On 14th August we left the beautiful Saplunara bay, not unwillingly cause the swell did not guarantee us a good night’s sleep and headed to Dubrovnic, our last stop in Croatia. Dubrovnic is majestic. Yet another UNESCO heritage city, it’s surrounded by medieval walls, steep and narrow streets,, and sparkling waters. We managed to anchor just outside the impressive Old Town and we were thinking it was too good to be true-we were right, but I will come back to that later. We boarded our trusted dinghy and entered the world-famous city and set of Game of Thrones, specifically the King’s Landing. I would definitely like to visit again but this place is not toddler-friendly. There are a million stairs and most streets are so narrow that no stroller can fit through. However, we did stroll around Stradum, the city gates, and Loggia Square, ate the biggest ice cream ever, and also had a quick dinner in one simple restaurant in the square. On our way out we even witnessed a wedding but the fireworks were so much that looked more like a football match rather than a wedding celebration!

Filled with food and beautiful sights we returned to our boat happy only to realize that the swell was so great that there was no way we could ever sleep! So, at 9pm we took our anchor out and re-anchored in the nearby island of Lokum, which apparently is an attraction of its own! There was swell there too, but very manageable so we did get some much-needed rest. The next morning we bid our goodbyes to Dubrovnic and sailed our way to Lapad, a resort bay next to Dubrovnic. The plan was to spend two days here, where the shelter was good so Jelle could work while we were waiting for a good weather window to sail to Montenegro.

Unfortunately, the wind would only come on Saturday which meant we had to spend another 5 days in that bay and after long discussions, we decided to leave Wednesday, 17th August to Montenegro even if it meant we had to motor all the way through. For our last night in Croatia, we went to the Dubrovnic marina, so we could do groceries, clean the boat, fill up on water and electricity and have some rest. The marina was ridiculously overpriced (100 euros a night!) but it featured a pool bar which we deeply enjoyed. In the spirit of spoiling ourselves, after taking a long hot shower in the excellent marina facilities, we crossed the street and had dinner in a lovely garden burger place. Clean, fed, and happy, we went to bed and had happy thoughts about our next destination on the map: Montenegro!

Interested? Do not miss the next post coming soon!