Croatia: Dubrovnik (day 6)

We are up early on day 5 to catch a 10 am ferry at the opposite end of the island of Hvar.

As we arrive at the ferry we park in the line for cars boarding. There are also cars all parked around the cafe. When the time of departures nears the cars at the cafe just drive on whenever they want...no tickets waving, no one to take the tickets. Then our line up starts getting antsy and some people leave the queue and drive on too. What the heck, we say, and join the rest of them.

Once on the mainland we head south along the coast towards the city of Dubrovnik.

Along the way we pass through a lush farming valley that stretches for miles. On the side of the road at this time of year stands sell large bags of mandarin oranges by the kilo, honey from the abundant lavender, pomegranates, and dried figs.

Again we pass picturesque seaside village after village.

The Croatian country going down the coast is broken by a small piece of Bosnia that comes right down to the sea for a stretch of several kilometres. One has two options: take a ferry to reach the southern tip of Croatia or drive through Bosnia. Above you can see the border entering Bosnia.

Then around a corner of the coast we spot the large bridge which will take us into the city of Dubrovnik.

The city retains much of its natural coastline.

Dubrovnik, the old city, is a walled medieval town surrounded by the sea on one side and a huge mountain on the other. It is the most popular destination in Croatia for tourists.

The main streets are paved in marble and are pedestrian only. "For the Croats themselves Dubrovnik serves as a powerful metaphor for freedom, having spent much of its history as a self-governing city-state independent of foreign powers. The city played a more than symbolic role in the war of 1991-95, when it successfully resisted a 9-month Serbian-Montenegrin Siege." (Rough Guide). The only sign of this now is new roof tiles, fresh paint and replaced stone.

Along the smaller streets restaurants place most of their tables outside in hopes of luring you with crowds and the sight of their food being eaten.

There are many hills in the city themselves. The east side runs along the base of the mountain and steep staircases take you to the edge of the city walls if you can climb that far.

Most of the shops are tourist tat oriented, which is always interesting to see what each city and country sport as stereotypes. Since lavender is grown everywhere you can get sachets, essential oils...everything made out of lavender. We opt for two jars of lavender honey where the bees pollinated the lavender plants.

The marina is one of the nicest places to hang out in the old city as the medieval builders seem to have thought of seating in every old city we have been to. Stone benches built into walls line most of the pier, so one is not limited to buying food to sit somewhere.

But as a result of being a port it is also a cruise ship day outing. The town can be over-run with tourists off the ship for the day. You wonder why there is one particular language of tourists on particular days and realise they are being ferried back and forth every 30 minutes from the ship anchored off-shore.

The sunset is also amazing from the marina. If you walk around to the far corner of the city wall you will find a great little area where locals dip in for a quick swim.

Hey, there is one of those cruise ships above that I mentioned.

Here we are looking at the city walls from the marina.

And this is the bit you can swim in, if you like swimming with the sunset.

The city is lit and alive at night. People eat late and it seems every second restuarant has hired a professional musicians to play for their clients sitting outside. The atmosphere is great and it seems at this time the cruise ship crowd has returned to their ships for their inclusive dinners there. (don't get me wrong, I think I would like to try a 3 day cruise just for the all you can eat food!)

The Stradun (the main city street) is alive and sporting gelato shops every block. My favourite flavours: black chocolate, tiramisu, pistacchio, mint, and creme caramel. Nigel's favourites: black cherry, pistacchio, mint, and creme caramel.