Julie returned from her successful trip to Sydney, where she was caring for her aunt, on August 5^th having been away for two weeks.  Terry had Venice and Exotica all to himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The very next day we finally left Venice after over 2 months on Certosa Island. We headed north against choppy seas and windy weather, as it was hard on the nose we had to motor for seven hours, finally arriving in Marina Sant Andrea, a very quiet marina 4nm up a canal in another large and shallow lagoon.  This is just about the most northerly place in the whole Mediterranean.

We had chosen this marina as we needed to have somewhere to leave Exotica for a week as we had a trip planned to the Austrian Tyrol where, having hired a car at Trieste airport, we drove over the Dolomites by way of the Plockenpass, steep and narrow and requiring about a thousand gear changes in a small manual car.

Our destination was the Dolomitengolf Hotel where we joined our friends Maria and Juergen Luders. They are keen golfers and have come here for many years to play on the beautiful 27 hole golf course.  It is an amazing place, a valley surrounded by the mountains of the Dolomites close to the town of Lienz.  Despite the awesome ranges on all sides the golf course is almost completely flat and beautifully maintained with lush grass. Terry bought some golf shoes, hired some clubs and played every day of our stay. Julie utilised the gyms and the pools.

 

 

 

Juergen drove us to glimpse the highest Austrian peak, Grossglockner, 3,798m. It was a freezing 1C from the lookout point but worth the chill as the clouds parted to give us a spectacular view of the peak and glazier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to Exotica on August 13^th and after a day for cleaning, restocking and washing we set off across the Adriatic again, stopping briefly in Piran, Slovenia, to check out of the Shengen zone of the EU and then the few miles to Umag, the most northerly port in Croatia, to visit the police and pay the sizeable sum which allows the boat to stay in Croatia.

Over the next few days we made our way south on the western Istrian peninsula, stopping on a mooring in Porec and another one in Rovinj, where we had previously stayed in the marina on our way to Venice.  During the night there was a very impressive electrical thunderstorm from the west and a fierce gale blew up from the NE.  It didn’t last long but we were grateful to be on a reliable concrete block.

Since then we have cruised through the islands of the northern Adriatic. For three days we were storm bound in the small town of Cres, capital of the island of that name.  This was during the passage of a bora, a very strong north easterly wind which funnels down from the Dolomite mountains to the north and roars down the east side of the Adriatic.  It can come suddenly with high winds and large seas.  Fortunately forecasting is very good and one has warning so that we know when to head for a safe port.

The bora may blow fiercely but it brings clear, blue skies so we hired a (yet another tiny manual) car and explored the islands of Cres and Losinj by land. There is a very narrow, treacherous road up to the clifftop ancient town of Lubenica. From there we were nearly blown off looking down at the huge seas, very glad we had chosen to remain landlubbers that day.

We have also been lucky to have joined Marino Skoko with his 36 foot yacht Homeless.  Marino is a friend who comes from Istria and knows this part of the world intimately.  He also spends the seven European winter months in Sydney.

Over the past week he has led us into beautiful harbours and anchorages such as Ustrine on Cres Island, then through the tiny canal at Osor where a swing bridge opens twice a day, the passage of the boats affords the days highlight for the holidaymakers.  We anchored for the night at shallow, quiet bay of Sonte and then sailed all day, for a change, including a delightful narrow passage between two islands at Ilovik.

Finally the idyllic bay, Luke Svet Ant, on Silba and the tiny harbour of Susac. This island is unique in this part of Croatia, they say it was a meterorite. Instead of rocks and soil it’s vegetation is bamboo, holding fine sandy mud hillsides together. Much of the island is covered with vines which produce an exceptionally good Sauvignon Blanc and a very smooth red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to Veruda, booked our winter berth, washed the salt off the boat, re-provisioned and collected our next guest, Angela Bush. We are now cruising more islands, harbours and anchorages in the northern Adriatic in blue skies and pleasant end of summer temperatures.

We returned from our Wagner extravaganza in England (six operas in eight days – a serious indulgence) on the same flight as Sara Pennells and Ruth and Mick Donnelly.  With them we had a splendid week.

 

One day for some sightseeing in Venice and then on Thursday July 7^th. we set off to cross the Adriatic to Trieste, some 50nm.

For once we actually got some sailing, with a good strong breeze.  True to form it was right from the direction we wished to go.  Nonetheless we hauled in the sheets and beat to windward going at 8 knots with the lee rail under.  We enjoyed this for about two hours until the wind died and so the motor was on again and we could point the boat directly at our destination.

Trieste is a very elegant, fascinating city with a colourful past.  For long a mortal enemy of Venice, it was subsumed into the Austro-Hungarian empire and was the base of their fleet in the Mediterranean.  After World War 1 it was annexed by Italy, who claimed it after World War 2 but it was only in 1954 that the Allies ceded the city to the Italians.

 

Over a couple of days, we explored Trieste thoroughly including a fascinating tram ride up the adjacent mountain which turns into a cable car half way up and reverts into a tram again at the top. There are said to be excellent views of the city but somehow we failed to get off at the panorama station.

 

 

We also did one of the world’s worst walking tours where the guide was supposed to do half Italian and half English, but somehow she forgot about the English and would give a twenty-minute history lesson in Italian and then tell us to look it up on the internet.  She even answered one of Julie’s questions in Italian.  Since it was by no means a free tour Julie marched into the tourist office and complained….sadly, was not offered a refund.

 

 

From Trieste we left Italy for a few days in Slovenia.  The coastline of Slovenia is very short with only three harbours but pleasant inlets where we had one night at the most comfortable anchorage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last night was in Piran, a small harbour and town where we tied up to the quay against a big old wooden yacht.  After exploring the town and climbing the campanile we dined at a waterside restaurant and turned in before an early departure the following morning. Unfortunately, the yacht alongside was rented out to party people after the pubs closed, they played a radio, talked, smoked and drank on deck until 5.30 in the morning.  As we were leaving the harbour Terry gave them a blast of invective but they were unrepentant. We again managed to sail a considerable  distance on our passage back to Venice, it was a real thrill to actually sail into the Lagoon.

 

 

 

July 16^th. in Venice is the feast of Redentore when Venetians celebrate the end of the plague in 1577.  They build a massive bridge of barges across the Giudecca Canal across which people walk to the church for the religious services and there is much partying and merrymaking.  In the evening there is a fireworks display and our marina laid on a special feast at the restaurant followed by a boat to take us to watch the fireworks over the city.  Sadly, the meal was a disaster and the boat laid on for the yachties was not a smart launch but a rough barge with a trestle table and bench seats.  Nonetheless we had a grand view of the fireworks on a chilly but clear, still night. Coming from Sydney we think we know something about boats in a harbour and fireworks but this was an amazing scene with more craft of every description than we have ever seen, 4000, we were told. The fireworks display was nearly an hour long and spectacular with the backdrop of Venetian domes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, Sunday, we set off to Tuscany for the Linari music festival at which our friend, Deborah Humble, was performing.  This is a delightful chamber music festival held in amazing private houses and churches scattered through Tuscany and centred on the tiny village of Linari.  We stayed in a rather strange B & B on the industrial outskirts of the weirdly named Poggibonsi and, having hired a car in Florence, were able to travel easily to the various venues, all in Chianti.

 

The first concert was held on a private estate. A vineyard and beautifully renovated stone house with a watch tower from the middle ages.  The concert was held in the unroofed courtyard.  Fortunately, it was a warm, clear night.  Good news for the Steinway.  The concert was Brahms and Beethoven with our diva singing the Wesendonk lieder for us Wagnerians.

This festival favours young musicians and we were delighted to meet renowned Australian pianist Jayson Gillham, who is performing with the Sydney Symphony in October.

 

 

 

 

 

On one day we drove to Siena.  Here we visited the Duomo with it’s bizarre black and white marble decor and astonishing marble pictures on the floor.  The inside of the Cathedral is said to be the inspiration for the Hall of the Grail in Acts One and Three of Parsifal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second concert we attended was in the small church of St Appiano, high on a hillside overlooking a Tuscan valley.  The ancient church was packed, mainly with expatriot Dutch and British people currently living there.  The theme of the evening was the violin and we were treated to some amazing virtuosity both on the violin and the piano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The encore was a rendition of Morgen by Richard Strauss with all the performers on stage.  Tremendous.

 

 

Terry’s favourite pastime in art galleries and churches is searching for depictions of St. Sebastian.  In many years of seeking them out one of the best is to be found in the tiny church of St Appiano

 

Just as we were packing up to leave our B & B and return to the boat Julie received a call to say that her Aunt Muriel, to whom she is most attached, had fallen in a shopping centre in Sydney and sustained a serious head injury and was in hospital.  Julie decided to return to Sydney and so our plans to leave Venice were put on hold.  The only flight she could get at short notice was in First Class which got her to Sydney within a couple of days, and in considerable comfort!

Fortunately, her aunt is on the mend and has been discharged from Hospital and Julie expects to return to Exotica on August 5^th.  In the meantime Terry has had a very quiet time on his own in this pleasant, if somewhat remote marina.

When Julie returns we plan to leave Venice for another harbour further north where we will hire yet another car and join our German opera friends for a week of golf in Austria.