Kicking A___ in Krka Park from Sibenik, Croatia

Boy was there an awesome weather forecast yesterday. Winds gusting to 40 to 60 knots and seas 4 to 5 meters. We decided not to take the boat out and bus our way to Skradin from Sibenik to see the Krka National Park and its numerous waterfalls. The were everywhere. We appreciated the wooden walk ways and the density of the trees, which shielded us from the rains. The smells of the Pine trees reminded us of Minnesota. Lovely.

The old town of Sibenik is a sweet area for tourists. Siesta time is in place and you can certainly tell when it is over. The new part of town is sprawling, not quite as large as in the U.S., but they have a ways to catch up after the war. Luckily the coast was not as damaged from the war as was the inland part due to the mountains, that is, excluding Dubrovnik, which we will see at the end of our trip.

I am officially the captain on Fizz, our 47 foot Benneteau, thanks to my American Sailing Association certifications I received earlier this year, and for Tom McMaster being my housesitter, who happened to be at home when the call came from Croatia to get the certification number. All is well. Wayne Hokemeier, is doing great as a first mate! I took charge day before yesterday until we backed in to a very substantial concrete wall in very gusty winds. We had already observed the challenges others had faced. To give you an idea of the conditions, we are using all ten fenders. I, myself, am still remembering Don from our Turkey trip, every time I go down the gangplank, hoping I do not fall in. At least this one will not collapse--it is one long plank.

We are scheduled to head out southwest today to one of the 2100 islands off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. That would mean the winds are decreasing to a more manageable level.

In case you are wondering, we have seen a couple of Dalmatian dogs here, but they are not originally from this area.