The overnight flight to Amsterdam was very nice. Our attendant, Louie, was excellent. He was very cordial, efficient, and very caring. The lay flat beds gave us a chance to sleep. I got about 3 hours of sleep. Alice not so much.
Arrival at Amsterdam was about 15 minutes late. Remember the last passenger? There was now a KLM plane at our gate. 30 minutes later we started to deplane.
Our luggage could not be checked through to Split because EasyJet, as a bargain carrier, is not a party to the baggage transfer scheme. We would have to clear immigration, claim our bags, and then go to departures to check in on EasyJet. This is why timing was so important to us. We originally had 3 hours to do this. That was now 2.5 hours. Off we go.
Schiphol is a large and busy airport. It took us 35 minutes to clear immigration and go downstairs. We wound our way through halls with others, and 30 minutes later would get our bags. This was after we found which of 20 carousels would get the United flight. 2 of our bags were on the carousel but the 3rd was not there. Another passenger discovered her bag in an are off the carousel and came back to tell us about it. How kind of her. Sure enough that is where we found our bright blue bag.
With an hour and 25 minutes left we felt pretty confident. Then we got to the departure hall. There were people in lines everywhere. We found the EasyJet line and 25 minutes later had our check in completed. The agent directed us to the line for security.
We joined the line. It wound through a maze longer than any we ever experienced at Disney World. 30 minutes later we were through the line but not at security. A woman was letting small groups through to walk up the stairs to the next level. When we got up there, we joined another line at a sign that indicated security was 30 to 40 minutes ahead. We were doomed!
Alice spotted an airport agent under a priority sign. We went to him and showed our tickets. Seeing our flight time he took us directly to security. Then it was a long long walk to the gate. We made it just in time. The flight to Split was uneventful and on time.
After retrieving our bags we found a taxi to take us to the marina in Rogoznica about 25 miles away. 45 minutes later we were loading our luggage on a cart and heading to the charter office to check in. There we paid the tourist tax and put the $3,000 damage deposit on our credit card. This would be refunded at the end of the charter less any damage we might cause to the boat.
Our skipper, Ivor, met us at this office. He took over hauling the heavy luggage cart. We had 3 suitcases and a heavy carry on. This was for our 5 day charter and 44 day cruise. It was far more than the simple duffle bags that would be enough for a normal charter. Ivor handled it graciously and guided us down a very long pier. We turned the corner at the end of the pier and there was the beautiful and to us, huge Smile I. She would be our home for the next 5 days.
The gangway was a plank about 18” wide. It stretched from a step on Smile to the pier and it rose and fell with the waves. Ivor negotiated it smoothly with our bags. They weighed just under 50 pounds each. Then he encouraged us to come over and extended a hand to us for security as we made the crossing with some trepidation.
Ivor showed us around the boat. Since Sean and Shelly, Stu, and Mela had tested positive for COVID, they could not come. That left 4 double cabins for the 3 of us. Ivor suggested that we take the aft starboard cabin and he would take the aft port cabin because it had some pumps and switches for the water that could be a little noisy.
With our charter gear stowed in our cabin and our cruise gear stowed in a vacant cabin we settled down for the boat briefing on the salon. Then we walked back to the parking lot to meet our taxi to the market for provisioning. Ivor made food suggestions which we followed even though we thought it would be way too much food. After all there were only 3 of us for breakfast and lunch. He also picked up 18 2-liter bottles of water. That astounded us, but he assured us it was necessary. We left the market with $150 of essentials.
Back on Smile we Stowe the provisions and talked in general about our plans for the week and in particular about tomorrow,s plans. It was almost 7 o’clock and we were tired but energized. We decided to get started and put some kilometers behind us. The days are longer here and we were able to motor to an anchorage about 2 hours away. We watched the sunset behind us. Then we rounded Drvenik island and anchored for the night in its shelter. Ivor did all of this singlehanded as we watched in admiration.
We went to bed exhausted.
End of day 1.
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