Mljet

Malo Jezero

Another day, another place we can't pronounce. It also seems we have become the puncy Australians who can't handle the heat...

Another day, another place we couldn't pronounce.

Fortunately, unlike Krk, this one contains actual vowels. For the record, it's "Mlyeht"...approximately. Unfortunately, by this stage we'd also become those precious Australians who apparently can't cope with a European summer.

Mljet is Croatia's southernmost and most densely forested island, much of its western end protected as a national park since 1960, one of the oldest in the country. The park's centrepiece is a pair of landlocked saltwater lakes, Veliko Jezero and Malo Jezero, connected to the Adriatic by a narrow channel. After handing over our €30 entrance fee, we set off with every intention of completing a 3.5-kilometre walk circumnavigating the smaller of the 2 lakes.

That plan lasted approximately as long as it took to start walking on the dirt trail in full sun. It was pretty, in fact the closest thing to an Australian bush walk we'd encountered all trip — but the objective quickly narrowed to a single, non-negotiable goal: reach the swimming point on Veliko Jezero and get in the water.

The water was a lovely temperature, impossibly clear and blissfully refreshing. We floated around for what must have been a record amount of time ashore, finally making our way back to the yacht at the positively respectable hour of 11 a.m.

By now, the crew knew us almost as well as we knew the cocktail menu. A margarita for Mal. A mocktail for me.

They had also taken on board one of Mal's suggestions. The daily afternoon poolside iced tea rounds now came with an optional side of rum.

I suspect he'll be expecting royalties.

I wish I could get a photo of her with her sails up off the ship! 

The seas have been like glass. No movement

Lots of small tour boats, each taking about 30 passengers for week long journeys up and down the coast

The National Park entrance ticket booth. There is also one right at the swimming point near the lake

Map of the island

First glimpse of the lake

Hey...are we on the Sam King Oval loop?!

Not too crowded

There was a channel that links the big and little lakes. It was fun swimming through it

You might think this is a table for 4. No...this is Malcolm not being to decide what he wants to eat for lunch

Dessert onboard are delish. Small portions make them easy to enjoy!

Dubrovnik

View from the city wall of Dubrovnik

Shame. Shame. Shame.

We stepped off the tender with the best of intentions. Our Dubrovnik adventure lasted two hours.

Dubrovnik is, objectively, one of the most beautiful cities in the Mediterranean — a remarkably preserved medieval walled city perched on the Adriatic coast, its limestone streets and terracotta rooftops earning it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. Thanks to Game of Thrones, it is also forever immortalised as King's Landing. 

First, we retraced Cersei Lannister's infamous walk of shame down the Jesuit Staircase — mercifully, unlike Cersei, fully clothed and unaccompanied by anyone ringing a bell. From there, we made the ambitious decision to tackle the city walls, a 1.9 kilometre loop around the old town. In hindsight, voluntarily climbing onto a giant stone fortification in the middle of a Croatian summer may not rank among our stronger life choices. The views over the Stradun and the maze of terracotta rooftops were undeniably spectacular, but so was the heat radiating off several hundred-year-old limestone. Umbrellas, cooling towels and fans were no match for hot stone, full sun, and no shade. We briefly considered stopping at one of the tiny bars literally carved into the walls — but the tender pick-up point was right there, making a very persuasive case for retreat.

We surrendered with no shame whatsoever. Back to the yacht for lunch with a postcard view back toward those magnificent walls, air conditioning, an afternoon nap, and a swim off the deck.

Dubrovnik won. We're fine with that.

View from the tender boat

Very convenient tender dock!

Literally right at the old town

We managed to get to the Jesuit Staircase with no one on it! We did resist the urge to chant out "Shame!". Apparently it is not kosher and the locals hate it

The church that the staircase was at - St Ignatius

I probably should have photoshopped her out before posting this photo

Market was on!

Venetian traits in architecture

You can just see the yacht in the distancae

Stunning views

Stunningly hot

Stradun

We love talking to the crew. Guess where this one is from...

Meals are always varied with excellent choices

Mussels on the menu today! The waiter was shocked that I turned down the white wine...

Dubrovnik in the background

Sunset over Dubrovnik

Vis

Excellent view from the gym of the yacht sailing into port. As the French all wake up late, I usually have the gym all to myself

By now, we had settled into a rhythm. Gym, breakfast, first ones off the ship, first ones back, lunch, nap, water activity or pool, afternoon tea, dinner, repeat. It turns out this is an excellent way to live.

Our port today was Vis — one of the most remote of Croatia's inhabited islands, sitting further out into the Adriatic than most, and for much of the twentieth century entirely off-limits to visitors as a Yugoslav military base. It only opened to tourism in 1989, which perhaps explains why it has retained a quiet, unhurried character that the more well-trodden islands have long since lost.

We had no agenda. We strolled, found the nearest patch of "beach" (more pebbles), and got in the water, which was cool and clear and exactly what was required. Nobody was rushing anywhere. There were no crowds, no tour groups, no particular sense that anyone was trying to sell us anything.

This is what we had come to appreciate most about being on a smaller ship — the ability to anchor at places like Vis rather than the obvious destinations. Quieter, less visited, genuinely charming. The Adriatic at its own pace rather than someone else's itinerary.

Vis

It really never got any busier than this

Beef carpaccio

Gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. Yum

Sails up!

Krk

Frankopan Castle. Krk's medieval fortress

First things first: none of us knew how to pronounce Krk...For the record, it's approximately "Kirk" — the island, it turns out, is not named after a dramatic pause.

I had been quietly dreading today. I had once again been talked into getting back on a bike. Mal assured me this would be a much more relaxed ride, which should have immediately raised suspicions. Apparently "relaxed" meant 22 kilometres instead of 42, as though halving the distance magically transformed it into a leisurely pootle through the countryside.

To be fair, it was beautiful.

We cycled inland across the island beneath an unforgiving Croatian summer sun, passing dry stone walls, olive groves and sleepy little villages that looked as though they'd barely changed in decades. The scenery almost distracted me from the heat. Almost. Except Mal's phone overheated and shut down half way which meant we were directionless and baking. 

The best part? We were finished by mid-morning.

That left plenty of time for what has become one of my favourite cruise-day combinations: lunch back on the ship, an unapologetic afternoon nap, and a swim to cool off before dinner.

There are worse ways to spend an afternoon.

In fact, there are very few better ones.

Krk is bigger and prettier than Cres in our opinion

Lots of nice places to sit and eat and relax

All the islands are known for water activities

This was the ONLY photo I took while cycling

Back on the yacht to relax

Afternoon cocktail. Cheers!

Cres

Cres

I had wondered how much movement to expect from a ship considerably smaller than the ocean liners we're accustomed to. The answer, pleasingly, was none. Gliding out of Venice and down the Croatian coast felt more like crossing a very large, very flat lake. A good start.

Breakfast aboard doesn't begin until 7:30am, which meant the ship before that hour was essentially a ghost town — all polished surfaces and nobody on them. We didn't mind. We dropped anchor at Cres and were on the tender by 8:30am, which on a smaller ship means simply walking on rather than queuing for the better part of an eternity. Another point in the small-ship column: we were able to dock right at the town itself, which larger vessels can't manage. We were first off and first back.

Cres is tiny. Charming, but tiny. It rewarded a quiet morning wander rather than any great ambitions, which suited us perfectly.

Back on board, we discovered the nautical hall — Club Med 2's water sports offering, which turns out to be surprisingly comprehensive: windsurfing, sailing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, snorkelling, water skiing, wakeboarding. We booked in for snorkelling, which was genuinely fun. The Adriatic in July is a very pleasant temperature.

The rest of the afternoon was spent horizontal. The nap situation was finally resolved.

Sunrise from the top deck

This was how flat it was...the ship was still moving

1st sight of land

On the first tender! Or "Beachers" as the crew called them

Literally the first to step on Cres

Ye olde city gate

Maze like old town

Main Square

Clock tower

St Mary the Great Church

Franciscus Patricius - defender of Platoism agains Aristotleism. We didn't even know those were a thing...

Club Med 2 anchored. The open section at the back was the nautical haul

Small space but comprehensive offering

Lunch as always was excellent

So many things included but everything was oh so late!

Yoga program (above) and fitness program

Cocktail time! Again included

An example of the pre-dinner appetisers served from 7:15pm

Cold food offerings for dinner were pre-prepared

The options were plentiful and plated beautifully

Strawberry shortcake

Chocolate tart

Hot options had one for display and was prepared fresh as required

Once again there was something for different tastes