Italt to Croatia - May/June'15

Hi All:

We trust everyone wintered well. Ours was a particularly long bitter cold one, but with less snow than previously.

We have been back at the boat for just over one month now. As always first dealing with the never-ending job list, but now underway motoring through dead calm as we write this. We have left Italy and are heading south along the Croatian coast, anchoring at night in order to avoid the busy touristy, chartering areas. This being early June, the hordes of Italian boaters haven’t yet ascended, so it is a wonderful time to visit. It is however already 30+ during the day, but with cooler nights for sleeping.

This is the commencement of our 11^th season and our goal is to travel west from Italy to Gibraltar for a winter mooring. There are so many more places of interest we’d like to see, but social and political unrest suggests otherwise. We’ve had five good seasons here, so no complaints. Maybe when we switch to land yacht, we’ll return to see what we have missed.



our winter mooring was under a street lamp
the batteries were always full, but blackout curtains were needed to sleep

We left Monfalcone, our winter berth, but had to go to Trieste to get our new mainsail. In order to avoid paying the 23% VAT, Customs insisted upon seeing the sail installed. A video of the installation or affidavit would not suffice. It is only 20 miles away, so worth the trip. But at boat speed that is 3-4 hours one way. At the dock in Trieste, Customs appeared before the sail showed up. A document was presented for signature, along with application of the ship’s stamp and was gone. Sixty seconds! Still no sail. The sailmaker (Italian) explained that we had to go through the process because of two problems. First problem – they are Customs. Second problem – they are Italian.

Grado - between Monfalcone and Venice
the long narrow channel to center of town

From Trieste it is a couple of hops over to Venice, which we have pegged as being the high point of this season. We were able to moor in the Venice lagoon on the island of Venice, so that we could walk everywhere, and walk we did. When the feet gave out it was onto the vaporetta (water taxi). The entire experience – simply outstanding! We loved every single minute of the visit and wished to have stayed longer.

Half the time you are lost because the alley maze is so intricate. Boating articles have suggested the possibility of taking your own dinghy through the canals (with appropriate authorization), but that is rife with so many problems. Enroute from your boat to the city you would most probably get swamped by the passing vaporettas. They, and everyone else whizzes about at top speed. Once inside the maze you would quickly become disoriented and then trying to squeeze by a gondola in the narrow canals, will quickly make you want to rethink your decision.

We were able to visit the nearby island Morana, world famous for its glass blowing and Burano, known for its lace. Both equally as interesting as Venice, without the crowds, because if I get poked by just one more selfie stick …………

Now back to Croatia. Two nights ago we were wandering around the island of Olib in search of a bakery. We stopped an older gentleman and his daughter, hoping they could point us in the right direction. The daughter responded in the thickest New York accent giving us a start. Apparently they and over half the island folk return every year from the US. They all left when the political situation soured 30 plus years ago, but now return to their birth land every summer.

 
 

So today we are motoring south, in blazing sun and zero air, amongst the many Croatian islands with the Velebitski Mountain range providing the back drop. Easy to see why this is one of the premier sailing areas of the Med. We have given ourselves about two more weeks here before crossing back over to Italy just above the Boot and then points west.

So we’ll just say ciao for now………..Mike and Grace

 

Montenegro & Croatia 2014

 

 

 

 

Hi All: 

As indicated in our previous post, this is our second and last post for this 2014 season. Season 10 is finito.

We have arrived at our winter mooring at Monfalcone, Italy (near Trieste) and are preparing for lift out. Apparently the winter winds in the area can be substantial (force 9-10), such that the marina positions the boats on the land, bow to wind to lessen the chance of them falling over. We also have to winterize the boat against freezing – something not required since leaving Canada.

Since our last posting, we visited Montenegro (spectacular!) and parts of Croatia (lovely). We anticipate filling in the blanks in Croatia next spring, when we head south heading out of the Med. We skipped Slovenia because the coast line is very short and the check-in/out procedure and cost did not justify.

This summer we covered almost 2000 nm and regrettably 80% was by motor. For us, the winds were just not fair, but boats heading the other way had it right. Poor planning on our part. I guess.

It felt like unsettled weather joined us the moment we cleared into Montenegro and stayed right up to Italy (it’s pouring today) and it was a rare day not to have a weather warning included in the daily marine forecast. For the most part the accuracy and timing of the forecast was pretty good, so we could work around it. But it is important to stay informed because the area has significant winds that arrive instantaneously and hang on for days (the Bora from the north and the Sirocco from the south). The Croatian archipelago can afford smooth sailing in a blow, but sections can also channel the winds (hence one of our reason for skipping parts this go round).

The pics show one instance we all got it wrong and felt somewhat exposed. At one time we counted four water spouts dropping from a storm cell, but all dissipated before there was any serious alarm.

Hard to see - but we counted four spouts forming
 

If we were getting nervous/what about the boat just left of the base?
(click to enlarge)

MONTENEGRO

The main attraction of Montenegro is a fiord that almost rivals Norway. The Kotor Fiord cuts into the coast about 20 miles and is lined with steep hills/cliffs (1000m) presenting a magnificent vista. The red tiled roofed villages, breaking the shore line, seemed to start here. But the Kotor town castle walls, climbing from water’s edge to summit were nothing short of spectacular (1350 steps – we counted).

Looking down Kotor Fiord from the Castle

The Town of Kotor

Kotor castle
 

When exiting the fiord you pass two islands near Persat (Otok Gospa & Otok SV Djordje). One is a walled functioning convent. The other island is artificial, having been created by the people of Persat who boat out to the island every July 22 to drop a stone. The tradition started 1452 when an icon of the Virgin was discovered there. Today, the island supports a church which is swarmed daily by tripper boats.

Convent on the left - Artificial island on the right

St Stephen is also an island which gave us a wow! moment. This being Montenegro’s most photographed site, started life as a simple island fishing village, but was later joined to the mainland by a causeway. Today it is a 5 star hotel frequented by the well-heeled.



St Stephen - Montenegros most photographed scene

CROATIA

Another reason we skipped parts of Croatia was because –“you are coming at the wrong time of year -tourist season”. The many ancient walled UNESCO towns were reported to be shoulder to shoulder and the popular anchorages will be filled to capacity by the hordes of Italian boats. Well over half of the boats are Italian flagged.

But we got more than our fill of ancient walled towns and there are many attractive uncharted anchorages, you don’t need to stress yourself to enjoy Croatia’s offering. Unfortunately, many of the good anchorages have been filled with mooring balls operating as private concessions.

Korkula Monastary - wakes you at 0600 daily with 128 strikes of the bell
(counted that also)

Korkula town quay



Korkula castle turret



walled town of Korkula

 

One island, which has only recently been opened to the public, was Tito’s personal playground. But to say open to the public is a bit of a stretch. Visitation is by reservation only and only mega/super yachts are to be seen at the dock because of the astronomical mooring fees.

Pula -another ancient UNESCO town



Pula - Roman coliseum



Pula - commercial harbour cranes at night



submarine pens found everywhere - some large enough to moor inside



passing a bridge leading into Krka Nat,l Park Croatia
They were bungy jumping between the many passing boats



part of the vast array of waterfalls in Krka Nat'l Park
the pics don't do them justice



just after a thunderstorm in Havar

We have found Croatia is a good place to cruise despite the weather and always sloppy seas. The navigation aids/lighthouses are first class and bureaucracy is not anywhere near the burden we had anticipated. So we look forward to returning next spring and seeing many of the more touristy spots we bypassed this year.

 Our flights home are booked and boat jobs will be interspersed with day trips. We can only hope that Two Moons continues to dodge the bullet with any of the winter winds that may happen here in Monfalcone.

Good wishes to all……..Ciao……….Mike and Grace

 

Season 10 - Turkey to Albania

Hi All:

We hope all is well and good with you and yours. It has been a while since we had reason to post to our blog, but friends have been emailing us asking – where are you? Still in Canada? Well, we are writing this in Orikum Marina, Albania. The one and only marina in Albania.

We started our tenth season mid – April, back in Alanya, Turkey, where we spent about three weeks getting Two Moons out of moth balls. Since then we have covered about 1200 nm retracing our steps through Turkey, the Greek Isles, up into the Adriatic and most of that has been under motor. (hence the name “The Motorteranean”). The winds have been all or nothing, and all means on the nose.

Add caption

Turkey exit:

Getting out of Turkey proved to be a bit of a challenge for us. We waited for four days at one of the ports of entry, whose office was closed “temporarily”, only to learn the day before we thought we would be leaving, that it would be two more weeks before they would reopen……….maybe.  So it was on

Our waiting place
 

to the next official port of entry/exit.

A practice has arisen where agents have inserted themselves between the port officials and the cruiser, charging a hefty fee for what is easy to do yourself. We feel the port officials are supporting this because the agent is doing some of their work and possibly receive a little extra as well. We had done our best to avoid these agents, but were finally forced into it at our second check-out point. After waiting the suggested time period we met with our now very irate agent. “Big problem……big problem” was his opening remark. It seemed that despite our having all the requisite documentation in hand, none of it had ever been entered into the Turkish tracking system. For all intents and purposes, we were not in Turkey. So big problem?,No big problem. Thank you and goodbye – we just left.

Greece – Peloponnese:

Heading west, rather than go back through the Corinth Canal, we went south around the Peloponnese, which has the reputation of a Cape Finistere or other windy headlands. Non-plussed, in fact rather relieved, we motored past in dead calm. But we were now into new territory, which was all the more enjoyable because the excitement of new territory was back and there were very few other boats, unlike in the Greek islands.

Regrettably this solidarity was short lived because as we approached sailing centers of Prevesa, Lefskada and Corfu, the charter boats appear by the hundreds. You need sharp elbows to guard your spot in the anchorage and be very diligent when a flotilla of charter boats appears. They are folks with little to no sailing experience chasing after the mother ship.

One flotilla nestled onto dock head

We found Corfu to be a wonderful sailing area with many anchorages and crystal clear waters. This was our last Greek destination, because from here we checked out (no problem) and crossed the 15 nm to Sarandes, Albania.

Albania:

We have discovered that things work a little differently in Albania. Greece is quite easy going bureaucratically. Turkey a bit more restrictive. Albania still doesn’t know how to work with recreational vessels in that they treat us in the same manner as they do a commercial tanker.

Unavoideably we engaged an agent to clear customs and also to clear in and out of port. Port police are present during these occasions. Even though we have now cleared customs, the next port requires us to have an agent to pay our 15 euro harbour fee. The agent’s fee to present the harbour fee – 40 euro.

There are only five harbours in Albania and all are full-fledged commercial operations, which offer nothing for the cruising yachtsman. Some cases the pier has been too high to get off the boat, save scrambling up a massive truck tire onto the pier.

Just thankful the tides are minimal

Unfortunately there are not many natural anchorages along the Albanian coast and few offer protection from the powerful winds screaming in from the south or north. The large sheltered bay in which the only Albanian marina resides does not allow any anchoring because it was all a former mine field and has yet to be officially cleared.  Hmmmm………a good marketing job by some unnamed local marina?

 

Gramma Bay - probably the best anchorage in Albania

From what little we have seen of Albania, there still exists the communistic mindset of dominance on the part of those with some authority-  in daily enterprise, individual freedom and official presence. People are not well off, but it is the odd car which is not a Mercedes. We were told that under the communistic period they were not even allowed to own bicycles, so now car ownership is highly prized – but a Mercedes? One article stated that the roads are very poor and it is only a Mercedes that will stand up. It has also been said that many are hot from around Europe – which goes with the Tourist Bureau’s ad campaign – Come vacation in Albania…….your car is already here!

We have not encountered many tourist attractions, but sailing the coast it is hard to miss the thousands and thousands of bunkers. These two man cement domes were erected by Albania’s past oppressive regime in response to a perceived coastal attack. Statistics indicate there are 500,000 of these crumbling structures all along the coast.

But not to seem overly negative, everyone we have encountered has been warm, friendly and eager to practice their english. Although we have had a few awkward moments when we forget that their head  gestures are opposite to ours – shaking the head side to side means yes.

Tomorrow we head to our last Albanian port, where we will undertake exit procedures (with our agent) and then into Montenegro. Weather permitting we plan to sail through Croatia until we reach our wintering port of Monfalcone, Italy, sometime at the end of September.

AIS:

By the way, apart from posting our position onto the Winlink2000 web site, it is possible to go on-line and see our real-time position through something called Live Ships AIS. If this interests you drop us an email and we will provide the steps.

AIS screen print depicting cargo vessels surrounding us - we are the red dot

Well, we hope your summer unfolds as planned and you stay happy and healthy,

Cheers………..Mike and Grace

North Cyprus Fall 2013

Hi All:

Well, it looks like the 2013 season is put to bed and we are home in Canada. We didn’t get a lot of miles under our keel, but it was still a good time. Two Moons has remained on the hard since  October 2012.

We returned to Turkey in the spring and enjoyed some extended road trips. Then it was back to Canada for  July to September in order to attend the wedding of our second son, Taylor. In September we held a 90^th birthday for Mike’s dad. Our first Canadian summer in eight years was a nice respite from the Med's heat. Upon our return, indications were that it was good to have been away.

Mid September we returned to Alanya, Turkey, with some misgivings because we hadn't been able to compile a clear travel plan. It seemed that every time we focused upon a destination in the Eastern Med, they would start warring. Egypt had been our goal. No! Syria. No! Israel?

However, filling the days in Alanya was not a  problem, because the boat To-Do list  grows exponentially. But all work and no play makes Grace a grumpy girl (or something like that), so we had to take some diversionary time.

For two years we have tried to reach Cyprus, but Turkish travel logistics have always proven far too complicated to make the effort. But fortunately another boat here in Alanya offered us passage as crew to North Cyprus. Their captain and crew had personal physical limitations, which hindered their sailing and we were only too willing and able.

North Cyprus is but 90 miles from Alanya, Turkey, but you are required to visit another harbour about 125 nautical miles east of Alanya in order to formally check out of Turkey. You are traveling from mainland Turkey to the Republic of North Cyprus - TRNC (Turkish territories), but are compelled to undergo the formalities of checking out of Turkey and into North Cyprus. It is a financial and administrative source of aggravation on both ends, only to be repeated upon return.

While sitting in Tasucu (the check out  harbour) a pair of backpackers hailed the boat, indicating they had spied the Canada flag on my (Mike’s) ball cap. As we chatted, we learned the couple, also Canadian, live one block away from our home in Canada. It got down right scary as we learned his name is Mike. His wife was a teacher, who was born in the Netherlands. Fortunately, before the commonalities could heap any higher, they had to run to catch their ferry over to Northern Cyprus.

North Cyprus - After a long day’s motor we finally arrived in Girne, North Cyprus. First impressions were of a long inhospitable coast, backed by a majestic mountain ridge. The Greek population was evacuated in 1974 by the Turks, in response to a Greek coup. Today, the north and south remain separated by a wide green corridor, essentially splitting the island and the cultures. The corridor continues to be partolled by UN peacekeepers.

 

Atop the mountains separating N from S - looking at N Cyprus



Little doubt who has claimed this neighbourhood



Although Turkish teriritory, we encountered  a very liberalized, Anglicized  community, complete with right-hand-side motor ways; British electrical plugs; bacon, chops and sausages, fish and chips and very cost effective alcoholic beverages. We don’t recall hearing one call to prayer; lost track of the number of casinos in Girne and were astounded when cars would actually stop for us to cross at zebra crossings.
 

Our home base - Girne, N Cyprus



We rented a car for three days and covered the TRNC from east to west. With Mike doing all the driving, only one bush suffered from thee steering wheel being on the” wrong side”. Castles atop the mountain range were reached along very narrow single lane switch-back “roads” which supported no guard rails. In the west end of the republic is a reserve which is home to 1000 feral donkeys.  All told the scenery was lovely and worth all the effort.

A "wild" donkey



Add caption



North and south Cyprus are separated by a green zone, which even divides the capital, Nicosia in half. We had heard many divergent opinions regarding our ability, or inability to cross the border. We had heard you can go north to south, but not the reverse. The south won’t let you in if you have a Turkish stamp in your passport. A long story short, we walked across the border without incident. The guards were not even looking to see if the passports presented applied to the persons before them.

We opted not to tour southern Cyprus after leaning that it is very flat., with the coast ringed by a continuous wall of  resort condominiums. The south sounds excellent for the all-inclusive holiday get-away on lovely beaches, but not what we were searching for.

North Cyprus beach

 

We had motored through dead calm for the last four days to arrive at Cyprus, but all the while at dock in Cyprus we saw gale force winds. As they say – better to be in here wishing you were out there – than to be out there wishing you were in here. When our time came to head back to Alanya, the winds had eased to the point where we motored all the way back. We dragged a fishing line the entire time and got nothing. We expected to hear traffic on the VHF as a result of the larger international naval presence in response to the Syrian crisis. Not a word.

It was realy hard to put on shoes and long pants for the flight home. The fall Turkish weather had been fabulous. The days were sunny. There was moderate temperatures and humidity, which was perfect for the ongoing boat jobs. We are now in good shape for next years plans, if we can just find a destination where sensibilities preside.

That's it for season nine. If we fail to make contact over the winter months, we wish you a safe and healthy  winter holiday season. Keep the dry side up...........Mike and Grace

Girne Venetian castle



Old Nicosia



olive festival - Girne

Black Sea-Georgia Road Trip

Hi All:

In order to avoid the intense heat endured while camping on the concrete pad in Alanya Marina, we  took  a very long drive (3,000 + kilometers) from Alanya, north to the Turkish Black Sea coast, with a day trip into Batumi, Georgia.

In advance, we took great pains to inform the guide, that because of the distance, he had to provide a quality van, with all seats facing forward. He picked us up in an almost new VW people carrier, which we enjoyed for three hours, until we were pulled over by the Turkish road police. A check of the vehicle’s records showed that the license renewal was 30 days past due. Do they instruct the guide to go to the closest vehicle bureau or issue a fine?  No, they impound the van on the spot, in the middle of nowhere. It took a lot of sorting out to get the vehicle leasing company to deliver a replacement in the closest town. They arrived with a 20+ year old Mercedes van, whose sliding side door kept popping ajar and an interior was beyond scruffy. A good start to our weeks sojourn.

bOur first stop of key interest that day was in Konya, the epicenter of the Dervish religion (as in whirling dervish). The beautiful mosque/museum well illustrated the origins and history of the religion. 



Konya - The Dervish Museum



    A tea break later was at Sultanhani Caravanserai (1229), which is the best remaining example of where the merchants travelling the Silk road would stop to rest and conduct business. 

Sultanhani Caravaserai

Cappadocia

Day 2 brought us the highlight of the trip, which was a balloon ride over Cappadocia, renowned for its unique topography and Christian dwellings within the rock formations. It was a 0400 pick-up which took us out to the “air field”, where we watched the many balloons being inflated. 

Following some safety instructions we climbed aboard and were adjusted for ballast. Then it was a gentle dawn lift-off, along with the other 50+ balloons. 

The sandstone and volcanic stone has been eroded by wind and rain to produce a spectacular landscape. Early Christians in the area saw pigeons burrowing into the sandstone to make nests and followed suit, leaving behind a wild array of surface and underground residences and churches.   

The pilot explained all his maneuvers to ease any tension and demonstrated that he could only control up and down or rotation. He took us from where the basket kissed the grain in a nearby field and then up to a panoramic 1000 meters.

Nearing the end of the flight, the chase crew appeared in a nearby field, where the pilot softly landed the basket precisely onto the trailer bed.

Precisely how we landed



While we were enjoying our glass of celebratory bubbly, the ground crew deflated the balloon. The glass of bubbly is a tradition stemming from the conclusion of the very first balloon flight in France, in a balloon constructed of paper. A well deserved tipple in our eyes and start to a great tradition.

We were able to see only a small section of the area. Some subterranean dwellings are reported to descend 7-9 levels. Other “Fairy Chimneys” are hollowed out with rooms, windows and doors



The local cop shop

 

From Cappadocia, it was a long drive to the northern Black Sea coast where we visited many ancient mosques and churches. But the most spectacular required a long and sometimes tricky climb up a cliff face to the Sumela Monastary, in Trabezon. It is a 4^th century Greek Orthodox structure glued 1200 feet up to a rock face. It was finally abandoned in 1923, but the extensive friezes show centuries of vandalism by the many domineering forces that passed through.



Sumela Monestary 4th century - Trabazon




A tricky path to the monestary



some of the defaced friezes

The end of the day brought us to our hotel for the next three nights. We were now well into the steep mountains along the north coast, such that our van couldn’t deliver us up the last stretch. Our host had to drive down the steep narrow path to get us. This was a rustic family run affair, which grew/made most of what was served at meal time (cheese, eggs, veg, trout, nuts, hooche). The evening’s entertainment was provided by neighbours who stopped by for a sip and a song. It was a very enjoyable and educational experience seeing how these folks eked out a living in hard conditions. Tea is a major crop for the area and harvesting looked arduous owing to the 45 degree incline of the ground.





Tea "fields"

Batumi, Georgia



Carousel  at 3/4 mark

  We took a one day excursion across the boarder into Georgia, to the port city of Batumi. Because of the recent oil discoveries it is undergoing an economic boom.

Radisson Hotel/University






The Upside Down Whitehouse
political statement?

 There still remains extensive evidence of the Russian love for uninspired concrete block buildings, but large sums of US investment are changing its skyline – Donald Trump included. For us, the most memorable aspect of Georgia was getting out. We arrived at the border crossing at prime time and havoc ensued. It was our first time of being in a crowd where we became concerned for our safety. We were forced to pass through a long hot airless tunnel, which took well over an hour and a half. The crowd became aggravated with the waiting time and was surging toward the passport desks. Armed guards were pushing back. We believe the boarder was closed behind us as part of the control measures. It was sheer madness.



All told we covered about 3000 kilometers in a week. Not something we’d rush out and do again.

Our goal had been to check out the Turkish north coast to determine if we wanted to sail there next summer. Our conclusion was decidedly not. Inland is very varied with a mountainous coastline fading to flat farm land, but the coast and its harbours were not at all inviting. Furthermore, despite all their talk about environmental proponents, the towns along the Black Sea all have their municipal trash heaps on the shore line. But, we feel now we have done Turkey proud by touring more of its inner self than we have for any other country. We only scratched the surface on Turkey’s vast archeological offering, much of which is not promoted. We found that our schooling is practically void when it comes to mentioning Turkey’s political and religious history. Another benefit was the trip gave us a break from the relenting heat we were experiencing in Alanya. And they tell us it gets hotter for July and August. But, we don’t care. We are now home back in Canada, for the next two months, to attend our youngest son’s wedding and my (Mike’s) fathers 90^th birthday. We expect to return to Turkey in the fall. But unfortunately the political and social unrest throughout the eastern Med is placing many restrictions on our travel options. So, we’ll just have to wait and see. Until then, we wish a good summer to all.

Mike and Grace