I had three cruises in the Adriatic Sea in this busy summer. These were in between cruises in the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea and working on boat repairs in Preveza. Adriatic cruises begin in Corfu with a seaday to Trieste followed by stops in Zadar, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Bari and back to Corfu
19th June to 26th June 2022 Cruise.
In Trieste it was H’s birthday, and we had a trip to the delightful Miramare Castle. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium. Max came to a sticky end in Mexico some years later. The castle was just down the hill from the village that gave its name to Prosecco, the fizzy wine, so we had a glass or two while we were there. I had planned on lunch in an Austro-Hungary era place in town but we stumbled on a nice fish restaurant near the castle and ate there.
We had already spent enough time in Zadar trying to buy a boat recently, so we gave the town a miss and had lunch in a small village south of the port.
In Kotor we tried to eat in a roof-top place we knew from earlier trips, but it was closed so we ate at street level huddled between buildings in the old town.
In Dubrovnik we ate at a marina restaurant we usually go to, across the bay from the ship.
It was lunch, yet again, in the old town of Bari where we found a pizza restaurant. We mainly do lunch these days as H doesn’t get too much time ashore. And we have done most of the touristy stuff.
17th July to 24th July 2022 Cruise.
Departure from Corfu, a day at sea then a pizza lunch on the Grand Canale in Trieste. After lunch, I trekked to a ship’s chandlery near the marina to buy a 70-litre temporary diesel tank for our boat. The real tank should be 210 litres, but these things need to be custom made to fit in the curves on the bottom of the boat and we don’t really have time for a new tank to be constructed before launch date.
In Zadar, I trekked again, in the hot sunshine, to yet another chandlers but, despite what it said on Google Maps, it closed after I was there 10 minutes and before I could buy anything.
I had a walk in the old town of Kotor and thought briefly about climbing up the old Venetian city walls, but it was way too hot. The walls run up the very steep mountainside behind the old town and it is 1,200 metres to the top. There are chapels and fortresses on the way, and apparently a great view, but it wasn’t worth getting heatstroke for. Maybe I will be there in the morning someday. I couldn’t get the tender boat into town until midday and by then the heat was unbearable.
In Dubrovnik H and I got a taxi to our usual restaurant and table at the Orsan Yacht Club across the bay from where the ship docks. There are always a lot of fish in the water just by the table. Then it was a quick swim in the bay and a hot walk back to the ship.
Bari was too hot for pizza so we stayed on board.
Back in Corfu I hung around the ship until it was time to catch the 16:00 ferry to the mainland. H helped with my bags while I struggled to carry the new boat diesel tank through the port. I rented a car at Igoumenitsa port and drove down to Preveza for another two weeks in our hotbox boat trying to fix stuff.
14th August to 21st August 2022 Cruise
In Trieste we went to our usual lunch spot on a floating restaurant in the Grand Canale. Followed by coffee and cakes in the Hapsburg era restaurant of Caffè Tommaseo.
We gave Zadar a miss again.
Kotor was the usual impressive sail down the “fjords” of Montenegro. We ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the old town.
In Dubrovnik we went a little further than usual for lunch and ate at Levanat Restaurant with good views over the rocks to the west.
In Bari we found another restaurant in the old town. We shared an unspecified “appetizer” for 10€ and a couple of pasta dishes. The single appetizer turned out to be four large platefuls of food.
Back in Corfu I stayed the night in the Atlantis Hotel and flew to Frankfurt the following morning bringing a close my Summer 2022 cruising season. The Winter season will be very busy. Watch this space.
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