodbyes and thanked Mike and Sheila for yet another spectacular vacation on board Migration. What a rare treat Croatia has been. It is like no place I have ever experienced and I will never forget it. I hope to return some day. Shortly our cab arrived and we left Mike and Sheila to batten down and decommission their boat for the winter.