It has been three weeks since we arrived at our marina in Slano, Croatia - just north of Dubrovnik. The first thing I want to say is Croatia is pure magic! So much beauty everywhere the mountains, lakes, coast, and sea. The architecture is stunning, some of the best stone carvings and masonry work I have ever seen. The seafood is to die for and the wine is wonderful, plentiful, and of great value. The people are kind, polite and helpful. It also feels so safe here. Oh, and the cats are everywhere and just as adorable as the Turkish ones. I can't think of a better place to start our sailing adventure.
Before the pandemic, our sailing plans were going to put us on the move a lot. Our thought was to cruise through new countries in the Mediterranean every 3 months or so. However, once the pandemic started in 2020, we learned about all the issues sailors had crossing borders and getting stuck in places. Therefore, we decided to get a marina slip in Croatia for 2021 as things start to slowly open up and go back to normal. This will be our home base to come back to in-between all our passages around the country. We are also applying for a one-year permit so we won't have to leave after our 90 days as tourists here expire. I'm so glad we decided to do this. It will also be nice to be on a slower pace as we break into boat life, living onboard and learning all about our boat intimately - before we start doing major passages.
Today I just learned Greece is now finally open for sailing. This is a good sign that things are normalizing. We came across a cruiser last week who was stuck in Greece for months, with his boat in a marina and unable to sail. He was told by authorities he could not leave the country. Finally, he had enough and sailed out one night to Albania and later Croatia where we met up with him. He is so happy to be here! Things in Croatia really do feel normal + the sailing is fantastic and it's pretty empty of tourists and cruisers right now.
It was very easy to enter with our Covid vaccination cards. Currently, as I write this (May 15, 2021) Croatia will allow you to enter with either a completed vaccination card, or a negative PCR test under 48 hours old. We had both which was a good thing because the negative PCR test was needed to board the plane over to Croatia. Masks are required at stores, on buses, and in public indoor places. But people don't wear them when walking on the streets, sitting outdoors at a restaurant, or walking around the marina. So somedays we forget all about the pandemic.
The days have been busy and filled with nonstop projects and activities, so it took me a while to get around to posting an update here. After spending the winter tied up in the marina there was a lot of cleaning and prep work that needed to be done before we could take Sea Bee out to sail. Also, a few days were spent provisioning and shopping. The weather was stormy and rainy so it was just as well. It loves to rain in Croatia and when it rains it pours! This is at least my experience from spending last September and this month of May here. I'm looking forward to the heat and dry weather coming in summer!
We just returned yesterday from our first 8-day passage around some of the stunning islands. It was incredible and the sailing was great. We had some exciting high winds around 35 knots and some very calm days as well. Sea Bee handled herself well. Hopefully in the next week or so we will find time to edit all our footage from our passage and push out our 4th video on our YouTube channel. Stay tuned!