Sept 12: We had a great breakfast in the morning in the dinning room of the Ferry. We ate as we watched the Croatian islands pass by through the windows. It was really cool, but extremely early. Maybe the drugs hadn’t worn off yet? We arrived at 7 am and the man renting us our apartment, Viktor, met us at the dock. He bought us bus tickets and invited us in for some coffee. Once again we couldn’t get the apartment until later in the day so he showed us around the city and told us to return around noon. We walked all around and took many pictures. It was so beautiful and the weather was so nice! The water was extremely clear and blue. We went back at noon and made ourselves at home in the studio apartment. We had a kitchen and bathroom… it was very nice. We took a nice little nap before going out again. We went to dinner at this restaurant that Viktor recommended early for fresh seafood. Dylan had squid, Eric had Cuttlefish Risotto, and I had fresh shrimps. There were many stray cats running around trying to get any scraps that they could. We sat outside right in the old marina surrounded by such amazing scenery. We walked around through the old city, and outside the giant walls of the city after dinner. The whole city of Dubrovnik is enclosed within the old walls!
Sept 13: It was so nice to wake us refreshed and rested. We went to the beach today for some sunbathing and swimming. The water was a bit cold, but felt good after getting in and used to it. You could see the bottom the water was so clear. Everyday there was a cruise ship docked off the coast in the bay between Dubrovnik and Lokrum (island just off the coast). We stopped by the grocery store for some sandwich stuff on the way back to the apartment.
After lunch we went out to explore the city from its walls. We bought tickets to walk the walls of the city in the evening as the sun set. With the infinite number of picturesque scenes it took us a while to get round the whole city. Every step brought a new view of our stunning surroundings. We have so many pictures! We climbed up the tower (with the best views of the city) to the highest point of the protective wall. It was said that this same wall helped protect the people of Dubrovnik in the 1991 bombing of the city by the army of Yugoslavia. There are posters as you enter or exit the city marking each location where bombs hit the city! It was covered in these dots! It is hard to imagine because it was not so long ago and the city looked as it does today while it was bombed. All the people here remember these times vividly, but not many will talk about it. The only remnants of the bombing are the new orange roofs of the old town, which were much more worn in the past.
At dinner, we all split a huge seafood platter. It included shark, squid, fish, zucchini, potatoes, and muscles. Our waiter was a very nice young man. His parents own and run the restaurant and he and his brother help. He told us some cool bars that we should check out. Eric and Dylan went out for a drink around midnight, but I was too tired to join them. They took some cool pictures of the city at night after most the tourist had gone to bed.
Sept 14: We decided to catch the little ferry to the island just off the coast called Lokrum. It is a natural preserve with some old fort (and monastery) remains. We got off the boat and started hiking up a path through the woods until we came out onto the cliffs and water below. The rock was very sharp and jagged but there were some very nice jumping spots! So Dylan jumped after making sure the water was deep enough. After Dylan jumped a few times, Eric and I decided to jump as well! It was so fun, but we had to keep our shoes on because getting out was a little tricky and included a little rock climbing. Check out our pictures! I smacked the crap out of my arms on my last jump so I was done for the day! After drying off and getting ready to leave, Dylan found another jump. This jump was quite a bit higher than the last so we let him do this one alone. Once he had jumped, actually on his way down in the water he opened his arms and popped his shoulder out! This was the same shoulder he had had surgery on a while back. It pooped back in before he got out of the water, but that was the end of cliff jumping for all of us!
We hiked up to the top of the island where a fort once stood. We met some guys from San Francisco who were traveling through Italy, Croatia and to Montenegro! We hiked back down and around the island to the boat dock. There was a little restaurant/café where we grabbed some lunch before heading back to Dubrovnik.
Later in the evening we had dinner at a pasta place! The guys had lasagna and I had pesto pasta! It was good, but a bit heavy. Then we went out to a Latino disco club, and after to a club located on the beach called “East West”. It wasn’t very crowded anywhere, so we went back home for the night!
Sept 15: Dylan went on a tour to Montenegro for the day. Eric and I slept in… we are not used to going out at night anymore! Once we got up and ready we went to the bus station to get our bus tickets to Split for the next day. After we returned we went to the beach for the afternoon. We laid out and went swimming again! It was very nice to relax and do nothing for a day.
After Dylan got back we went to get pitas for dinner! The pitas were the closest thing we have had to good old Californian food. We sat down next to some English guys that had been drinking all day! We started drinking with them. One of the guys was a bit arrogant and annoying spewing political criticism of America. His friends were very embarrassed but we all got along and kept drinking. All the while the same guy was getting more drunk and chanting football (this is soccer for us) songs. I taught him an OSU football chant, and he added to it (it was really funny). Then he taught me some chants for the Newcastle team (where they were from). We left since we had to catch the bus in the morning but it was a good night all in all!
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