Dubrovnik

On Sunday we got up early and got going out of Korčula in order to try to make it to Dubrovnik. The trip down was incredibly beautiful. The city of Korčula is situated on Korčula island adjacent to the mainland which lies in the shadow of a granite mountain similar to Yosemite's half dome. As we travelled south, to the west was Mljet which is an island that is a national park. Very lush and wooded. To the east was the peninsula of Peljesac from where many of the fine Croatian wines come.

Robert estimated it could be a 10 hour voyage. As it was, it took about 8 hours of motoring since the winds were coming from the south, the direction we needed to travel. It took another hour to decide where to moor for the night. We finally ended up in another expensive ACI marina as the weather report said possible thunder storms and rain.

This particular marina is packed with boats and getting in was very tight with just a foot to spare on either side. Robert, with the assistance of Larry and Marilyn on the starboard side, got us backed into the space that the marina staff ponted out barely missing several boats in the process. It was a real nail biter! Mooring is my least favorite part of sailing. It is 10 minutes of high anxiety and adrenaline rush. For those who know me well, you know I can't even watch a suspenseful movie!

We cooked dinner enroute so by the time we were tied up, we could crack open a well deserved beer and dish up lentil stew. It was too late to go anywhere so stayed in and played cards before and early bedtime.

Got up early and headed into the walled "old city" part of Dubrovnik built in the 10th century. It was awesome. It is constructed on a hill on the edge of the water overlooking the Adriatic. There are cathedrals, museums, lots of shops, restaurants, private residences and rentals, etc.. We went through a history museum and several cathedrals, learned about Adriatic corral, shopped and ate until we nearly dropped. We climbed hundreds of stairs, took an arial gondola to the top of Mt Srd from which you get a view of all of Dubrovnik as well as the islands nearby. It was just an incredible day. The people are all so nice and most speak English.

There were remnants of the 1991-1992 war when Serbia bombed the city. It is unbelievable to me that anyone would try to destroy this historic treasure. And, it is a real credit to the Croatian people that they have restored many of the areas to their original form using the same stones that were used centuries ago.

Tomorrow we set sail for Šipan, which is just up the coast a little distance so not much time on the water tomorrow. The good news is that the rain moved though last night and so we have a forecast of sunny weather for the remainder of the trip!