Visiting Dubrovnik and reading about its history is ALWAYS magic !

We motored to our next island, close north of Dubrovnik, called “Sipan" where we took a buoy belonging to the very good restaurant - “Tri sestre” in the bay of Sudurad (just so that you  know - if you take the buoy of a restaurant you have to go and eat there, else you have to pay the buoy - that is the “deal”).

We went ashore to visit the small fishing harbour and for a walk before going to dine at this restaurant. As we were the ONLY boat in that bay that night - yes it feels as end of season - we had a “private” dinghy dock :) - I was worried we would be their only clients but we were not since that place had a couple of rooms ! The restaurant owner said he was planning on closing in a couple of days so we were lucky we could taste his very delicious  cuisine !

We went back to Mljet Island - one of my favourite given that it comprises a national park, hence an amazing wild landscape - and anchored for the fist time at the end of the Uvala Lakva Bay - a VERY protected bay with green water that resemble mostly of a lake.  No movements that night for sure !!! In this huge bay, there was just ONE another sailboat - just amazing !The next day, we rented bicycles (NOT e-bikes, I swear ! :) to go round the biggest of the two salted lakes situated in the national park and from which one can see the very beautiful (from outside as we never were able to go and see it as each time we went there was no shuttle boats to take us there - end of season ?!) Benedictine Monastery at St. Mary’s Islet.

We were able to put our sails up (I was worried I would not remember how to do that :)  to go to our next destination, the island of Lastovo, and in particular in the middle of Mali Lago bay. On our way there we passed to see the “Saplun beach” situated in the midst of islets and close to Lastovo. When we woke up there was a “mer d’huile” which means that the houses around the bay were all reflected on the sea - VERY SPECIAL AND BEAUTIFUL ! 

On our way out of our bay, we saw 2 turtles, one that we thought might be injured as it seemed it was not able to go underwater (we sent the sighting to a dedicated website, yet no answer...) and another underwater that only I saw. We anchored in the bay of Tri-Luke Korcine  in Korcula Island. The sea colours were absolutely mind-blogging and even Roberto decided to do his last jump in the sea (needless to say that I jumped in immediately!). We then went for a very nice walk on the island - along the seashore first and then using back paths amongst olive trees. 

We sailed again (super !) to our next island - the island of Hvar where Roberto treated us with a night on the quay of the town (something that in season is totally impossible - first to find a spot and second because of the outrageous price). Indeed, Hvvar is THE destination of the Jet-Set in Croatia. It is called the Saint-Tropez of Croatia but instead of being full of luxury stores, you find a lot of simple little shops that give the place the charm of a typical Dalmatian village. We had dinner in a very charming restaurant “ Mediterraneo Dine and Wine” with a very well trained waiter - not French for sure :) which made for a very pleasant evening.

This town holds a lot of charming places and things to see / visit. Eg. the Main Square, the Franciscan Monastery, the Fortress which rises above the town and from which the view of the town is breathtaking !!

While preparing for dinner we heard a “funny” noise - Roberto and I immediately went up on deck and discovered that that one of our mooring lines ashore had dropped !!! We then noticed that the ring it was attached onto (which was on the quay) had let go !!  We were able to find another ring close to our initial one. No big deal but a bit worry-some and when I informed the harbour master the next day, he did not seem to be very worried…

We had a nice sail to Solta Island were we anchored in Krusica bay and were I could swim again hence I was happy !

We sailed again today - luckily we were not in a hurry (as our average speed must have been 4 knots !) to Split and spent the afternoon visiting the “old town” and its treasures, in particular such as : the Roman Emperor Diocletian’s Palace (another UNESCO World Heritage Place) and its INCREDIBLE Cathedral  of Saint Domnius ! In the evening between our “must have” aperitif and dinner, we decided to explore the old town by night and arrived again the main square (Peristil Square) all lit and amongst old stones and were a restaurant had the brilliant idea to hire a singer - who sang “Simon and Garfunkel” songs which added another draw for tourists, yet made it for an extremely  enchanting time !

Overall Alessia on her stay with us I believe gained additional sailing experience as she learnt from her master Dad :) - she also learnt how to handle “mini” - our dinghy and enjoyed discovering Croatia since she had never come to this part of the world ! Unfortunately she was not able to see a lot of dolphins - only two shy ones. But that will be for next time !!