Pirates of the Kornati Islands

Our fishermen friends had given us clear and certain directions to a secret hideout of Very Bad Pirates located in the barren and deserted Kornati Islands. They also warned us - "beware the Golden Sunset - it can make your crew crazy..."  With a sense of foreboding we stocked up on wine and chocolate for courage and headed south west

187degrees South from the Kornati Lighthouse

96 degrees east of rock wall on Bald Island

Watch out for baddies in the Old Fort

Anchor before Golden Mountain but beware - the crew may go crazy at Sunset!

Hey Deck Scrubbers - back to (school) work!

Early in the morning, scale the peak and seek the scoundrels' lair

No lair here Skipper

Nor here either Skipper

A last search in a nearby cove reveals a secret entrance

Hey boys, how about you go first?

We found the underground hideout. But the pirates are away - stealing and pillaging no doubt. Lucky for us!

Shiver me timbers -  look at the size of that hideout. You could park a submarine in there!

That's enough spooky stuff for one day. While Capt'n Craig is hiding under the blankets in his bunk, PlayMate Donna executes a perfect 3 point turn to pull in at the quay and shouts everyone a Gelato to get over it...

The Fish Party

We stumbled across a beautiful little bay with nothing but a few stone huts...

"Hey boys - how would you like to come fishing with us? If we catch some you can join us at our fishing hut for dinner!"  said the local fisherman Rajko

Good job lads! Come over for Dinner!

Sardines. Gazillions of them!

 

Took awhile to pull one million sardines out of the net. Be careful not to pull their heads off as you free them!



We head for the warm fire in the hut..

Then crash out after a big day

Fishy tales continue far into the night.

Thanks so much to our wonderful Croatian Hosts Rajko and his wife Roza for weloming us to their family.. we head to bed with dreams of tomorrow's mission to check a pirate's lair at a secret submarine base hidden in the remote Kornati Islands.

Batten the Hatches! It's another Storm!

Uh Oh, here we go again..... Quick - head for the island of Pag, the chart indicates there's sheltered anchorages there.

Hey, it's a pretty strange island. It doesn't have any trees or running water. It is 60km  long and really skinny with huge mountains behind it on the mainland. I wonder why they have all those wind generators on it..... Anyway, its the best we can reach in time - lets take cover during this storm...



 Rain Rain Rain. Not much to do.. We are running out of drinking water. Why don't we send Dad outside to collect the rain and watch him get really wet! Hey Dad not bad.... 20 litres in 20 minutes but you look like a cold soggy towel! The rainwater is cold but tastes so clean and fresh!

What's a storm without a rainbow?

Meanwhile the boys stay warm with hot chocolates!

The sun comes out and we go ashore and hike cross country to the bakery to get some supplies and treats. On the way back we meet a farmer harvesting fresh grapes from his vineyard. He gives us some bunches and they are soooooo yummy!

As we sail off after the storm, we spot the ruins of a castle - built by the Knights of the Templar  during the Christian Crusades.. Mum is that ruin really older than Granddad??



Back in the islands once more. The suns out, it's late afternoon - time to enjoy happy drinks on the back deck.

Mmmm you look very attractive. May I join you?

Sorry next photo has been censored! See Ya.

Chores?? You must be kidding!

Oh No. We're running out of socks, jocks, water, fuel and food. Time to do some chores. First we need some fuel and water from the local servo.

Then its off to the old city of Zadar for some food shopping.

Uh Oh. No where to park. The harbour is full. Let's ask the trawler guys if we can tie up to them. Yep, OK but we have to climb over 5 trawlers to get to land!

It's worth it. Yummy fresh food in the Old Town Square!

Great. Now we have all that out of the way, the neighbours have invited us over for a champagne and a quick spin in the chopper!

Darn it - just who were those Pirates?

Hey Mum, we are just going to explore - we won't get up to mischief. Back in a minute - OK?

Quick Laine, while Mum's not looking, I'm sure I saw a pirate flag over at the old fort in the middle of the harbour..

Yes. There. They are hiding in the fort!

Watch out - they have swords!

Not very brave pirates.. they won't even show their faces! Darn it, now we have scared them away,  we still don't know who they are...

Anyway - I'm starving Hayden, lets get back to the boat and hit Mum and Dad up for a one of those sticky buns with icing sugar from the bakery. C'mon.

Look who's turning 6 - Happy Birthday Hayden!

Hmm, very hungry work preparing for Hayden's birthday. Lucky they have large bread rolls in Croatia!

Quick we have to get  back to the mainland so Hayden can choose a restaurant!

We couldn't find decorations in the shops so made our own. Hayden loved them!

After an exhaustive search of every Pizza joint in town, Hayden declares this place is the winner..

Why Hayden? Is it the lovely Sunset View? Nope -They have a freezer full of Gelato!

We ate and drank like crazy before lighting up Hayden's enormous Happy Birthday Gelato Dessert!

Hayden even scored a full moon on his birthday night!