Prelude to Dubrovnik

A prelude is a pre-cursor to the main fare, usually a fugue, but in this case, a visit to Dubrovnik. We entered Croatia in the small village of Cavtat. I think Cavtat is designed to condition new visitors to Croat ways - surliness and financial gouging! After tying up at the mandatory Q berth to check in, we were informed that we must pay 100 Kuna (about AUD $20) for the privilege, that's for about 15 minutes use of the dock. Nice little gig if you can get it.

Walk around Tiha bay next to Cavtat.

Smiles to all the officials we dealt with were met with fierce scowls. Welcome to Croatia! But the scenery was undeniably beautiful. Cavtat is really just a tourist stop, a blip on the map. But there was a lovely walk around Tiha bay where we anchored to the main bay of Cavtat. The pine and fir forests were fragrant and flowers blooming everywhere.

Beautiful forests around the foreshore

Small island just off the coast

Gracious stone villas.

We met up with some 'old' friends, Tony and Mady, that we'd originally met in Sarande, Albania. It was great to see some familiar faces and to share war stories. We've been 'companion cruising' with them since, with occasional get-togethers and information sharing.

T/T Ripple Effect and Spit get acquainted.

Mural on house

Lovely stone laneways

We left Cavtat after a few nights and sailed past Lokrum and Dubrovnik old town to the small island of Kolocep and anchored in Donje Celo. With the southerlies that were blowing, this was a lovely sheltered bay.

Republic of Dubrovnik

The inner harbour in Dubrovnik, don't try to sneak in there!

Town battlements from sea-side

Dubrovnik city walls

Kolocep was a lovely island and we had a fantastic walk fuelled by lots of free cherries stolen from laden trees overhanging the beautiful stone footpath that wound from Donje to Gornje Celo. The island is lush and fertile, with beautiful vegetable gardens and orchards in an idyllic setting.

Local dock in Donje Celo

Town of Donje Celo

We're enjoying the waterways of Croatia. There are islands everywhere and many more bays and anchorages than in Montenegro and Albania. However, the wind here is very changeable and can go from a zephyr to a full-blown gale in minutes. Our delightful anchorage in Donje became rapidly untenable when the wind came in from the north-west, so we beat back to the coast and into the protected bay of Zaton. We holed up here for the night, and headed in to the ACI marina in Dubrovnik early the next morning.

Bridge spanning the main river in Dubrovnik

Closeup of the suspension span as Pavlov slid under

Marinas are very expensive in Croatia, ACI Marina charged us 83 Euro (about AUD $115) for a single night. We generally try to stay out at anchor, and only occasionally pay to stay at a town dock if the weather is very threatening. However, Pavlov was ailing with a fridge that refused to cool, and some batteries that had lost their mojo. We'd ordered some new Trojan batteries to replace our failed units and had decided to pick them up in the marina. We also lined up a technician to re-gas our fridge.

Looking up the river to the marina

Pavlov on the dock of ACI Marina

We made use of all the amenities; luxuriating in long showers, filling our water, fuel and gas tanks and shopping for groceries. While wasting water unashamedly, I meditated on the changing value propositions since we'd been cruising. 

On Pavlov, showers are short and perfunctory: a burst of water (hot if you're lucky) to wet oneself, a quick lather and then another squirt of water to wash off the suds. The less water we consume, the longer we can stay out on anchor. Water is hard to come by in Croatia, there are no public taps and people charge to fill up tanks. So revelling in the wasteful luxury of a long long shower, feeling the water coruscating down my body, soaping with gay abandon, draining the lassitude with a short sharp stab of cold: all of this now represents an absolute indulgence, the equivalent of a week at a luxury resort. What we value is all relative!

Our larder had become impoverished, particularly with no fridge. Now, it was cold beer again. Wow, all mod cons! We are all tanked up and ready to go!