In Veli Losinj; Moving On Northward

The last of my relatives left us from Preko, just across the channel from Zadar, almost a week ago. We had fun with them for a few days and then the brief time with them ended.  A crew change saw Kathy Kuchma join us for the next three weeks as we sail up the Croatian coast and across to Venice.

Maggie and I are happy to be traveling again.  We had spent approximately three weeks in the same area, which doesn't really suit our nomadic inclinations.  Now that we have moved on from the Zadar area, we are loving it.  The weather, the scenery and the water have been magnificent.

We swim several times a day in the crystal waters.  Today we tried out one of the waterproof cameras and got some cool pictures.

Kathy

Me and Maggie

Maggie

Resting on the beach after the swim to shore

Would I be sinking if I were fat?

Underwater self portrait

We are close to making the hop over to Venice and need to do so within a week as our cruising permit runs out on the 30th.  With a little fair wind, the 50 mile hop will be a nice little trip.  Until then, we have nothing to complain about here in Dalmatia.

Branko

Up To Zadar and New Harbours

For the past two weeks we have been in the waters between Pirovac and Sukosen, with a good chunk of time spent in Murter.  Well, we have moved on to an anchorage near Zadar; new turf.

Yesterday, we dropped off my cousins, Branko and his family, after 8 days with them.  We had a lot of fun.  They are naturals on the boat, and we were sorry to see them go.  They brought all kinds of great home-grown food with them from the village (including delicious wine), but I am sure my cholesterol levels have shot up again, so I am strictly vegetarian until the next set of cousins arrives in four days: Danijela, Ivana and Borna.  They will be with us for a short visit before Kathy Kuchma comes again for a visit.

We will be hanging around the Zadar area until Kathy arrives, then she will sail with us northwards to Venice (and back to Croatia?)  By then we will be ready to see some new stuff beyond Pasman and Uglan Islands and are looking forward to continuing the voyage.

Sanja relaxing

Branko and Sanja

Dora

Domi

Crew swimming from the boat

Branko

A Quadruple Big Day

Unbelievably, it was three years ago today that Maggie and I left the dock at the Etobicoke Yacht Club for the last time to begin our voyage.  Only three fantastic years have passed, and I say "only" because it seems like we have lived far more than three years since July 1st, 2010.  Reminiscing over our past blog posts and photos taken since the beginning of our voyage, we really appreciate the opportunity to live and travel on our boat, the experiences and adventures we have had, and the many new friends that we have made.  While we have worked hard to achieve this, we must also give credit to our home and native land because the dream we are living can only ever be a dream in many countries.

So.....HAPPY CANADA DAY!  Our big flag went up today to honor the country that gave us so much.  Despite our disastrous governments, the people and the land make Canada the place the rest of the world wants to live in.

Up goes the Big Flag

A happy 3rd anniversary

One of those countries is Croatia but today it officially joins the European Union.  In its fifth year of recession, with 20% unemployment, life is harder here and to many citizens here owning and living on even a modest boat like ours is impossible.  But I believe that their future is bright judging by the national flags that we see flying on boats here in Dalmatia: those of Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Romania, all of which were former Iron Curtain countries that have since joined the EU and prospered enough to enable some of its citizens to live their dream.  Fair winds, Croatia.

Finally, it is also a big day because my cousin Branko, his wife Sanja, and their two children, Dora and Domi, whom we spent the winter with, will be spending their holidays with us on H2OBO for the next ten days.  I am sure that will be another one of those experiences that makes our lives so rich.

Branko