Rab Town
07 August 2009 | Rab (duh!)
The wind was our friend for a light air sail south around the point of Cres and then, favorably bending, to take us NE to the island of Rab. Arriving mid-afternoon we motored into the harbor to check out the "downtown scene" before going out to the immense bay for a nighttime anchorage. Surrounded on either side by two slender peninsulas of thick pine and juniper forest, we were perfectly positioned with a striking view of the city's trademark sequence of Romanesque campaniles. Set against the imposing mountains on the nearby Croatia mainland it was a spectacular sight and one that beckoned us for an early walk the next day. You may want to try out the Google earth map to the right and Zoom in for a tour of town.
We dinghied ashore to a small and shallow marina, tied the 'dink' and the set off on a shaded shore-line path, one of many in the pretty Komrcar Park. The campaniles in the old quarter required a climb for a birds eye view and cobbled lanes led us to art galleries and interesting shops. An open air café in the main piazza was a welcome respite for cool drinks and yummy lunch of pizza, salad, calamari and polo-polo, a surprise that turned out to be a nice selection of grilled meats, potatoes, vegetables and rice ... certainly enough to keep the wolves at bay for few hours!
Cruisers Note: At the peak of summer holiday and chartering season, we were amazed to be in such a large, well-protected (N) bay with such good holding and very few yachts. Does everyone cruise between Dubrovnik, Split and Hvar? We had an easy dinghy tie-up in Balit and walk to town via the high or low road. Again, no charge for anchoring!