Sailboat cruise in Dalmatia, part 2 (Pantera bay - Rava island)

We wake up in the morning and repeat the early swim ritual and we make breakfast. Fried eggs with cheese and onion was my specialty.. Nutella, cheese and vegetables, coffee ... sometimes we would prepare the lunch before the departure. We lift the anchor and go. On the exit of the spacious bay, a German nice trimaran overtakes us. The wind is weak, so neither it is very fast. We take same photos, and discuss about its performances, the pros and cons. We sail to the south, a little bit towards Zverinac isle and then back to the Dugi. Then suddenly we spot a hole in the mountain. According to the book it is a German underground submarine refuge. But we think it could also be built by the Yugoslavian army after WW2. We approach carefully. The sailboat that was anchored just in front of it lifts the anchor and leaves. Since it was much bigger then us, we deduce that we can come just till the entrance. We drop the dinghy. Some by rowing, some by swimming, we enter to the sea tunnel. It is impressive, exciting to imagine submarines entering the hole. Lake in a James Bond movie. We swim inside, walk along the paths on the edge, take pictures and perform water jumps.

After a while, we lift the anchor and continue to the south. We sail zig-zag, chasing the wind and island landscapes. We check some beautiful bays. We have lunch while sailing. As the day comes to the ending, we check on the maps and in books where could we pass the night. The island Rava, with its rugged coastline seems perfect. Just before sunset we arrive to the first bay, Mala Rava. There is no too much space, and we are not very experienced, it's crowded to us, we are hesitating...an Italian sailboat pretty fast enters the bay with a buoy hunter on the bow and targets the buoy chosen by us. We hurry up, and show them then they will have to choose another one.

When the adrenaline dies and the impressions of the day calm down we get aware in what kind of paradise we just arrived. A small village with colorful houses, an old grandpa sands the hull of an wooden boat on shore, children playing in ankle deep water, few people talking, a dimmed conversation from a local restaurant...what a nice atmosphere. As every evening, we recount the day during a light dinner. In the morning we walk around the village, talk to some people and go for a coffee in the local restaurant.