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April in Montenegro - Celebrating Birthdays

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April would be our last month in the marina in Montenegro as our six month contract was set to expire on May 1st which is the beginning of "the season" for most sailors. It is a busy time for boaters as we all prepare our vessels, finishing up (hopefully not just beginning) jobs that we need or want to do before we set sail for the next 6 months.  At the beginning of the month, our first priority was to celebrate my birthday and Finnegan's birthday. We have the same birthday, April 2nd (no lie)! Neil had asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate since it was going to be a significant one and, with the weather forecast suggesting it was going to be a beautiful sunny spring day (finally after all the rain we had experienced), I decided I wanted to hike up the mountain in Kotor to the infamous "cheese shop" on the back side of the mountain. I am not convinced this is how Finnegan would choose to spend his birthday, but I figured he could celebrate with extra treats...
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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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