Month: November 2022
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Day 132: Pisak to Split
I’m sure every wind used to have a name back when animism was the dominant worldview and it’s lovely that names are still used in the Mediterranean. The last few days jugo has been blowing. Coming from the south east, it brings rain and stormy weather and in Croatia is a synonym for bad. A…
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Day 131: Plaza Duba to Pisak
Some people get an unmistakable sign when they go hypo, like tingly lips, while others just start feeling a bit jittery and dizzy, until blood sugars get really low. I fall in to the second camp, and that’s the feeling I got half an hour in to today’s paddle. My sugars had shot up after…
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Day 130: Viganj to Plaza Duba
A sunny day. I’m not sure how long I could last if every day was like yesterday, if there was no hope or chance of sunshine. I set out with the aim of getting to mainland Croatia, hopping across to the island of Hvar, and then paddling along it to hop across to the mainland.…
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Day 129: Pomena, Mljet to Viganj
The wind was blowing from the south east in morning, lining up a perfect downwind run to Korcula, twenty kilometres away. I walked through the forest up to a bunker on top of the island for a view of the conditions. It sure was blowy, but nothing crazy, and the waves looked big, but manageable.…
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Day 128: Otok Olipa to Pomena, Mljet
As much as I hate the beach looking like a dump, I do love a good scavenge. If I was marooned on an island I’d check the beach for goodies every day like a fisherman checking his lobster pots, excited to see what the sea had gifted me. Give me a year and I reckon…
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Day 127: Dubrovnik to Otok Olipa
The amazing kindness of strangers continues. I paddled around from the Old Town to Uvala Lapad beach where Darko and Ivana were waiting for me in the rain. Surfski paddlers from Dubrovnik who I’d never met, they’d arranged for me to stay in a hotel, an incredibly generous gesture. The hotel receptionist offered me a…
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Day 126: Molunat to Dubrovnik
I camped above a small beach on the edge of Molunat and was surprised to find two aubergines lying on the shingle as if they’d grown there. Some mystery how they got there – not a typical picnic item and they were in fine condition, so they hadn’t washed ashore, it must be a sign…
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Day 125: Prcanj to Molunat
I’ve never seen surfskis being rented out to tourists, but that’s what Vojo and Milusa do and it’s a great idea. It’s cool to see the sport spreading, especially in a place like Montenegro. After some eggs and traditional Montenegrin cheese for breakfast I left Prcanj in the sunshine feeling replenished and very happy to…
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Day 124: Kotor to Prcanj
Rain fell in the early hours and I woke up in a puddle. My Polish friends gave me some tangerines they’d picked in the mountains and asked why I was putting myself through this ordeal, clearly puzzled. I don’t wake up in a puddle everyday I explained. Torrential rain showers hammered on the surface of…
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Day 123: Prçanj to Kotor
Once the sun had burnt off the wisps of mist hanging over the bay I dried everything and ate a bunch of bananas with kefir while chatting to a Polish couple traveling in a pop top camper van. I hadn’t gone far when I was surprised to see a group of surf skis on the…