Blogs from Korcula, Dalmatia, Croatia, Europe - page 4

Nach ein paar durchaus angefuellten Exkursionstagen hier mal ein kleiner Zwischenbericht. Nach meinem letzten Blogeintrag hat zunaechst mal alles etwas seltsame Zuege angenommen... Ich hab erstmal noch ein wenig Zeit totgeschlagen, unter anderem mit einem Bier bei 12 Grad im Bistro Slavija. Um 12 rum bin ich dann ins Hostel gegangen, hatte mich ja schon sehr auf Tina, Ivan und Filip gefreut. Nun waren dort nur Tina und Filip, haben sich auch gefreut mich zu sehen. Allerdings sah zumindest Tina mehr als ungut aus. Die Frage warum hat sich gemeinsam mit der Frage, wo Ivan ist beantwortet: Im Knast. 2 Tage zuvor hatte es einen Prozess gegen einen Freund von Ivan gegeben, der bei nem Spiel von "Roter Stern" scheiss gebaut hatte. Nun wollte es der Zufall, dass das Gesetz gegen die Stoerung von Sportveranstaltungen zum ... read more

Week 5: Korcula Rocks! Well, we’ve just spent a week on the island of Korcula, and what a week it was - euro raves, acrobats, sun lounging, sword dancing - you name it, Korcula’s got it! We got here by ferry from Dubrovnik on Sat 28th June, and got ourselves settled into our campsite in Kamp Kalac - we wouldn’t recommend trying to put up a tent in 33 degree heat, but we got it done, and went for an explore. It turned out our pitch was only 20 paces from the sea, so the pattern was set for the rest of our week. Up in the morning, swimmers and sun block on, lounger rented, and swim/lounge, in that order, until about 6pm. Then showers, walk/taxi boat to Korcula town (depending on how strenuous a day ... read more

Out adventure to Korcula began a lot later than expected. We had a fabulous time with our fellow hostelers at the bar, well too good of a time, and did not wake up at 5:30 as planned to catch our 6:30 Ferry. Instead I awoke to Justus whispering to me at 8:30 am that we were late, really late. We gathered our stuff quickly and stumbled down to the ferry office to see what we could do in regards to exchanging our pre-purchased tickets. By some sheer luck, we ended up getting money back for our tickets and took a later ferry to Vero Luca on the Island of Korcula and then hopped on a short bus ride across the island to Korcula Town. The countryside was really beautiful, with rocky mountains, lush vegetation and scattered ... read more

WK2 - A Life on the Ocean Wave The first weekend in Croatia, and its time for us to head over to Kastel Gomilica, where the boat we will be training on is moored, at Marina Kastela. Had to be there on Sat afternoon for a briefing with our Yachtmaster instructor, and then get our main baggage into left luggage, and get our kit into our cabin. We were introduced to our instructor, and had a brief chat with him, before being let loose for our last night of freedom before getting on the boat (it seemed like a joke at the time, but how prophetic those words were to be...). The skipper seemed to be a friendly enough guy, and first impressions were that he seemed really enthusiastic and keen..this was true, but it became ... read more

We have experienced a full range of sailing conditions with wind mainly from the SE, our intended direction of travel, making headway slow. Our skipper has whipped his crew into shape so we tack smoothly and keep lines neat and sails trimmed. Mediterranean docking stern-to-the-dock can be challenging with 25 knt cross-winds, but once safely tied to the dock it's a great source of entertainment watching the Austrians try to duplicate the same manouever. We coined the phrase "an Austrian moment" after watching a crew with 8 Austrian men completely botch their docking attempt; at one point scraping the hull along the bow-anchor of an adjacent boat and ending up sideways and entangled in their bowline. We have braved the clear water for a swim or two despite somewhat chilly water temperatures, and explored several lovely ... read more