"Sailing Close to the Wind" - and we haven't even gone to sea yet!

28th August 2010

"We must leave port at 5.30 latest or we cannot leave until tomorrow", says Alan's text message.

He and the others are already on board our motor sailing gulet, 'Linda'. Edmundo and I are stuck in a long queue at the border of Montenegro and Croatia on our way back from visiting the island of Sveti Stefan. We were indeed sailing close to the wind but we didn't miss the boat.

Old stone fishermen's cottages on the little island of Sveti Stefan, now an Aman Resort in Montenegro

We would have indeed 'missed the boat' if not for our resourceful young Croatian driver, basketballer, Ivan. We knew we were cutting it fine with the timing but Ivan found a Russian from Dubrovnik on the car ferry who told him of an alternative route across the border. 

Edmundo and our driver, Ivan

We followed the Russian around single track mountainous roads to the other border crossing where waiting time in the queue was more reasonable. We drove along barren mountainsides of harsh karst rock stretching down to a sparkling green sea, but inland, there was a greener beauty with hills of olives, vines and tall cypress scattered randomly in unison or in profusion across a landscape creating a wonderful picture-book vista. Sun beds by the thousand adorned stretches of beach for Europeans to come and bake. I felt shrivelled to a crisp just looking down at them as we sped past.

After all the driving and drama, we didn't have time to negotiate our way into the new Aman property across a little causeway on the island of Sveti Stefan. It's taken them two years to convert all the stone fishermen's cottages on the island into luxury individual apartments for their guests.