Croatia 🇭🇷

Getting  excited about our trip. Leaving 24th May 2026.  Flying to England. Stay with Simon & Louise for 2 days.

Then we leave in the camper to cross the channel Dover to Calais. Then take 10 days to get to Split, Croatia, where we go cruising on a 54ft sailing yacht.

Meeting Georgia, Matt, Parker Fisher, My neice Sophy and her boyfriend Charley.

Dover to Split

Boat Tour

Nita and Tom are taking care of Barkley. He loves it at their house. 

Here we go.

Arrived on time. We each had 3 seats to lay down and rest.  Just took a nap. Jet lag...

Dover, met up with Jill and Steve

Ferry from Dover to Calais. It's been so hot. Nice to cool off. Ist stop Bapaume staying in a great spot in the middle of town, even have power. 

Louise bought fresh cream slices. So good.

Lovely sleep nice and cool.  Walked in to town for bread.

Long day driving today. To Colmar by Zurich and the Gottard tunnel.

Really nice roads very smooth. Stopping for tea. Nice rest area.

 Now we are in Colmar. Rode the bikes from the campsite, having dinner.

Colmar is a town in the Grand Est region of northeastern France, near the border with Germany. Its old town has cobblestone streets lined with half-timbered medieval and early Renaissance buildings. 

The city is on the Alsace Wine Route, and local vineyards specialize in Riesling and Gewürztraminer wines.

Moving on to Switzerland today camping just the other side of the Gottard tunnel. 

Louise having a quick red light therapy 

Camping just the other side of the gottard tunnell close to lake Lucerne Switzerland. We spent many holidays in Lake Lucerne when we were kids.

 

Jim and I walked to the waterfall behind the campground. Passed a tiny church on the way.

This was a beautiful Campground nestled in the mountains ⛰️ nice restaurant good bread, good Italian pizza. Moving on to Italy today 4 hour drive to Lake Gada.

We have 2 nights here in Lake Garda. Camped right by the lake.

These fish are huge 3 to 4 ft long. Parker says they are carp  🐟 

Rode the bikes to the  Ferry. Went from

Ordinarily Viaggiator to Poschtera Bardolino across Lake Garda. Lots of lovely shoe and handbag shops.

New leather bag

Very hot here but the sun went in a bit at 4pm.  Heading back to swim at the campground. Dinner plans at 7.30.

Leaving this morning Jim, Simon and I went for a early morning swim in the lake.  We are headed to Slovenia, lake Bled. Should take about 4 hours.

Lake Bled at the end of our campsite.

So Beautiful! We are nesteled between the mountains.  Cooler here need our jackets. Lovely 😍 

Bled Castle 

The blue is lake Bled

This place is so beautiful 

The bread lady, somebody stop me.

Riding our bikes around Lake Bled 

Top of Bled Castle 

Our Campground to the right of the island. View from the Castle.

We climed 305 steps to get to the Castle.

Bled, a Slovenian resort town in the foothills of the Julian Alps, is set along the glacial Lake Bled. On a cliff overlooking the lake is the 11th-century Bled Castle, which houses a museum, chapel and printing press. Atop a small island in the lake's center is the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Maria, with its steep staircase and bell tower.

Leaving today 6.3.26 it rained all night. Steve's awning broke so we had to do some repairs with zip ties. All our towels got wet. So did more laundry.

Have to find an Aldi get some supplies. We are at our camp for the night, it's pouring with rain. We are all stuck in the van drinking beer and wine. If we get a break we will make a run to the restaurant.

Plitvice Lakes National Park!

The Plitvice Lakes is the oldest and the largest national park in the Republic of Croatia. The exceptional natural beauty of this area has always attracted nature lovers. As a result of that, it was declared the first national park of the Republic of Croatia as early as 8 April 1949. The process of tufa formation, through which tufa barriers and subsequently lakes are formed, is the outstanding universal value for which Plitvice Lakes received international recognition on 26 October 1979, when it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Moving on to Zadar camp Dido 

Bibinje Beach.

Lou made dinner look so pretty.

We rode bikes 6 miles to Zadar  a city on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, is known for the Roman and Venetian ruins of its peninsular Old Town. There are several Venetian gates in the city walls. Surrounding the Roman-era Forum is 11th-century St. Mary’s Convent, with religious art dating to the 8th century. There’s also the grand, 12th-century St. Anastasia’s Cathedral and the round, 9th-century pre-Romanesque Church of St. Donatus.

Behind us is the a Organ (morske orgulje) is is a natural musical instrument, seventy meters long with thirty-five organ pipes built under the concrete. The musical pipes are located so that the sea water and wind movements produce musical sounds that are heard by passers by so that it achieves a communication with nature and promotes a unity of architecture and environment. As sea forces and energies are unpredictable in terms of tides and winds, this organ offers never-ending concert of numerous musical variations in which the performer is nature itself.

Streets of Zadar

Sophy and Charlie arrived at the camp at 6pm. Had a lovely dinner here

Moving on to Split now and the Boat.

Sophy and Charlie 

We made it to Split and the boat. Met up with Gerogia Matt Parker & Fisher.

The boys could not wait to get in the water.

Agana Marina

Waiting for them to clean our boat 

Parker was up at 5.30am so excited for everyone to wake up

We had a fabulous day, sailing swimming. Matt even got is kite up.

Charlie driving the dingy. It has an electric motor. 

Stopped at our 1st mooring. Stomorska. Having dinner which we ordered ahead at Turanj Restaurant.

Parky loves it all, steering, filling the water tanks, fishing 🎣., we couldn't  find a fishing rod in any of the little places. Georgia found a kit with just a line and a hook, it works fine.

Bit tangeled up at the moment.

We are now at our second moring in Hvar little harbor Jelsa It's all so beautiful. 

Pink Night

our boat Clarissa 

Great swimming morning jumping off the rocks.

We had a good sail day, getting the hang of it now. It's such a big boat so many lines.

We spent the night on a moring ball. Took a couple of trips in the dingy to get to the tiny and only restaurant Paridisimo, no electricity they cook everything on a wood burning grill.

Parker and Fisher drove the dingy.

 Fisher dropped me Jim Georgia and  Parker back on the boat. Then went back in the dark to get the rest of the crew.

Matt tried to get his kite up but the wind was not steady.

Tonight we are docking at Milna 

Really good seafood pasta

Good Gelato

Milna

Clarissa crew 10 of us

Fin, India and Ben our lead crew

Fisher drew them

Learning how to tie a flying bolin

We are all rafted up with the rest of our floatilla in Sesula a tiny  moring bay. 

Getting ready for the dingy rowing  race. Matt has been elected to row for our boat. He has to be blind folded, and Parker and Fisher tell him which way to go.

Last day

Boat race

fabulous restaurant with a fabulous view.

Sophy's Poem

We boarded Clarissa with high hopes and cheer

For sunshine, adventure and plenty of beer.

Captain Simon stands proudly hand on the wheel

Looking confident enough that we’d survive the ordeal

Sophy brought books and a plan to unwind

Then one night with LAZY left both for behind

Charlie joined too, though the details are foggy,

The evidence vanished around cocktail number 40

Lou. & Charlie treat G&Ts like a sport

If there were medals for drinking, they’d bring them back to Port

Jim stuck with rum, a man of great class

While Nina keeps everyone just about on task

Georgia loves Croatia, the islands, the views,

But entering cold water - absolutely refuse

Matt packed a kite surf and talked a big game.

Day 1 was successful then never the same.

Each morning he’ll pump it, every afternoon he’ll try.

Yet somehow it spent more time limp than in the sky

Parker & Fisher tear around in the dingy

Ignoring all danger and common sense completely

The boys go fishing whenever they can.

The fish seem delighted by their lack of a plan.

Then the boom took a swing at Charlie’s head,

A few inches lower and we’d be drinking to him instead

We set sail alongside HARMONY in the sun,

Booked it together as friends before the fun

Now 17 strong across the sea we roam,

Pretty much turning each bay into our home.

So here’s to CLARISSA, the crew and the sun,

To the drinks and the stories and all of the fun.

We’ve learned many lessons while sailing this trip,

Watch out for the boom

And Matt still can’t get it up

We have all had such a wonderful time. Georgia Matt and the kids left at 5am. We catch the shuttle at 11am for Split airport, then fly to Gatwick take the train to Purley where Len will pick us up and take us to Simon and Louise's house. Simon Louise's Sophy Charlie  Steve Jill are going to a house they have rented close by for another 4 days.

Full English breakfast on the dock before we leave.

11am shuttle to Split airport, change planes in Zurich, arrive in Gatwick catch the train from Gatwick to Purley got picked up by cousin Len then we had to go pick up Barbara from scoring a cricket match. Then off for a curry with my cousin Tim and his wife Ann. Long day very tired.

Spent next day doing laundry

Walked up to the Wattingdon pub by Kenley airdrome nice Larger and lime.

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