Sailing Croatia 12 euro a day dream life

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

Susak

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

No Sailing today we spent it waiting for Bora, a dangerous wind which brings misery to sailors.  It’s been forecast since Sunday but no sign of it yet.  Our skipper is not happy at all as he does not like having to pay harbor fee’s.  He is retired, and explained to us some basic Croatian economics.  He gets 300 USD a month in his pension, rent is also 300 a month and as harbor fees have risen on average 30 % since last year alone, their county is becoming too expensive for the locals whose people have been here for centuries.  Welcome to my world I think to myself, I live in Ireland.  A country run by thieves and dreamers who have no idea how the normal people of Ireland live.

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

sea is getting rough

Bora adds to Sailing expenses

The weather has forced us to stay, costing us an extra 200kn per night. This cost does not include shore power or water, this is extra.  You have to entertain yourself while waiting for the storm so an afternoon of swimming and Frisbee is the order of the day.  It’s hard to believe it’s coming as the water is so calm.  Its like a swimming pool, this is exactly what the expression “the calm before the storm” means.  Like Osor the water is warmer here also because of the currents.  Susak would be perfect for families, you can walk out quite far and still only be ankle deep, perfect for children or people who are not strong swimmers and playing water games of course.

 

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

Susak Restaurant

Sailing restaurants of Susak

A restaurant on the harbor where you can see your kids and boat, it’s just perfect.  Its called #13.  I wonder are there 12 more hidden away somewhere?  The owner of the restaurant is as mad as a hatter and runs around the restaurant that she opens whenever she feels like. Shouting in Croatian and breaking into a mad cackle of laughter when she thinks she is being funny.

Special Wine for sailing or special prices ?

She will sell you wine to take away for 7 Euro.  Its local wine and I don’t care if she danced on the grapes herself with sandy feet this morning as OMG its fabulous.   She pours Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7it herself via a funnel into a 2 liter bottle of 7 up, or whatever she can find or you bring.   It’s like nectar and going down very well.  I ordered a large plate of prosciutto which came with a carafe of wine and a large basket of fresh bread.  This cost 35KN which is about 6.50 euro.  I would have paid triple or 4 times that in Ireland.  But on a salary of 300 USD a month you can see how inflation is killing the locals and as more tourists are willing to throw money at locals without question, the prices keep getting higher.

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

Sea Police on lunch break

There are other restaurants also, a decent pizza one with a big screen TV with a very rude owner, but they show football.   Entertainment is necessary when you don’t know how long you’ll be on the island.  Pizza is actually fantastic in Croatia.  There is another café type place with lots of cats sitting around.  The cats here are very intrusive and if you don’t like cats this is not the place for you, as they are allowed to roam and approach the customers, sit on the seats.  The owner seems nice enough and the coffee is good. They seem to open for very few customers, I think I’ve become their best one, buying 5 coffees a day and a beer here and there. There is no view here but it has better shelter in the storm I would imagine. All the bars, cafes and restaurants are outdoors, except one that I found when exploring the island; it’s quite high up and a bit of a trek but so worth it.  Not recommended if your breathing is bad or you just can’t walk distances in the heat at elevation.   I didn’t get to eat there as my crew weren’t really the eat out type of people, however an English couple on the boat next to us did and they were rather impressed.  They got the impression that they were in the woman’s living room.  She wasn’t expecting anyone and they didn’t have a reservation.  The knocked on the door and she said “oh, oh, come in”.  She removed everything from the table, proceeded to set it for them and ordered them to sit.  Being English they were very polite, but all offers by them to leave were met with a barrage of Croatian which meant we think, sit and eat what you’re given.  They are also here because of the storm and having been forced to stay

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

Susak

longer than anticipated they were out of food.  This restaurant and whatever the woman might serve are dinner no questions asked.   There is a beautiful church directly across from the restaurant.  The country is predominantly Catholic and is full of beautiful small churches.

 

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

yes, these are the police.

Susak

was isolated for years and as a result of this we are told there was a lot of inbreeding in the culture here, you can kind of see it.  There are no cars, just bicycles and tractors, very baby tractors, and one arrives with a trailer every time the ferry comes in, which is twice a day by the looks of it.  He puts everything in the open trailer, food, water, mail, all the necessities for the islanders to survive.  In the old days the islanders only got to leave once a year. They would go to via boat to the mainland to sell their produce. Legend has it for this annual outing the women would dress very extravagantly as this was their only chance in the year to catch a husband. Hence the inbreeding if they weren’t successful in this mission of husband hunting. Hmm I think Ill stick to sailing 🙂

Sailing lesson #2. Always obey the harbour master

I don’t know where the harbor master or his girlfriend came from but they are such a good looking couple they almost look out of place.  They look like they fell off the cover of Vogue or belong in Hollywood.  She appeared at our boat like a vision, advising us to do a spring back rope.  She advised all the boats to do the same. She also offered to do it herself for those boats who were reluctant, advising them of the 150mph winds expected.  Of course many of the boat captains didn’t take her advice seriously; she was after all only a woman.  What could she be expected to know?.   But on the arrival of her hunky boyfriend came the question in a raised voice  “My woman told you to secure your boat” funnily they started obeying orders 🙂 As ours is a Croatian registered boat and the owner is Croatian we were made to feel very welcome here getting regular weather updates.  The winds have gotten stronger and many boats have tried to leave but were forced.  Even walking on the harbor pathways has become difficult and waves are crashing over the wall.

Sailing Croatia day 5, 6 & 7

All driving has been banned on this and the surrounding coastlines even on the mainland.  Jaroldina the main Croatian ferry has been cancelled until further notice. The tourists with rental boats are getting anxious as this bora is a dark one. There are 2 kinds of bora. Light lasts a couple of days and is just rain and wind.  Dark bora is what we are expecting can last up to 7 days with very strong hurricane style winds and heavy rain and of course its dark and cloudy which of course it already is.  We brace ourselves for the storm. Sailing brings lots of challenges but respecting the sea is the number one lesson. Unfortunately many of the tourist boats seem to ignore this as they are trying to get the boats back in time.

So even on these days of the sailing Croatia adventure that we have actually not been able to sail. Bora has been nuts/ I’ve had a lovely time. I met great people, laughed my ass off and drank great wine. I bought some much they ran out. I also found out later she over charged me by about triple. I ate fresh fish that we caught and fresh octopus. I have had a great time in Susak and highly recommend it.

http://www.otok-susak.org/en/


Related Posts:

About Sandra

Just a girl from Ireland who wants to live everywhere. Not a planner, a winger when it comes to travel. I don't even like people who plan too much. Without spontaneity there is no depth. A jack of all trades. A great friend, loyal and passionate and I expect the same in return. Always ready for the next adventure at a moments notice.
This entry was posted in Croatia, Europe, Sailing Croatia 12 euro a day and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.