Today we began the ‘cream-on-the-cake’ of our holiday. Made our way to Supetar central arriving very sweaty for breakfast. When purchased we sat by the sea, ate and watched the small runabouts head out of the safety and calmness of the beautiful little harbour to do their business. We met up with Mel, Peter and Alesija and boarded the ferry to Supetar. To Mel’s unit we went, winding our way through the many locals,tourists and lanes, again arriving even more soaked in sweat than the earlier walk. Yes, the heat came quickly. Into an uber to Kastella Marina enjoying an informative chat and a few laughs with the young driver. Peter and Mel ran around completing the boating formalities. Gradually all members met up on the “Ocean House” our aptly named yacht. Peter completed the thorough ... read more

“You can’t be serious”, says Jane, (quoting John McEnroe) as I step out into the outside world in my beach attire. For me it was all about protection from the sun. However, my ‘what’ reputation took a hammering with youngsters barely out of nappies pointing at me asking their mothers, “What is that?” I was saddened that the “What” replaced “Who”. I rarely fail with getting a lift when hitch-hiking but today vehicles slowed and then sped away! All this time Jane had headed in the opposite direction. I later found her sunbathing on a pebbly beach. “Get in the water fast and don’t come out until I leave”, she says. Talk about feeling wanted. The water was absolutely beautiful. I disobeyed ‘O great one’s command’ and was in and out several times, each time minus ... read more

With the weather forecast being in the negative with regards to comfort we closed the door of our accommodation behind us at 5.30am to climb Marjan Hill and reach its peak, Telegrin. With over 800 stone constructed steps and sections of gently rising flat path the climb proved to be well within our capabilities. The best part was striking up conversation with a retired Croatian photographer, originally from Zagreb, who had worked for a number of years in Denmark but was now happy to stay healthy by walking his dogs. He was very interested in Australia, particularly opal mining in Coober Pedy. I filled him in, having only last year visited there. The Kimberley region of WA, crocodiles and Uluru plus gold mining were his other interests. The volunteer lady was wonderful too, doing the climb ... read more

No rush today. Very leisurely rising. Listened to the West Coast Eagles v Richmond Tigers game whilst Jane decided to do some ironing! All packed for early departure for tomorrow. Walked to buy some peasant food for lunch which we ate in our apartment. It was very hot outside. Had a video call from Sam which was wonderful. He is still working on the boat out of Weipa. “All good,” he says. Had photos and messages from Tom and Whitney which was terrific. They were relaxing on the beach in Denmark with their dog, Lenny. I’ve kept up with the AFL, Ashes cricket, Tour de France, Aussie Matildas, Wimbledon and various Aussie athlete performances as well as the swimming … plus … the devastating war … plus news from home. We went to “Sport Pub Mario” ... read more

We made the decision to catch an early bus into the old town so as to be able to avoid the hordes of tourists that would probably descend upon the wall as the morning progressed. An excellent decision as we were not held up, felt rushed or crushed at any stage. Information given to us had the following: "Today’s size of the Dubrovnik walls was shaped in the 13th century. The walls were systematically updated and built up to 1660 when the last Bastion of St Stephan was finished in the southern segment of the walls. The 1940m long walls consist of the main city wall, sixteen towers, three fortresses, six bastions, two corner fortifications (’kantonate’), three bulwarks with rows of turrets, three moats, two flank fortresses, one breakwater, and two drawbridges. At some points up ... read more