We Made It To Bar

It was a 32-hour non-stop sail across the coast of Albania to arrive yesterday morning in Bar, Montenegro.  So, that means we are literally IN Bar, but not AT the bar.  YET.

We had to motor for quite a lot of the voyage as the winds were not as forecast and it was mirror calm for a lot of the journey north.  We weighed anchor in the dark with a waxing gibbous moon at 3.30 am and hoped we’d timed our journey to arrive in the morning for check-in procedures.  We had the usual dodging of fishing boats, ferries, and cruise liners but the sunset was magic.

 In the Captain’s words “It was incredibly calm waters that turned a fluorescent blue with algae as the sun turned everything above shades of red and between this was a layer of lavender that must have simply been the mind trying to make sense of the imagery.  It persisted for what felt like an hour and was just breathtaking.  Moments of joy like the play of a child that only intensified as the light faded and the boat started to draw trails of phosphorescence below, whilst stars scattered above us.  We were on our way to Nevernever land”

It is stunning here.  The people we have interacted with have been delightful and we immediately felt comfortable and well suited to this place. The official check-in process was undertaken expeditiously and we are here for at least a month or maybe more.  It’s currently 19 degrees but feels like 22, and we have moved from last night’s anchorage in the Bar Bay around to Sutomore beach which is a mere 2 nautical miles away from where we checked in.

A very dear friend of mine spent an entire summer here in her youth and it is as gorgeous as she described. The mountains shoulder the backs of the bars, hotels, and restaurants that populate the waterfront village at Sutomore beach, as they all face out across the aqua of the Adriatic that is gently rolling in.

The outlook for the next week is sunshine – and we will no doubt end up at a bar in Bar sometime during the week.  

Today’s track is such an obvious one.  ‘Sailing’ is a little piece of 80’s soft rock written and recorded by Chris Cross. He wrote the verse and chorus a couple of years before he came up with the bridge to change the keys so they fitted well.  It won the Grammy honours for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist for Cross. And it even beat out Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ for Album of the year.  You know you know it, sing along!

Well, it’s not far down to paradise
At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see, believe me

It’s not far to never never land
No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see, believe me

Sailing
Takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me