July 4, Monday -Charter Day 2
Today is Alice’s birthday. We will go to Komiza on the island of Vis. First, Alice and I had breakfast. Ivor was not to be seen. As we talked we concluded that this was how he allowed us some private time.
When he appeared Ivor introduced us to the boat life shower. This is a quick swim, then up on the boat to lather up. Now it is back in the water to rinse off. We never got into this. For us it was showers.
Ivor retrieved the anchor and motored out to open water. Once there he raised the sails. We were off to Komiza.
We had talked with Ivor about Komiza. It is a small city that stretches along the coast. The terrain is very hilly and rocky so homes are low on the more gentle slopes. Alice and I would explore on foot while Ivor did his thing.
Ivor and I had talked about Alice’s birthday. He had reserved a very special table at a nice restaurant. By coincidence I had just read about this restaurant and this table a week before. As we talked Ivor said he would get some flowers to be brought to the table from me after we were seated. He ordered a cake and would have some chocolate and a small gift for the end of the meal.
The sailing was great. I was surprised that for her size Smile made good speed. We averaged almost 6 knots. That was better than half of the wind speed.
Upon arrival we were directed to a mooring ball. We boarded our tender, a very nice inflatable with a powerful outboard. Boarding her was more of a challenge for us than walking the gangway. We landlubbers worried so much about falling in that it made us more likely to. It was Ivor who saved the day with his direction, encouragement and strength. He got us to the pier in the middle of the town and we agreed to meet him back there in about 3 hours. He was off to do his training. Unbeknownst to Alice this included shopping for my gifts to her. We were off to explore the city.
We did a casual walk around the harbor. There were many bars and restaurants. We did not stop at any because we had our reservation. We found a small shop with post cards and made our selection. As we retraced our steps we did stop to photograph one of the many ice cream stands along the way. The product is beautifully displayed with colorful accents on the deck edges. Nearby was a bank ATM. This was our first use of an ATM here. All went well.
We then passed the meeting point and walked along the far side of the harbor. Here there were fishing boats docked. Passing them and rounding the corner we were above a beach. There was no sand. Pebbles and stones took kits place. The swimmers seemed not to notice this. 2 very young boys were busy collecting smooth stones for building a fort on the sidewalk. When Alice asked about this they replied with great courtesy. As we walked away, they thanked us for our encouragement. Their demeanor would have put many adults to shame.
Walking farther we went up a hill and passed a small boatyard, another beach and stopped at a good point for viewing the church perched on a nearby hill. We turned back and met Ivor at the appointed place on time.
Ivor had told me that he would drive the tender under our table and into the restaurant. Alice was sitting in the bow. I was able to have her turn around as we entered. She was surprised. Inside e walked from the landing area up a few stairs to the restaurant. We were expected. The waiter led us to our table. It was in a stone arch in the wall and looked out over the harbor and the town center. Absolutely delightful!
As we dined, people entering the restaurant had to pass our table. Many gawked trying to figure out who we were. We certainly enjoyed this, but we enjoyed the food even more.
Desert was a very nice ice cream, chocolate and berry cake. It came with a candle and a chorus of waiters. Our waiter delivered chocolate and a fridge magnet of the island as I had agreed with Ivor. Earlier the waiter had brought Alice a bouquet of forever flowers. This was a very nice bouquet of dried flowers.
It was time to bring this special evening to a close. I called Ivor and he came over in the tender to take us back to Smile. The tender had several inches of water in it. This soaked our shoes and was the only downer of the day. We learned in the morning that this intrusion resulted from the incorrect drain plug being installed at the marina. It won’t be replaced during our week.
We went to bed tired and thankful for a glorious day.
1 comment:
We are enjoying reading your blog!!
Michelle and Diane ABMC
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