| We knew we were in for a real adventure when Pave held her hand infront of her face, four fingers raised, and warned, "Don't cross the channel today. Very windy and four meter waves!" "4 meters," I thought, "That's not so bad..." until I remembered that I had to multiply by 3 to get to feet. Woah. Sara and I glanced at each other with angst:  I promised I wouldn't post this one on the internet, but it just fits the story so well! Our big ambitions to make the crossing to Kolocep Island, one of the 13 Elafiti Islands, were squashed. We would not "discover its blue caves, impressive cliffs and reefs, sandy beaches, romantic villages and pleasant walks," as the rental company had so eloquently described. Click Read More to see where we ended up and some photos of walking around the city walls in the ancient city of Dubrovnik! |  Dubrovnik city wall |
The (short) kayaking part...
We rented kayaks from a company called Huck Finn Adventures, which is based in Zagreb. Their website advertises a myriad of trips to outdoor destinations all over Croatia. Since the trips only seemed to run during tourist season (and because I am not a fan of organised kayak tours), I contacted Ivana, the Dubrovnik area manager, for information about renting kayaks. She was incredibly helpful and responsive. The rentals cost us 32 euros/kayak/day (includes paddle/sprayskirt/PFD).
Dandy Restaurant in Zaton Mali (10 minutes north of Dubrovnik) was the meeting point: "the only one in the village, so you can't miss it." Well, we missed it of course, because Google sent us on a whirlwind tour up a nearly-vertical hillside. I finally called Pave and she said "I can see you, drive forward a little more!" As we were getting out of the car, a bike zoomed by us and yelled "HELLO!" I thought, "Wow, people are friendly in this small quiet village." As it turned out, it was Pave riding down from her house nearby. She brought us to the kayaks and soon sent us on our way (after her warning, of course). Sadly, Elizabeth was a little sick, so she kept good watch over Stevanovich, the Peugeot and took some super artsy photos as we paddled away. Example:
Dandy Restaurant in Zaton Mali (10 minutes north of Dubrovnik) was the meeting point: "the only one in the village, so you can't miss it." Well, we missed it of course, because Google sent us on a whirlwind tour up a nearly-vertical hillside. I finally called Pave and she said "I can see you, drive forward a little more!" As we were getting out of the car, a bike zoomed by us and yelled "HELLO!" I thought, "Wow, people are friendly in this small quiet village." As it turned out, it was Pave riding down from her house nearby. She brought us to the kayaks and soon sent us on our way (after her warning, of course). Sadly, Elizabeth was a little sick, so she kept good watch over Stevanovich, the Peugeot and took some super artsy photos as we paddled away. Example:
Elizabeth did a little artistic photo shoot as we went away. This is a gem!
Sara and I paddle off at our usual speedy clip. The plan was to head out of the small bay, turn south towards Dubrovnik, and enter another sheltered bay before returning. Conditions changed swiftly as we approached the mouth of the calm, protected bay. Soon enough, we were in waves taller than us. While I usually enjoy bobbing up and down on non-breaking waves, I became a bit nervous when I reminded myself that we didn't have a spare paddle, bilge pump, or paddle float. These were the most intense conditions that Sara had been in yet, and it was cold out! I, being the ever eloquent instructor, pointed out our lack of safety equipment, and that doing a reverse sweep stroke starting against the stern of the boat is an unstable position, successfully (unintentionally) freaked Sara out. This did not help matters. I assured her not to worry - "You know how to brace, right?" "No - everything I know I learned from you!" she responded. We bobbed up and down as we looked out the mouth of the bay, and we eventually decided to turn around. Even if we made it to the other bay, the wind/wave conditions were forecasted to increase rapidly as afternoon approached.
"This hillside looks like the perfect thing to demolish to make way for my massive hotel!"
Instead, we putzed around the bay for a while, tucking into little coves and looking at the villages. I was a little disgusted to find that part of the hillside had been demolished to make way for a new giant hotel (photo above). At the far end of the bay we found a small sill with water flowing over it. After a couple hours like this, we returned to the launch site.
More photos... click to enlarge and see captions!
More photos... click to enlarge and see captions!
Date: Thursday, February 5th, 2015
Distance: 6 km (3.7 miles)
Duration: ~2 hours
Scroll to the bottom of the post for a map!
Distance: 6 km (3.7 miles)
Duration: ~2 hours
Scroll to the bottom of the post for a map!
Walking the walls of Dubrovnik
From our quaint Airbnb on the hillside above the city, we had fantastic views of old town Dubrovnik. We spent two nights here, wandering the old streets, gazing over the rough sea, and eating gelato (in our wool hats). This was easily one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. Can't wait to come back and paddle around it when it's not so rough!
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