Hvar, the place to be in Croatia. We anchored in front of the small port and disembarked after breakfast to the charming town for a guided orientation. Like in all other Dalmatian ports we were enchanted by beautiful Venetian palaces, churches, and monasteries that we explored in the company of two local guides. While walking, Hvar shop windows seduced us with unique handmade jewelry, beautiful clothing, local products, and art pieces. It was just impossible to resist. Hvar is also known as island of lavender—Croatian Provence—so all morning long we were followed by its wonderful fragrance wherever in town we went.
Beautiful small beaches and perfectly clean sea were very tempting. Little bit of guided tour, little bit of shopping, little bit of swimming: the perfect formula for perfect morning.
Sea Cloud left the port of Hvar at 1:00 p.m. while lunch was served on board. We were all excited to sail again and as soon as motors were switched off and white sails of Sea Cloud were set up, serenity started. Some of us took Zodiacs to take photos from the sea of Sea Cloud with full sails. That was definitely the highlight of the voyage as Sea Cloud is incredibly beautiful under sails.
As it was our last day on board, Captain Pushkarev bid us farewell with his cocktail party on the lido deck, and soon after the Farewell Dinner was served. Our feelings were mixed: sad because this fairytale was over, but also happy because of the wonderful and memorable experiences that we had on this excellent trip on board of Sea Cloud.
For the end of my report I will use a quote from the book "Sea Cloud, A Living Legend" by Kurt Grobecker and Peter Neumann that best describes the relationship between a person and a ship: “No, a ship cannot really change the nature of the person. But it can change the way the person sees the world. The ocean’s enormous size expands one’s horizons. And it helps inspire one to new philosophical realms which, under other more normal circumstances, one would perhaps never have had the fantasy to conjure up.”
