29. April - 4. May 2005
It is Friday, April, 29th and we are desperate to leave. The lagoon is silted ie rather silted, but our low draught pays off. The Adriatic doesn't look blue but like polished lead.

To clear customs for Croatia we have to call into Umag. The new Croatian rules are not as bad as feared and our permit is valid till July 1st. We still remember how to berth. How much better did we become! It was here two years ago during our first trip Karl and I lost the fender and the boat hook!

Giraffes of Umag

The sea is as blank as a mirror. Except for a few fishermen we are the only only ones on tour early in the morning.

The lady at the market in Rovinj remembers Rainer buying mushrooms last year. What an impression he must have had on her.

The air is still very cool, we put back the bimini to feel the sun. The result of course is a sunburn! .

We anchor at "Portic Bay at the tip of Istria. The tiresome discussion about the anchor light belongs to the past because I brought a construction lamp! The plan is to sail across the Kvarner to Unije. The wind freshens up and we can set sails for the first time. Right in front of the boat Rainer sees a dolphin jumping. We are the first at our favorite bay in Unije. Later in the afternoon a few more boats show up. We water the dinghi and paddle to the shore to walk to the village where some festivites are going on with music and singing. At night Rainer is still happy with his new anchor light.

Next morning the wind comes directly from the front, not enough for to sail anyway. We anchor at the island of Molat.

The water is totally flat, that's why we can perfectly spot the four dolphins moving north.

At the east coast of the island of Dugi Otok there are some military bunker. It is a safe place to berth but the big hole is not very inviting.

The Villa Rava is a much nicer place where we decide to stay for the night. Next to us lies a motor sailer, the couple is from Bamberg and they travel around the Croatian archipelago since twenty years. When we hit the matrace this night we know everything about them including their health report. But nevertheless it was fun and we got some good tips for some nice places further south.

The small village of Veli Rava is across the hill is still hibernating, but the spring flowers are already out and some oranges too, but maybe they are leftover from last year.

We remember the super steaks from last year. Since this special meat has to be brought from the mainland we stay another day. Our host invites Rainer to watch soccer - and of course this includes also to drink Croatian Schnaps.