10/19/24 Uvula Luka, Peljesac Peninsula, Croatia
The rain and wind returned in the early morning making it
easy to sleep in. About 0900 the skies were clearing, and the wind was down so
we thought we would go for a walk. As we were preparing to go Suzette noticed
the Police (Policija) boat heading our way. We watched him stop at the German
flagged boat next to us and retrieve his papers for inspection. Knowing we
would be next I gathered my papers, through my bathing suit on and a tee shirt
while Suzette made the bed (in case they boarded she wanted to be ship shape).
They did approach and request our papers, we handed them our
documents and waited. They reappeared and deck and indicated we had a “small problem”;
we never registered our persons upon entry to Croatia. We told him that we did
not understand what he meant by Register. He explained that we were supposed to
Register within two days of entering Croatia. He explained that he would have
to fine us, and we would need to get registered. This is the point at which
Suzette started to lose her cool and give the officer a hard time, he said the
alternative was to go to court. We agreed to pay the fine, 40 euros each, but
wanted to know how we could register. He said it could be done online, and he
would give us the web site. Suzette did
say that the guy she got sideways with apologized to her when I was not there. We
waited as they worked on paperwork. He asked us for payment payment and it had
to be a credit card, so I retrieved a credit card. I handed the card across to
one of the men on his boat who fumbled it, the card went overboard! I watched
it, it looked like it might float, but then it started to sink in a flutter, I
jumped in between the two boats tied to each other, opened my eyes in the salt
water and managed to catch the card. I came up coughing and sputtering for
effect and careful not to be between the boats.
As I climbed up on the swim step the guy asked, “are you
alright”, I could only sneer and nod, what a bone head. They probably got a laugh
out of it later. Suzette gave him the card and he proceeded to ring up the
wrong amount, now he is doing credit and re-ringing the charge. I signed the ticket;
they gave me the web site and they went on their merry way. I realized I lost
my glasses when I jumped in the water, but I did manage to retrieve them in a
dive later in the day…thank goodness for my little scuba tank.
The web site he gave us was not very helpful, so we spent the better part of the day trying to figure out what we needed to do. We made phone calls and sent emails but no real guidance. I found a web site for expats in Croatia that did shed some light on the subject. As best I could tell they want you to check in with the Police using your passport, but there are limited locations that this can be done. It seems to be geared towards visitors staying in hotels etc. where the hotel uses the website to check you in and charges you the tax as a part of your bill. It looks like there is a Police Office in Korcula where we can check in, but not until Monday, does this sound familiar? We are once again outlaws in Croatia. Fortunately, Korcula is on the way to our next destination, though it will delay our progress for a day.
The wind kicked up again in the afternoon, this time more SE
pushing me closer to shore, but it appears that we have sufficient water.
10/20/2024 Uvula Luka, Peljesac Peninsula, Croatia
A windy night, but a calm morning with the sunshining. A
leisurely start to the day as we readied the boat to move. Anchor up about 1030
for a short motor back to Korcula. In the channel we had only about 6 knots of
wind on our nose and a half knot of current on our nose, so we motored. We
stopped in Uvula Luka Banja to see the cove; Holly had recommended this spot. A
well protected cove with a bit of resort activity on the shores. We continued
on past the old town of Korcula and into Uvala Luka Korcula, Just east of
town.
We took the dinghy into town to scope out the Policija
office for our visit tomorrow to register. We found a good spot to tie up and
just 1 block from the Policija Station. There is a much longer story here but
suffice to say the Policija station was not there, it was a Fina office. Fina
appears to be a private entity that handles digital set up for the Croatian
Government and digital payments. From what I read this might be what we are
looking for, we will return tomorrow.
On the way back to the boat we were trying to dodge a small
fishing boat, but he kept changing course and coming at me. As we finally were
passing him, we realized it was the Policija Office that tossed my credit card
in the sea. He asked if I was able to retrieve my glass that went into the sea.
We said yes and he was all smiles and waived as he moved on, go figure.
There was a huge resort on shore near where we anchored, we
decided to explore the place. Having been locked down for a couple days we had
cabin fever and needed the walk. The resort was sprawling, hotel rooms,
bungalows, multiple pools, bars along the shore with gravel beaches and
cabanas, a campground and docks for small boats. It appeared that they were
cleaning up from a wedding event, otherwise the place was deserted.
We walked inland through the resort and discovered a huge Konzum, this was the biggest grocery store in Croatia, so far. We will be back with our bags and wagon to stock up the boat. We walked the perimeter of the cove that seemed to go on and on with guest houses and small boats anchored moored and docked in the remote parts of the cove.
It was a hot day making our afternoon swim very refreshing.
We did not see a lot of fish and the bottom was just sand, not much to see.
Lounging in the sun on the boat felt good, it is amazing to me that the weather
has remained warm and, so far, reasonably calm and predictable. Dinner was
grilled vegetables over pasta and a fine bottle of wine.
10/21/2024 Uvula Luka Korcula,
Korcula Otok, Croatia
Quiet night at anchor, up early to Register, we hope. We
skipped coffee on board figuring that we would have a celebratory espresso at a
café. We motored to town in the dinghy only to find that someone took our
parking place. As we looked for a spot, who do we see waiving at us from shore,
our fumble fingered Policija. We asked about parking, and he said to tie up
anywhere. We made our way to the Fina office only to be told that they do not
do what we want there and directed us to the Tourist Office around the corner.
The tourist office was not open yet, we bided our time in a café over a delicious
Cappuccino and a Latte. Oh, and who did we run into at the café, our fumble
fingered Policija. We smiled and exchanged greetings. We were becoming
convinced that he was following us to make sure we registered.
We returned to the tourist office, but they did not think
that they could help us and directed us to the same web site. They kept coming
back to the tourist tax which we had paid. They do not handle nautical tourism.
They made a couple calls to the Policija and inquired, but no one seemed to know.
I got back on the tourist tax website, nautika.evisitor.hr and reexamined what
was offered. The site indicated that you could pay the tourist tax for a boat
or for individuals, “or” being the operative word. I had chosen the Boat
button, completed the form and paid my money when we first arrived. Well, it
appears that the “or” should be an ”and”, but once again we are a unique
tourist in Croatia, expats on a US fagged boat cruising the med. I completed
the form for Suzette and I, paid the fee and crossed my fingers that we were
done, I have been here before.
We headed back to the boat satisfied that we were no longer
outlaws. We had seen the Policija boat that cited us parked in the little
marina next to our anchorage. We decided to pen a note explaining what we had
done in hopes of educating them for future lost souls like ourselves. The boat
was out so we pocketed the note for now, gathered up our wagon and shopping
bags and proceeded to the Konzum. This was a great store, with lots of fresh vegis
and fruit, cheese and most anything you would want. The only thing I could not
find was bitters for my Black Manhattans.
We had planned to head to Mljet today, but it was almost noon, and we had 15 or 20 miles to an anchorage on Mljet. This was a beautiful place so it was decided that we would stay the night and get an early start tomorrow. We headed to shore to hike around the point, but the path did not take us very far. It was hot again so a good swim and a nap in the sun would round out the day.
Despite it being Monday we had decided to do pizza on the
grill. While I was firing up the grill, I could see a huge crowd gathering on
the beach at the resort. While tending my pizza a couple swam up to the boat
from the resort to say hello. They were Americans from Utah, and they were with
500 coworkers from the US and Europe for a company sponsored adventure travel
trip. The party raged into the evening; I am sure that the resort was happy to
have 500 guests at this time of year.
Up early to the sounds of 500 voices being fed breakfast as
they started their day on shore. The wind and sea were calm, and the sun was
shining, no sailing today. We pulled anchor and motored SE to Mljet, calm wind
and seas had us motoring for the entire trip, less than 15 miles as it turns
out. We found our way into Luka Pomena near the little town of Pomena in the National Park. We bought a
park pass online as we were on our way there, though it was not clear whether
it was for us or the boat. A number of restaurants lined the shore, we hovered
to see if any were open. Konoda Gilja waived us in, and we Med moored in front
of the restaurant, free mooring if you had dinner with them. Considering that
anchoring would cost 100 euros, yes, the ranger collects 100 euros from you for
anchoring, the restaurant mooring was a bargain. The proprietors were very helpful
in getting us properly secured and they were a wealth of information. We made a
reservation for 1900 and settled the boat. They even had free electricity to
plug the boat in.
The go to here in the national parks is a hike or bike
around the saltwater lakes and a visit to the monastery. We pulled out the
bikes for the first time this trip and headed out to see the sites. It was a
perfect day for a ride. As we were exiting the town there is a kiosk to pay the
fee to visit the National Park. I showed her my electronic ticket with a bar
code, she said her scanner did not want to read the code, but it could be her
scanner. She waved us in and indicated that we may have to show our ticket to a
ranger in the park, if asked. Does the right-hand talk to the left hand?
The first km or so was up a pretty good grade so we were
happy to have electric powered bikes. The next leg was to walk the bikes down a
rocky path to the lake. From there it was a paved road all around the lake. The
pines shaded the path, the views of the lake were all very beautiful. We rode
the entire north side of the lakes to where they meet the sea with a tiny
inlet. There were farm fields and grapevines along the way and little towns,
really just a restaurant and a guest house. You could take a ferry out to a
small island where there was an ancient monastery, St Mary’s Church. You could
flag a boat to pick you up and take you to the restaurant next to the
restaurant. There was literally a flag on a stick near the dock and you waived
it to get a ride. The Monastery looked ancient and beautiful, poised on the
island not much larger than itself. Our ride took us full circle around the
lake. We did not want to track up the rocky hill to the road so we found a set
of steps up to the road that we thought would be easier, not. I carried the two
bikes up the winding steps, Suzette carried the battery packs. Let’s just say I
got my upper body work out and it was pretty much downhill from here back to
the boat.
Several other boats had come into our quay so we would not be alone for dinner. Also arriving there were 4 mini cruise ships that side tied at the main quay. Dinner at the restaurant was delicious, Suzette had the Octopus in a flavorful tomatoes sauce, I had a whole grilled Seabass. We rounded it out with a plate of grilled vegetables and a Posip wine. I do not know what they did to the vegetables, but they were very tasty, it helps that they came from the restaurant’s garden. Our hosts were very attentive and answered lots of questions about the islands for us. We commented on the nice weather, but they said that we should not let our guard down, this is sort of a Bermuda Triangle, and the weather can turn nasty in 30 minutes…great! We lingered over our wine and enjoyed the view from our table on the second-floor deck. It was fun to see Raffaellesco moored right below us.
The night was quiet, but surprisingly warm, the nature of things when not at anchor with a breeze on the nose at all times.
10/23/2024 Pomena, Mljet Otok, Croatia
A lazy start on a sunny calm day. Motored east along the
North side of Mljet Otok to a little anchorage at the east end of the island.
As we pulled in, we could see the crystal-clear water and sand near the rocky
shore so we set an anchor in about 5m on sand and pulled lines ashore as we
settled about 15 m from shore. The water was warm, 23.7 C, so swimming was
mandatory. In spite of how clear the water looked from above it seemed less so
under water, but there were lots of fish to see and a healthy crop of sea
grass. As we trolled the bottom we could see that there were some shallows and
rocks to be avoided when we exit. Being so close to the shore we knew we would
lose our sun sooner than later so we lounged on the foredeck like a couple
lizards absorbing the heat.
It was not late, 1530 when the sun was below the hill.
Suzette worked on some cleaning, and I worked on a couple on line chores. Now
that we have a confirmed reservation in Dubrovnik, I needed to get a part on
order for my water maker. It will be much easier and cheaper to send it to
Dubrovnik because they are both in the EU. The rep at Dessalator, the
manufacture of the water maker, was very helpful and attentive as we closed the
deal using WhatsApp for communication.
My next chore was the result of doing my homework on the
requirements for checking into Montenegro. They want an original of my document
for the boat. I keep the original in my safe at home with all my important
papers. No one has questioned my photocopy of my documents so far. They did
question my copy of my sailing license in Croatia. After my experience with
trying to properly check in to Croatia I am paranoid. For Montenegro I only
have a few days to get it right. I reached out to my neighbor, Bunny, who has
keys to the house and looks out for us when we are away. I gave her a lengthy
set of instructions on how to find the safe, open it and retrieve the document
I needed.
Satisfied that I did all I could for tonight’s effort it was
dinner and some Pinocle. Suzette set a new record for slaughtering me in this
game. Our anchorage was quiet with a gentle lapping of the water on the rocks
and a gentle rocking of the boat for a great night of sleep.
10/24/2024 Viliki Maharac, Mljet Otok, Croatia
Up early to find that Bunny had already secured the boat
document and would Fed Ex it today! She and her husband Gary are the best, we
could not do what we do without their help.
We are loving this little private cove, so we decided to stay today and get some boat chores done as we start to think about putting Raffaellesco away for the winter.
Since we cannot wash and wax the hull very easily on a med
moor and it was a bit overcast I decided to tackle the hull. First pass wash,
second pass squeegee, third pass wax on, forth pass wax off and lastly buff.
Raffaellesco was gleaming, all 51 feet. When you consider that the bow is 5’
off the water and the stern is 4’ it is a lot of hull to address, add to that
trying to keep your dinghy in place while doing the work standing in the dinghy,
lets just say I will be sore tomorrow.
Suzette spent the day on laundry, making delicious homemade soup
and cleaning all of the hatches and frames. In the late afternoon I took the
Admiral out on the dinghy to inspect the hull. I was hoping for a promotion,
but instead I got a “looks great, what are you working on next?” Well, with
this warm clear water I think I will strap on my little scuba tank and change
out the 4 zincs on the hull…tomorrow. Having the cove to ourselves bathing
suits are optional so a skinny dip at the end of the day felt good. Soup and
salad for dinner and an early bed time. All the wheels are in motion so there
is nothing for me to do but enjoy this quiet night.
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