March 17, 2025 – Marina Lazure, Montenegro
A thunderstorm roared through at about 0230 dropping a lot
of rain, but not a lot of wind. It passed quickly and allowed me to continue my
night’s sleep. The day broke with an overcast sky and no wind but quickly
cleared.
Our taxi picked us up at 1300 and we were off to the
Dubrovnik airport once again. This time the driver took the scenic route along
the coast revealing a churned and choppy sea. The driver was quite talkative
and fluent in English. He echoed the concern that we have heard from others
when it comes to starting a business in Montenegro, lots of government red tape
and payoffs to corrupt officials.
We crossed the border at a very small border police outpost.
The driver seemed to know everyone there, shaking hands and laughing while our
passports were being stamped. The facility entering Croatia makes it clear that
Croatia is a much richer country, fancy arches, fresh paint and nice buildings…no
waiting.
We are becoming painfully familiar with Dubrovnik airport,
no crowds and always in and out of the same gate. The plane departed on time
for a smooth flight back to Barcelona. I was going to reserve a car online for
a seemingly to low cost of 100 euros for 4 days including border crossing privileges.
I thought it would be fun to drive into the tiny country of Andorra. The Admiral was sure that this was not
possible and would find a better deal at the airport. We visited 3 rental car
places and ended up paying 240 euros with no border privileges, hhmmm.
Barcelona is the worst place to have a car, negotiating the
traffic is mind blowing and parking is nearly nonexistent. And here we go,
mainly to drive to pick up the part for the water maker. Which, by the way, the
Jeanneau people are refusing to cover, “the warranty for equipment is covered
by the equipment manufacturer, not Jeanneau, so the extended warranty you have
from Jeanneau is will not extend the equipment manufacturer’s warranty”. But I
digress. We located our AptHotel Bonanova in the upscale neighborhood of Sant
Gervasi, close to IMO and familiar to us as we have stayed in this neighborhood
on the last visit. Now we had to find free parking. There are 4 colors of
stripping to define parking; Green-Residents park for free with a sticker, we
pay a premium for a maximum of 2 hours, and based on the posted hours you might
be able to park free overnight, Blue-Paid parking for a maximum of 2 hours, and
based on the posted hours you might be able to park free overnight, Yellow-Loading
zone, no parking from 0800 to 2000, free overnight, but watch out because these
also might be marked as a handicap only spots, White-Free…never saw one of
these! You can see that it is complicated, and an empty spot is hard to come
by. We found a Blue spot about 4 blocks away. It was about 1830, so we paid for
an hour and a half and then enjoyed free parking from 2000 to 0900. The walk to
the hotel was familiar as we had walked these streets just 4 months ago.
Our apartment hotel was just perfect, newly renovated and
well appointed. They did a very creative job of creating a 2-bedroom, one-bathroom
apartment with a small kitchen using sliding panels. The living room turned
into a bedroom by folding out the couch and sliding some panels into place for
privacy. The architect in me was so intrigued by the efficiency of the layout
that I measured the apartment and sketched on a piece of paper. The last time I
was so impressed by an efficient little apartment was when we stayed in Arlie Beach near the Whitsunday Islands of Australia
after diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Having travelled with only a knap sack
and a briefcase each we unpacked in about a minute, checked out the kitchen
wears and headed out to buy some food.
This is a grocery store meca right outside our door; bakery
for bread, patisserie for cookies, fruites stand for fresh vegetables, fine cheese
and meat shop, wine shop and a Mercadona to fill in with a few staples. With the
apartment stocked we decided to have our friend Holly’s favorite meal; sweet potatoes
cooked in the microwave with a glass of Tempranillo. It was a late dinner by
our standards, but right on time for the Spanish, 2100.
March 18, 2025 – Barcelona, Spain
We woke up to a beautiful day, a little blustery, but clear.
An espresso from the Nespresso machine in the lobby and we were on our way to
retrieve our car before the 0900 ticket hour. We drove further into town and
found a parking garage for the day. First stop was the shoe guy who is making
my custom-made shoes, but he was not open yet so we enjoyed an espresso in a
local café. The shoe guy greeted us warmly and updated us on his progress. They
will be ready in late May so we will probably have them sent to the Marina in
Greece where Raffaellesco will spend the summer. We will have to pay the VAT,
but we will get most of that back when we exit, 200 euros! We chatted for a bit
and then said our goodbyes.
Suzette had a short list of things she wanted to get while
we were in Spain, so we headed to the El Born shopping area on the other side
of the Gothic Quarter. First stop was a shop selling socks and underwear, not lingerie,
underwear! They had an incredible section of socks, wool and cotton, for very
reasonable prices, we both bought socks. Next stop was the Marcato Saint
Caterina. These Mercatos are incredible, all the different foods you could
possibly want under one roof. In this case a very interesting undulating roof. Each
booth is run independently, and they all carry different varieties of cheese,
meats, vegetables, seafood, nuts, spices, etc, etc. It is beautifully displayed,
and it all looks so delicious. You buy things remade or individually to take
home. We landed at a meat and cheese vendor, he claimed that he was the 5th
generation of a family that produced jamone and cheese. We sampled several
cheeses and his jamone. We bought 4 different chunks of cheese and a large
piece of Iberica Jamone. The cheese in Montenegro has not been great so this
was an opportunity to stock up. The
Iberica Jamone comes from black pigs raised on a diet of acorns, so delicious. Suzette
worked for a cheese importer at one time, she represented the company and sold
to all or the high-end restaurants in Atlanta, so she knows her cheese. Me, I
just love cheese, no credentials.
The last stop was a happy accident, a shoe store where Suzette has bought several pairs of shoes in the past. She was looking to duplicate a pair she already owns and would like to have at home, leaving the other pair on the boat, success! It was now time to head to IMO for her long awaited follow up with her ophthalmologist at IMO. They ran a few tests, took pictures and quizzed her on her issues. She was concerned first and foremost that she might have glaucoma in her right eye and would go blind. The doctor confirmed that she should have no concern about glaucoma or blindness, that in fact, her vision had improved. Her only issue was the lingering edema in the retina from the failed cataract surgery. He suggested she continue her eye drop regime and he prescribed one more eye drop in an effort to relieve the edema in the retina. He wants to see her again in June when we are returning home. Needless to say, we were happy to get a positive report, Suzette was very relieved. We were also pleasantly surprised that there was no charge for this visit, the doctor considered it a post op checkup.
Having spent several hours at the IMO we were happy to find
our free over night parking space and walk back to the apartment. We picked up
some preprepared food at a cool little market and enjoyed stuffed ravioli and marinera
sauce for dinner. Our discussion turned to where to go the next day. We had a car,
so we wanted to get out of the city. A plan was made.
March 19, 2025 – Barcelona, Spain
Today was the start of our weather window to head south in
the boat, but that ship will not sail. Instead, we headed out to Girona and Figueres,
Spain, NNW of Barcelona. In Girona we found very beautiful churches and quaint
shops in the Jewish Quarter, yeas, churches. Girona is a biking meca and the birthplace
of what is now the Brompton folding bike made in London. The idea started with
a company called Chap 3, based here in Girona. This morphed into a partnership
and the development of the Brompton Bike. We have our two electric Brompton
bikes on the boat for alternative transportation. There are many bike and
running shops in this town.
Heading north from Girona we found the Dali Museum in Figures where Dali was born and died. The building was a theatre that had been destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. Dali bought the remains and had it rebuilt and renovated into a museum for his works of art. It was a brilliant repurposing of a theatre. The multiple levels of corridors that circled the perimeter of the building and led to the upper balconies and boxes for seating now housed his works on the walls and the doors to the balconies were now windows into an open-air atrium. The atrium was once the seating area on the floor, now it was an open-air display area with many sculptures and displays. The stage was glassed in and provided an indoor three-story display area with a mural filling all of the largest wall. He is a very gregarious character, and it is reflected in his art. He is very capable of creating fabulous paintings in a traditional sense but tends to do more eclectic work that appears to be satirical with lots of social and political commentary. He worked in lots of different mediums, he even created amazing jewelry. It was a unique experience to visit a museum where the artist curated his own works and designed the museum for his own purpose.
After the museum we stopped for some tapas and a beer before getting on the road for the drive back to Barcelona. You can not go wrong with Spanish tapas. The traffic back into Barcelona was worse than LA and DC put together to many people! But we made it, happy to be home safe on this rainy day.
March 20, 2025 – Barcelona, Spain
We were up and on the road by 0500 heading to Denia, or so
we thought. We were directed to a shop in Denia by our Dessalator Rep Martin to
pick up the parts for our water maker. 5 hours later we arrived in Denia. It
was at this time that I saw Martins Whatsapp message telling me he would be at
his shop in Javea, 30 minutes further south! It was a beautiful drive through a
rocky mountain/hill pass and down into his valley. We found his shop at his
home.
Martin is the engineer behind the Dessalator Water Maker, I
was anxious to meet him and talk shop. On the way through his yard, we saw an
incredible Valencia orange tree bursting with fruit. He encouraged us to take
as many as we like. Suzette launched in and had a couple peeled and ready to
eat while Martin showed me his workshop. He is working on the next version of
the water maker that will be more compact and run efficiently off lithium
batteries. I will spare you the technical stuff and just say that I learned a
lot about my water maker. We made our purchase and snagged a bag of oranges on
our way out.
We drove back to Denia and enjoyed a picnic overlooking the
inlet to Denia Marina. This is where I made landfall after single handing
Raffaellesco from Ibiza while Suzette recovered from her torn retina repair
nearly 2 years ago. For our ride home it rained off and on but generally it was
a comfortable drive. I try to set the cruise control for the speed limit, but
it is hard to maintain on this two-lane highway. The trucks are moving along at
80 to 100 kph in the right lane which means one is slowly passing the other with
regularity. In the left lane the cars are moving at about 130 to 140 kph and do
not hesitate to let you know you are in the way when driving at the 120 kph
speed limit. The traffic from the south was not so bad as we arrived back in
Barcelona. I had been doing so well not getting in trouble driving here but as
I made my final turn on to the street, we parked on a police officer pulled me
over. Evidently, I made an illegal left turn, it worked out ok yesterday when I
made that turn. He asked if we were on holiday and where we were from. I told
him we were from California. He probably thought “well that explains it,” and
let us off with a verbal warning. Glad to be parked after 11 hours of driving.
We dropped our bags at the apartment and hit the street hoping the Sushi bar was open at 1930. No luck, so we walked and found a Taverna. I had been looking for Pinchos, a tapa where they put a variety of things on a slice of what look like a French baguette. They had just what I was looking for, a variety of Pinchos, a very artfully presented spinach salad and a glass or two of Tempranillo.
Back at the apartment we finished off the membrillo on a
digestive for dessert. We were working hard to finish off the groceries we had bought,
and we were succeeding.
March 21, 2025 – Barcelona, Spain
Up at a normal hour having enjoyed a great sleep. I was busy
checking weather and deciding weather we would leave Kotor and head to Bar in
the boat tomorrow, it was not looking good.
Coffee and the last of our fruit and yogurt for breakfast.
We managed to pack our purchases in our knap sacks and check out of our hotel,
we will be back here when we return to Barcelona in June. We dropped off the
rental car and negotiated the security check in the airport. I knew that they
would flag my pully, eight inches of milled aluminum with steel ball bears and
a steel collar, I am sure it looked like a land mine. We explained what is was
and the agent was satisfied. Time for an espresso and an on-time boarding.
We were seated near the exit row and either side of the aisle. The plane was not full and, oddly enough, there were several empty seats in the exit row. The flight attendant asked if I would mind sitting at the exit door, no problem, exit row and Suzette and I were able to sit together. Our driver met us at the airport right on time and we were quickly through the border check and back the boat on a beautiful sunny day. There was lots of activity on the dock as people were starting to get their boats ready for spring. Patrick and Christine had returned from the US to their boat, Shanti.
I was still on the fence about leaving tomorrow, but the
admiral said it was time to make progress. We closed our tab with the marina and
stopped for some groceries to tie us over for a few days. We readied the boat
for a morning departure though I was unable to reach the marina in Bar to make
sure that they had a spot for us. We will check in the morning before we go.
March 22, 2025 – Lazure Marina, Montenegro
Up and checking the weather one last time. The weather was
good for today’s run 35 miles south to Bar. After that the weather was crappy,
not dangerous, just wet and windy. We had no confirmation from Bar Marina, but
the Admiral said go, so I readied the boat and pulled out of Lazure Marina.
We had hazy sunshine, cumulus clouds offshore in the distance, wind 10-15 from the SE and seas 1 to 3’ from the S. Our course had us heading SE so it was a 5 hour motor into the wind and sea. We bundled up in our foul weather gear and endured a little pounding as we worked our way SE. Arriving in Bar the Marina was very responsive on the radio and directed us into the marina and a side tie on a fixed concrete dock. The sailor was very helpful and spoke English well. He advised us that if we needed anything the stores were open today but closed on Sunday. He collected our papers and told us to check into the marina office on Monday when they open. It felt great to be making progress to Greece.
While I finished securing the boat Suzette made hot cocoa and a serving of fruit and yogurt to take the chill off and put some fuel in our bellies. We walked the new neighborhood to get the lay of the land, we may be here for a while waiting for the next weather window. This is a much more walkable city than the town near our last marina. Candler, grocery store, etc. close by. The boat yard was filled with a range of boats from very nice to derelict but even the derelict boats are interesting to me.
The wind and cold take their toll on you, but we managed to
stay up until 2230 knowing we had no commitments in the morning and no harsh
weather for which to brace. A blissful night’s sleep.
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