Bohg!
Travel Tip#2: Do not be tempted by old guys who are trying to sell you unidentifiable liquids in old soft drink bottles out of a plastic bag even if they tell you it is great vino!! Seriously, this did happen to us.... Apparently, it is the dregs of some part of the wine making process which is really potent. People have (apparently, once again) gotten drunk on the stuff and never recovered!
Sorry we haven't been in touch for so long, but life has been fairly hectic! We have been in Sukosan (pronounced Sookoshan I think) in Croatia for over a week now. We headed down here over the easter weekend as there was some bad weather forecast and we holed up in Marina Dalmacija to ride it out.
Within a few hours we had met both an English couple (Nigel and Mo from Deja Vu II) and a lovely Kiwi couple (I know, unusual for Kiwi's but there you go!), Sandy and Maree from Freedom. The former were here over Easter to get their boat ready for the summer season and Sandy and Maree are live aboards like us. Craig had a ball having some male company and chatting to someone about maintenance etc.
We got an invite to Deja Vu II for Easter drinks and got chatting and Sandy and Maree ended up coming over for dinner and watching a DVD. Our first entertaining!! It was great. Over the next couple of days we spent some time with them pottering around Zadar (the boys spending hours in the yacht chandlers of course). Maree and I had a 'girlie' and then we planned a day out to the Croatia boat show in Split which is about a 2 hour drive from here.
I had to buy a new camera in Zadar as the one I had had developed some marks on the lens which appear to be something inside and couldn't be rubbed off. It was driving me mad not being able to take good photos. When I made enquiries about getting it fixed, it transpired that I would have to send it to Zagreb and it would take 1 - 2 weeks to come back, so I bought a new one and will get the old one fixed when I get back to Oz. Craig will then be able to take his own photos and won't have to annoy me every 2 seconds to take one for him. He wants to try to capture every second on film, God love him!
On Saturday we set off in our hire car and headed for the boat show. We had moved our boat out of the marina and into the bay next door and hopped in our dinghy to come ashore. We tied up to a tree on a beach just outside the marina, thinking it would be the safest place to leave her. After a gorgeous drive down the coast we arrived in Split and finally found the boat show. It was the weirdest boat show I have ever been to. For a start, there were more cars than boats for sale, there were lolly stands and flower stalls and....... a casino stall! Craig bought some new wet weather gear which he looks absolutely gorgeous in!
We headed home arriving an hour or so after dark and decided to have dinner at the restaurant near our dinghy before we went back to Shirley. Craig went to check the dinghy and came back a bit ashen announcing that it was gone! Of course Sandy and I thought he was joking at first..... but he wasn't! Costas the dinghy is no more!!!!
We thought at first that the marina may have moved it because it wasn't supposed to be on the beach, but many hours later that hope was fading fast. We also had the problem of how to get back on board. Lovely Sandy and Maree stayed with us for moral support and the owner of the restaurant (the Laguna - lovely place to eat!!) phoned the police for us and helped to translate as they didn't speak much English. The police arrived in due course (as police do) and took down all the details. The marina boys then transported us back to Shirley Valentine in their RIB. Was a long night and we were glad to get on board.
We had a bit of a sleepless night both due to shock and high winds. I felt like a child who has just found out that Santa doesn't really exist, and I will be a lot more cautious from now on! My trust has been shattered, especially as we thought that the dinghy was really safely secured.The anchor dragged a little at one point, but steadfast Craig was there to fix it up and I retreated into a miserable shell. The next morning we came back into the marina and have spent yesterday and today running around trying to get everything sorted out. We are also taking the opportunity to get another house battery fitted and get a few electrical things fixed up.
We are thinking of doing a road trip to Plitvice for a few days as we have to wait for our new dinghy to arrive (it just won't be the same as Costas though!). Will post some photos if I get a chance, now that I have my new camera... Anyway, got to go and cook dinner as we are having some guests over for dinner (I would like you to imagine that I am saying that sentence in a really posh voice!!). Making chicken and mushroom pasta and will crack a bottle of expensive Croatian wine!!
Hope you are well. Thinking of you all and will chat again soon!
xxxx Craig and Lesley
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