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Season 2 - Montenegro to Tunisia

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Today being August 28th, we are well into our second season of voyaging on VikingBlod. Since leaving our winter berth in Tivat, Montenegro on May 1st, our travels have taken us to six countries (Croatia, back to Montenegro, then on to Albania, Greece, Sicily and now Malta) covering just over 1700 km in 114 days so far. We have welcomed many guests aboard, including my parents in Montenegro in April along with Benjamin, my sister-in-law Suzanne in Croatia in May, friends Roger and Tama in Croatia in June, Benjamin at the end of June and staying with us for 6 weeks from Montenegro to Malta, and Julia for 3 weeks in July and August from Greece to Sicily. We are looking forward to also welcoming friends Al and Pierina in September when they arrive in Malta.  Family time in Vathy on the island of Ithaki in Greece (July 2025) On a very hot hike in Kioni on the island of Ithaki, Greece It has been a busy season and a wonderful opportunity to share our new lifestyle. Neil and I both really...
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March in Montenegro

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Currently we are anchored in the river in Butrint National Park near Sarande, Albania while we wait out the winds before heading a bit north to check out of Albania. In less than a week, Julia will be joining Neil, Ben, Finnegan and I on the boat in Corfu for three weeks. The plan is to sail in Greece in the Ionian sea before heading across to Sicily.  I still have quite a bit of catching up to do with my blog writing and hope to get a couple of entries finished in the next couple of days. Here is an entry about our time in Montenegro in March. With May fast approaching, it was becoming more and more important to get on with the boat maintenance projects that we (more like Neil) needed to complete before the May 1st deadline. This was the date that our contract with Porto Montenegro Marina was over and we would have to leave or pay a daily docking fee to stay. Our plan was to leave and anchor in the area for a few days before exiting Montenegro.  Checking out of Montenegro wou...
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February in Montenegro - Road Trip to Kolasin, MNE; Hiking to the abandoned church in Tivat; Life in the Marina

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Road Trip!: One of the perks of staying in Porto Montenegro over the winter was the free use of their "chalet" that is located in Kolasin, northeast of the marina, about a 3 hour drive through the Platije canyon, north of the capital city of Podgorica. Kolašin is located on the bank of the Tara River and, when there is snow, it is the skiing centre of the region.  View from the top of  Kolašin 1600 Neil, Finnegan and I were invited to accompany Alison and Randall (SV Tregoning) and Vandy and Eric (SV Awildian) to Vila Rakoc (the chalet in Kolašin) for a three-night stay February 18 - 20th. Unfortunately, Vandy and Eric were unable to attend, so it was up to the remaining 4 of us to take in the sites and enjoy the area. Having already rented two vehicles, we headed off separately, planning to catch up along the way for lunch in Cetinje.  Our route, shortly after leaving Tivat, was along what is known as the Kotor Serpentine Road which zigzags back and forth up th...
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