Day 8 - Solta

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Another beautiful morning in paradise. Everyone slept great since Bartul fixed the doors from banging on the sides as the boat rocked gently in the bay. We decided to fix breakfast on the boat, and by "we", Kirsten made breakfast. We had scrambled eggs, cheese, fruit, and bread and of course our new breakfast staple: chocolate crossaints. They are amazing.

Kirsten showered again this morning, while Chester and Dan were fine with the Adriatic shower they were going to take later in the day when they all went swimming. The ports all have had great facilities. The bathrooms and showers are all very clean and stocked. The great thing about them is that the women's restroom rarely has a line, while the men's is always busy. We were finally off to our last island, Solta. Bartul asked if we were up for sailing; of course we were. It was quite the ride. Once the sails were raised the boat was keeled at over a 45 degree angle. At first it was funny, but then we were trying to figure out how to sit or lay on the boat. Kirsten found a spot toward the front and laid across the top at a very uncomfortable angle. Chester finally positioned herself at the back of the boat laying on the floor. Dan sat up toward the front at times, but mostly stayed under the tarp and avoided the sun. Bartul had told him a few times to stay out of the sun. Kirsten and Chester were not going to miss out. It was even more fun when Dan passed out the beers and we were trying to drink and hang onto them. It took about three hours to get today's swim spot. Several times during the sail, Bartul would just hang out down in the cabin and work on his laptop and look at his phone. Dan mentioned several times that he thought the boat was going to tip over. Bartul was not worried, he said several times that it's practically impossible to tip the boat.

While sailing into the cove, a small boat came up and told us about the lunch specials at the restaurant located there. Kirsten and Chester immediately thought of their time in Egypt when young men in boats would drive up to us shouting, "Hallo" and offering jewelry and scarves to buy. Dan informed the girls that this tactic was called "gorilla marketing". Interesting. We anchored in the bay in between other large sail boats, and we were about to launch ourselves into the refreshing waters! Dan, however, was missing. When he emerged from the cabin, he was wearing his European swim wear, specially purchased by Chester and Kirsten. Dan danced around with much freedom and joy, or maybe it was discomfort. He then mentioned why he understands now why girls are always pulling their suits out of their butt cracks. He also kept adjusting the front of his suit. His inhibitions were soon gone and he lived in the moment and jumped into the sea. We did get Bartul to take a picture of us and Dan displayed all the colors of neopolitan ice cream, represented from his bathing suit down his pastey white upper thighs to his lobster red feet. With all of us in the cool waters now, and with our awesome noodles, we started to explore the rest of the cove. The colors of the water are still so clear and beautiful. As we made our way to the shore, a row of cherries lined the water. Chester started throwing them at Kirsten and Dan. So what does Kirsten do? She eats them. She commented that they couldn't have been in the water for too long because they didn't really taste salty.

Instead of going to the restaurant for lunch we just had our usual sandwiches for lunch. It was very relaxing to be swimming and laying around the boat. After a couple of hours, because we didn't eat at the restaurant, the boat came back and said we had to leave. Not sure how they own the cove and can make us anchor up and leave, but Bartul followed instructions and we were on our way to the other side of the cove to the port of Solta.

We ported in Solta and we were at another beautiful island. We parked next to a boat of old guys who were very concerned about the proximity of our boat to theirs and the abilities of the buoys to protect their boat. All the boats were squeezed in tight and it was amazing to watch not only Bartul but other captains park their boats at the dock. It's hard not to feel cool and a little superior while traveling by yacht or sail boat. Our boat was only 43 feet long, but we still felt "cool." That was until the next boat pulled in and parked next to us! It was ridiculous. It took up three stalls and had an entire crew! The three couples on board were lounging and drinking wine. We were pretty sure they were not having the same issues as finding a place to lounge on their boat, like we were. One hull of this monstrous catamaran was the size of our tiny boat. We quickly left and explored the port.

It was a small, quaint port. We spotted a small market, coffee shops and a few bars. Again, gorilla marketing found us and a woman handed a flier into our hands for a restaurant on top of the hill that had a panoramic view of 11 surrounding islands. We made our way around the port to a beach bar named "Punta". We reminded ourselves that we were not in a Spanish speaking country so the bar should be ok. We are now very used to seeing lots of men in speedos. At the next table an entire group of German men were sitting, drinking and enjoying themselves--all in matching Polo shirts and speedos. Dan, now a full-fledged speedo wearing member made nice with a few of them and learned they are here on a bike riding tour. They are all on a live-aboard boat that takes them from island to island and then they bike ride all around. Dan's looking into joining them next year.

There wasn't much left of the afternoon and we were looking forward to dinner. We invited Bartul out with us and we headed up the hill to the restaurant with the views. Her marketing tactics worked on us. It was just the hike and lots of stairs but we finally made it and it was beautiful. Dinner was great and we all enjoyed great conversation and we learned more about Bartul and his life.

The sun, food and booze does get to one on the high seas, so it was an early night back to the boat. But then, we stopped for one more drink at the bar right across from our boat. Three's company had their drinks and continued their conversation while we sorted through the day's photos. After the drink, we paid up and retired to our tiny, tiny boat. But we still think we are cool!

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Comments

[Barb]

What a beautiful place to have a great time!