Friday, July 24, 2015
Another early morning start. Alicia and I picked up more groceries from Konzum, and fresh fruits and veggies from nearby stands to last for the next week. My favorite fruit here is apricot. I've never tasted any apricot more fresh and flavorful than in Croatia.
We were out by 9:30 A.M. on a course for Vis Island. More specifically, to moor in Kut, right next to Vis town.
We were sailing slowly but surely in six to eight knots of wind, in a favorable direction. The fastest sailing is done at an angle of 90 degrees to the wind, but anything from 60-90 degrees is nice because you have speed as well as the wind blowing into you. Plus, you can get the boat to heel a bit, too, which gets exciting.
We need any extra wind we can get, since there's been record heat in Croatia. Every native says the same thing: "It's too hot! Even we are not used to this!"
Looking back at Hvar I can see cumulonimbus clouds building over the island. Every ten minutes I look back and see it progress a bit more. It's interesting to see clouds build up over large land masses, particularly when they're a safe distance away from us.
The heat necessitated a jump into the water while we were at sea. A schooner came passed us. So many exquisite boats I've seen this week. From where do they all originate, I wonder?
Terry put on his lifejacket.
"Alright, I'm going in the dinghy. Ems, take the helm."
Terry took the opportunity to use the dinghy to drive around the boat for a video and pictures. You know, to see Pipi in action.
He climbed in and started up the motor. I was ready to untie the line attached to the boat. Then the dinghy motor died. He tried it a few more times then looked at the level of gas.
"There's none left!"
"You are so lucky that didn't happen even one minute later, when you were untied from the boat!" I yelled back to him. We were only sailing at a speed of about 2 knots, but I didn't want to get out of relaxation mode and perform a man-overboard exercise to retrieve him.
Terry filled up on gas and then went on his way to get some stellar pictures of Pipi in her glory. Talk about an advertisement for SailCroatia.net. He was doing circles around the boat, before he finally came back on board.
We arrived at Vis Island about 6:00 P.M. and grabbed a mooring ball. The nice thing about them is that you know you're secure when attached. No need to worry about an anchor slipping in the middle of the night.
We drove the dinghy a short distance to the dockside, and started to walk about.
"Let's look for some shower facilities," Alicia decided, after I mentioned there were some in the vicinity. So we went on a scavenger hunt.
I didn't care. A week on this boat has made me even more low maintenance. No makeup, I bathe in the sea, and soak a rashguard in water to keep me cool. Perhaps it was good my fiancé didn't see me so grungy.
We walked by a small church. The hum of women chanting prayers came out through the opening.
"They're praying the rosary," I told Terry and Alicia. "It was tradition before Croatian mass in New York, as well, and I can tell they're praying the Hail Mary right now."
"Even in Croatian, it has the same cadence," Terry observed.
He saw a paper that was posted on the entrance door. "What's time is it? There's a mass at 19:00."
"6:53."
"Wanna go?"
"Absolutely!" I said.
Truly a godsend. I was just thinking the day or two earlier about how I was going to get to a mass on this trip.
The service barely lasted thirty minutes, but it was nice to sit in on a mass spoken in the Croatian language. I hadn't been to a Croatian mass in Manhattan in over a year. I only remembered a few phrases and main prayers. I let life get in the way of becoming fluent in Croatian. Regardless, it was a nice surprise in Kut, even if I couldn't understand most of it.
We continued to walk around the perimeter of Vis. So many great views along the water. Eventually, we decided to find a place to refresh with a drink and started to head back.
Amir e-mailed us some restaurant suggestions. I knew where two of them were but I couldn't find the third. We decided to eat at the restaurant closest to where our dinghy was tied up. By a stroke of luck, I looked over and saw the name "Pojoda," the name of the restaurant I couldn't find.
We walked into a courtyard of a restaurant, a lovely atmosphere unbeknownst to those who simply pass by the entrance.
We sat down and looked over the menu.
"What do you want to order?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter."
"Whatever you want is fine."
Three indecisive or different people traveling together. Goodness gracious.
"Are you ready to order?" The waiter came to ask.
"How big is a kilogram of fish?" I asked.
"Oh, the fish won't be exactly a kilogram. Let me show you the plate." A minute or two later he came back with a platter of raw fish, in various sizes and species.
"Wow." Talk about fresh. "Well, we've already had gof and orada, so not those. Umm..." I had no idea what to choose. I pointed to the brightly colored reddish-orange fish because it looked novel. "Let's go with that one."
"The scorpion fish. Very good."
"Also, what is brodetto?" I inquired.
"It's a tomato sauce that we are well known for making. I highly recommend it!"
"Okay, then we'll have the octopus balls [patties] with a side dish, squid brodetto, the scorpion fish, a side of Dalmatian-style swiss chard and potatoes."
"Excellent," the waiter said with a smile. I had never encountered a waiter who was so jolly and happy to help. It seemed like he was truly happy with his life and with his job. That's not to say he was much different from other waiters and waitresses, but this man had a glow about him. He felt like family.
Everything that night was delightful. Every dinner in Croatia has been simply marvelous. How on earth am I going to be able to leave this country when my time here is up?
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