We caught a bus into Dubrovnik (which was 20 minutes late) and walked 10 minutes into the old town. The stone walls were quite impressive and I couldn’t imagine how armies of years gone past could have even imagined breaching them. We followed Holly’s lead of doing a “walkabout” first to get our bearings. In a place like this, it was quite easy to do, walk the perimeter of the stone walls. It cost 35 kuna to get up on the walls (about $7 CAD) but it was well worth it. The walk was between 2-3 kilometers with half of it bordering the Adriatic Sea. The views both inside and outside of the old sea were beautiful and intriguing. It was amazing to think of the damage done in the war not that long ago and the reconstruction was slowly, painstakingly done to try and preserve the original architecture of this old city. One could easily tell however which buildings had not been hit by their aging roofs.
The entrance to the walled city:
Starting to walk the perimeter:
Walking the walls:
Holly and I on the wall:
Looking over the roof tops:
Great views:
Looking cool in Dubrovnik:
After the perimeter walk we strolled along the main avenue and after a rehydrating drink (read: not beer) at a small restaurant, we ventured into a war photo exhibit. We all had mixed reactions to the pictures we saw which represented conflict not only in the local area but Palestine, Chechnya, Ossetia, Pakistan and some other regions. The photo that stuck with me was seeing the old town of Dubrovnik on fire in 1991.
We had some lunch and then I subtly persuaded Holly and Garth to take a short glass bottom boat tour for 50 minutes. The glass bottom was a bit unnecessary as sadly there were hardly any fish or vegetation to look at. Seeing the old town’s stone walls from the sea was worthwhile and one could see why the walls were twice as thick on the land side as there were some tricky rock walls facing the ocean that would prevent any army from mounting a substantial attack from sea. We toured around a small island off the coast which included a small “clothing optional” beach.
Back on shore, Garth headed off to climb the local hill while Holly opted to meander around the old town a bit more. I was still not feeling a 100% so I planned to head back to the campsite although I was feeling well enough for a beer on a sidewalk cafe and a bit of people watching. I took a local bus to the main bus station and asked about getting back to the town of Zaton where we were camping. The lady expressed that I could get a bus in 45 minutes but I would have to pay more than double what it cost me to get into town as it was more of a long haul bus and I would specifically have to ask the driver to drop me off. It also sounded like I might end up at the next town and could have a long walk back. I decided on catching the proper bus that left another hour after the first one. I figured I could explore the “new” Dubrovnik harbour in this time. There was only one cruise ship in at the time and a number of large yachts but nothing super impressive (am I becoming a yacht snob?!?).
The busy mainstreet:
The old harbour:
On the glass bottom boat:
The city walls from the boat:
I got on the bus and there was a ticket collector working his way back along the aisle way. We were getting close to Zaton and he was chatting up a fellow one row in front of me. On boarding the bus I had asked the driver if I was on the right bus but I didn’t have faith that he would have remembered the stop. I eagerly showed the collector my ticket and he yelled up to the driver...cool, I should be good. Well the bus rumbled past the campsite and the market Garth had been to the day before. It kept going and going. As it past another campsite on a peninsula that we could see from where we were staying I knew I had to take action, I could end up in a city hours away. I stood up and went back to the ticket collector, expressed that I wanted to get off and he shouted to the driver who promptly stopped. Whew. I did have a 20 minute walk back but at least it was a pleasant one along the shore...no harm, no foul. Still with a tentative stomach, I had a small, basic dinner and soon headed to bed after setting up Garth and Holly’s tent (probably the easiest tent I’ve ever set up so I’m not looking for glory here). They had a nice dinner out by the waterfront in Dubrovnik (Date Night!) and we all had a decent night’s sleep.
I almost forgot to mention the super strange, eccentric late 60s guy who ran the campground along with his mother. He told Garth and I that the house and property had been in his family for over 800 years! The night before Garth and I had tried to pay for camping and he was drunk as a skunk and would only accept Garth’s payment since he and Holly might only be staying one night whereas I was there for two. He couldn’t do simple math to save his life and I couldn’t help but be concerned that I had to leave my passport with this guy for the night. The villa where the reception was in was cavernous and impressive, but did not convey a warm “home” feeling. There were old pictures of generations past on the walls and the furnishings were stark and cold. The next day when I went to pay, he didn’t even remember me....yikes.
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