More McGanns!

Conor’s brother (Darragh) and his wife (Cathy) and two of their kids (Eve, 17, and Luke, 13) arrive from Dublin for a summer vacation. We are excited to have them on board for the next two weeks and are thrilled we can host a lovely sun holiday for them. 🙂

First order of business for the Dubliners is a jump in the sea, of course. We then have a lovely dinner with a view at a restaurant filled with locals (as opposed to Porto visitors) – Big Ben. Back at the boat, reading and competitive chess ensue. 

The next day, we’re still at port because we have workers on the boat. (I’ll explain more of that when it’s all finished!) Everyone seems happy with a beach day filled with sun and sea. Another wonderful dinner out with amazing desserts at Astoria. The enthusiastic pattern from Luke becomes “This is the most amazing (insert whatever Luke is eating) I’ve ever had!” 😉

The next day we head out into the bay. This is just our second sail since we’ve begun to live aboard, and it’s the first with the extra McGanns. Darragh has been sailing for years now in Dublin and just recently received his skippers license, so he is excited to get sailing on Sabática. 

Conor begins the outing with boat preparations and collection of the full crew to give a skipper’s overview (plan for the day) and a safety talk. Conor is a stickler for safety. We all don life vests and take up our positions. Darragh and I are crewing while the rest of the gang enjoys front row seats. 

It’s a simple day just tootling around the inner bay. Conor has us practice man overboard drills multiple times (we are successful) and then we experiment with the sails and reefing lines for a bit. Once satisfied, we bring the sails down and motor over to a nice anchorage spot for a swim off the boat. (We used the anchor correctly this time.) Everyone has a great time jumping off the boat and swimming through the boat underneath. 

Back at the dock (docking gets a bit easier each time), it’s time for clean up. Hosing the boat, wiping down all the cushions, etc. All in all, a fun day out. We finish the day with a lovely dinner at Theodorus followed by their amazing gelato. 

The third day is another day in port. Conor and I do a bit of work and the Dubliners have another beach day. Eve and Luke each come back with a “lilo.” That was a new term for me. In the US, we’d call them floats. 😉

That evening we experiment and try a new restaurant – Barquero. I was hankering for some familiar ethnic food, so convinced the gang to try this Spanish/Latin tapas place. Tapas was a new concept for Luke. “You mean I have to share?!” It was a good meal, albeit quite spicy. We relieve the spice by visiting Theodorus’ gelato stand afterwards. 😉

The Dubliners seem to be enjoying their sun holiday so far. I’m impressed how each morning they get up and go for a run and dip in the sea. Very industrious! 

** We received a question about restaurants here in Montenegro, so I thought I’d answer it a bit here and provide links to the restaurants we’ve been enjoying (see above and I’ll add more below). We have been surprised with amazing food here in Montenegro. Especially in the Porto Montenegro marina area, we are within a bubble and there is a good variety, much more than I would have expected. For example, I’ve been able to get nice tacos and sushi. 🙂 Most restaurants offer breakfast, lunch and dinner, which I find interesting. Standards on the menus include a few salads, pastas, risottos, pizzas, meats/chicken/fish (lots of seafood), great desserts, etc. Outside of the Porto area, there is also great food and more reasonable prices. Montenegro also makes wine – Conor says the local wines are really good. Outside of the main Porto area, we’d recommend Big Ben, Theodorus, and Astoria. (They are not far at all, they are just technically in Tivat instead of Porto Montenegro). Within the marina area, our favorites include Navale (we became regulars here; got to know a couple of waiters; great place for any meal or a cooler work spot when the boat gets too hot) , Al Posto Giusto, and Gallardo (steak house where I get sushi). Yum.