After a post-luncheon power nap, we woke up and went up to the sun deck, where several people were reclining on sun-loungers reading, dozing or just watching the ever-changing scenery as the Solaris glided through the calm waters. As I didn’t have any suntan lotion on, I didn’t stay out too long, and soon brought my laptop down to the salon where I enjoyed a cold beer while writing up some of this blog. 🙂
We passed the time in the usual agreeable way, and soon the Solaris was manoevring into port once more, around 4.45pm. The sun had lost some of its heat by now, and the air was gorgeous and balmy. Once again, we were the first ones in, but it didn’t take long for another yacht to lash itself to us, and in turn another one joined that one, so there were three abreast. 🙂
As soon as we were able to disembark we did so. We found ourselves in a very picturesque harbour, with a great many yachts, sailboats and other small vessels. We decided to walk right round the harbour and as we did so, we saw several stray cats who approached us hopefully, looking for a morsel to eat. Trevor remembered seeing a mini-market as the yacht was making her way into port, so we had the idea of finding it and buying a bag of dry cat foot, so we could feed any of the strays we saw.
It was lovely, taking our time strolling along in this compact little village, which was called Milna. We walked alongside a chandlery, where people were working on their boats, painting them or tinkering with their outboard motors. Boat trailers, ropes and fenders were in abundance and it was a charming nautical scene.
As we walked back along the harbour, giving a handful of cat biscuits to any of the little furry waifs we saw, we decided we could use a beer and maybe eat something light, so we walked around looking for a suitable venue.
After walking around, we spotted Jerry and Gaynor sitting outside a restaurant/bar at a table; they were just finishing a beer. We joined them and, as we ordered a cold pint each, they ordered their second, and we sat there chatting. We spotted a stray black cat and he came over when we shook the bag of biscuits; we put a handful on the wooden decking for him to enjoy and he tucked in, quickly picking up each tasty morsel and crunching on it in that dainty cat manner. Shortly afterwards, he flitted away, tail in the air.
Once we’d finished our beers, we all said “see you later then” before going our separate ways. Trevor and I were ready for something to eat now, so we looked around for a place serving food. We were almost back at the Solaris before we saw an open-fronted restaurant with its menu on a board outside; there was quite an extensive selection of dishes so we took a seat at an empty table and perused the menu.
It took a while before anyone came to take our order, so Trevor went over the road and asked if anyone was serving. I ordered a Caesar salad and Trevor opted for a mushroom pizza; for our drinks I chose my favourite cocktail of caipirinha while Trevor stuck to beer. Our drinks came within a few minutes, but it took ages for our main courses to come; just as well we weren’t in a hurry.
Meanwhile, I had so far not witnessed one of those fantastic sunsets you get at sea, but tonight I was in luck. 🙂
It was just so lovely, relaxing and enjoying the calm night air as darkness descended. One of the advantages of this small-vessel cruising was that there was no programme of events on board, no dress code and no reason to look at a clock. So it didn’t matter that my clothes were crumpled and my hair was all over the place; it was the freedom of not having to care. 🙂
Eventually our meals arrived, and what a let-down. My much-anticipated Caesar salad turned out to be nothing more than lettuce, tomato, rocket and cucumber (which I hate, and which I always pick out of salads). There was no dressing of any kind. Meanwhile, we’d long finished our drinks and there was no sign of anyone from whom we could order a refill. Very poor service.
We finished our meal and Trevor went over the road to pay for it. At least they only charged for a basic side-salad and not a Caesar salad. We decided to have another drink elsewhere (they didn’t deserve our custom here) so we went up the road into another bar.
We all enjoyed another beer each before boarding the Solaris once more; my Samsung watch showed that I’d done nearly 12,000 steps today so I’d certainly got my exercise in. We were therefore pleasantly tired by now, and we returned to cabin 15 by about 11.00pm, quite early for us. We were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow, but not before the sad feeling that tomorrow would see us return to Trogir, right back where we’d started, for what would be the last day of our wonderful Adriatic adventure.