Rising Out of the Ashes

We are now coming into the home stretch with our winter port only a week away. One of the charming cities we visited on the east coast of Sicily is Catania. It is a big brute of a city with grimy grand buildings that make a strong baroque statement. It contains some of the most imaginative lava-built baroque buildings in Sicily. This is a city that has been around for centuries. Strategically placed for trade between eastern and western Europe, it has had its share of conquerors and commercial success. Things flowed to a stop when Etna erupted in 1669 sending a mile wide lava flow that swallowed up most of the city. What was left all came crumbling down in a devastating earthquake in 1693. You would think with such traumatic destruction, the story of Catania would end. But instead, the residents took the lava and cut blocks of this black stone and rebuilt everything grander and more elaborate than ever. The black stone is found on most of the buildings, churches and homes. They took the blocks and made solid streets that have been walked and driven on every since. It is a credit to the people of this town to take what has been given them and turn it into one of the most interesting cities along the coast. I really enjoyed strolling through the open plazas and crowded markets. It is a city that has energy.

Go West Young Man

The sailing season is quickly coming to a close. While the weather remains sunny and pleasant for the most part, we are resigned to heading to Italy where we plan to keep the boat for the winter. So we turn west from Albania and head for the shores if Italy. The crossing is about 10 hours. Fortunately the weather was wonderful, the seas pretty calm and with a little wind, we were even able to sail part of the time. We skip our way along the eastern coast of Italy taking bites of pizza and licks of gelato as we go. It is nice to be back. Italy is such a wonderful country. I am looking forward to spending next summer sailing Sicily.

Sailing South for the Winter

After 4 months of sailing in Croatia, we got stamped, certified, taxed and sent on our way to beautiful Montenegro. Montenegro is a very small country sandwiched between Croatia and Albania. Even though the coastline is not long, what they do have is spectacular. And at the very center of the coast is a deep bay surrounded by sheer mountains that rise dramatically to the sky. We head to the town of Kotor that has been around since before the Romans. When the Romans finally did take it over, they built amazing walls the wander all the way up to the top of the mountain peek. The terrain is so steep, it seems insane that they were worried about an army attacking them from the rear. Leave it to the Romans to make sure the city is impenetrable. As a result, this fortified city remained fairly protected from invasions throughout history. We spend a couple of days absorbing the stone town and friendly residents.

Darling Dubrovnik

Sailing back down the coast, I am able to finally visit the crown jewel on the coast of Dalmatian, Dubrovnik. This is one of those few wealthy cities that have risen through history like Venice and Florence. It’s marble streets; grand fountains, baroque buildings and elaborate churches dazzle your eyes as you enter this treasure. The fortification walls that surround the city are unmatched in anywhere I have ever been, rising to 85 feet in some places. The residents of Dubrovnik had no intentions of bowing to any world conqueror. They wanted to control their destiny. And throughout the centuries they were pretty successful at it. The history of Dubrovnik dates back to 7th century when barbarians wiped out the near by Roman city of Epidaurum. Those that were left picked themselves up, move up the coast to a more secure spot and began building an unmatched fortified city. With the protection of the Byzantine Empire, they built one of the most successful trade centers by having 500 ships traveling the known world. And though the Venetians controlled them for about 150 years, for the most part they remained their own city-state. Caught in the cross hairs of the war that ravaged Yugoslavia, Dubrovnik was slammed with over 2000 bombs that heavily damaged almost all of its important monuments. Much to the resilient credit of the people of Dubrovnik, the city is once again restored to its former glory. Wow. What a city. After spending most of the last 6 months visiting the spectacular coastline cities of Croatia, I thought that I would be a bit jaded. I was not. I loved strolling down the marbled streets, peeking into the numerous cathedrals whose interiors are only topped by the next one we visit. The wealth of this city manifests itself in every direction you turn your head. While we were visiting a display of historical documents and documentation of the Yugoslavian war in the Sponza Palace we heard a loud rumbling outside. It sounded like sound effects for the war room we were in. When we peeked out the window, we saw chaos in the streets. Everything was being turned over like a carpet being shook in the wind. As soon as it started, it was over. But what was left was a mess of tangled awnings, chairs, glass all over and people cowering in any available doorway. Dubrovnik had just been hit by a freak tornado. A few people were injured and most of the outdoor cafés were a wreck, but no real permanent damage happened.

Baptismal Fonts of the 4th century

We sailed into one of the most beautiful bays in Croatia on the northern part of Miljet island. At the far end of the bay is an early Christian church that dates back to sometime between 300 A.D. to 400 A.D. One of our guests on board happens to have done a thesis on early Christian baptism customs. While exploring this early Christian church, he came across one of these very early baptismal pool that is almost as old as Christianity itself. He told us that the early Christians built these pools to baptize adults. The ceremony would begin with the adult that was willing to be baptized taking off all of their clothes and walking into the baptismal font. After being immersed completely they would step through the pool to the other side where they would be clothed in white. This ceremony clearly represented to them leaving their old life behind, going back into the womb and being born again naked, then coming out of the font and being clothed in white to remind them of their new pure life. The baptismal tradition began to change in about the 8th century when there were not enough bishops of the church to go around. Since it required the authority of a bishop to perform baptisms, the custom of baptizing only adults changed to baptizing everyone in the village at the same time regardless of age. The bishop would carry the infant into the baptismal pool and perform the ceremony. Since infants were now allowed to be baptized, the custom changed again to baptizing infants rather than waiting until reaching adulthood. The baptismal fonts also changed from being pools you would step into, to being large bowls where the infant was immersed. The baptismal pools began to disappear. Another change that occurred during the dark ages was the practice of putting covers on the baptismal pools. This happened because during the plague, Christians would steal the water in the baptismal font thinking that this now “holy” water would heal them of the plague. We have seen many of these large baptismal bowls with ornate covers on them at the old cathedrals. During the middle ages, over time, this immersing of infants evolved to sprinkling. The font changed again from the large bowls to just a small bowl. It is interesting to see how doctrine changed ever so slowly to become what is commonly practiced by most Christian churches today.

The Beauty of Krka

With those golden moments of early evening approaching quickly, we once again find ourselves in the freshwater lake of Skardin. This is the anchorage we were at early in the summer where the swans swim right up to the boat and like stray cats, look longing at you for something to eat. We enjoy feeding them some bread. Each time they catch a piece their little tails waddle back and forth like a puppy dog. So cute. No wonder a group of swans is called exaltation. The next morning we take the dingy into the town of Skardin where we purchase tickets and board a shuttle boat to the national state park of Krka

. This is a natural wonder with travertine pools spilling down from one to the next in cascading waterfalls. It is a Readers Digest version of the national park of Plvitza, where we were earlier in the year. The falls are not as dramatic and the area not as panoramic, but the effect is still pretty magical. We spent most of the day there walking raised wooden pathways where each turn opens up to some spectacular display of nature. The day is sunny and the trees shade the pathway with dapples of sunshine through the leaves. Croatia really has so much raw natural beauty. In the afternoon we return to the picture postcard village of Skardin for a late lunch of lamb and potatoes. The waiter is a young guy whose family is from Split. He works at the restaurant each summer. We start talking about Croatia and our waiter shares with us some of the horror stories from the war in the early 90’s. Though he was only 12 at the time, he knows too well the brutality of that war. This small hamlet that looks so peaceful was actually at the center of the conflict. It was the last town between the Serbs and Sibernik. Armies on all four mountain ranges surrounding the town fought tooth and nail for this little bit of real estate. The Croatians were fighting for their lives and the Serbs fighting for control of Sibernik, a key city on the coast. You only have to look up from the restaurant to see the bullet holes and grenade damage that are still visible on some of the buildings. The fronts have all been repaired and repainted, but the backs still have the scars of war. I think the Croatians don’t want to repair all of the scars. To do so would lessen the sacrifice made by so many men and boys from this village. They have moved on with their lives, but that doesn’t mean they have forgotten those that gave their lives for their families and loved ones. It is a much more poignant memorial of war then some obelisk set in stone in some park or town square.

Racing a Regatta

As September turns to October, we find ourselves heading south to warmer weather and calmer seas. While we were sailing between Zadar and Split, on a Sunday afternoon, we found ourselves in the middle of a regatta race with about 30 boats coming up from behind. Just as they are about to kiss our bow, they all shifted starboard in unison like a school of sardines. In an instant, the entire race turned on command. We found ourselves alone with the regatta off our starboard side. The wind changed 180 degrees and instead of sailing into the wind, the wind was now coming from directly behind us. We split the mainsail and jib to form a butterfly pattern. This maneuver catches as much wind as possible and only works if the wind is directly at your back. No sooner do we set our sails then we find the regatta raising their colorful spinnaker in hot pursuit of us. I actually was quite happy at how closely we were able to keep up with them even without a spinnaker. This catamaran really knows how to move with the best of them. As the regatta, with us in the middle of it all, came around the corner of an island, we all alter our course to the starboard side a bit. Our sails readjusted easily. The spinnakers were much more tricky. Experienced crews handled the turn with flawless ease. Some of the racing boats were not so lucky. Several were blown sideways so far the boat rail was dipping into the water. They almost flipped. Most of the racing crews were able to recover and finally get back into the group. One boat seemed to flail about and as the race moved forward, they became a distant sight. For them the race was finished. We ended up peeling off in the direction Sibernik and head towards Skardin where we are headed for the night.