Travel day

Tuesday morning early- 9ish - we left the gorgeous Dubrovnik behind!  Headed up the coastal D8 highway en route to Drvenik the ferry terminal to Sucuraj on the island of Hvar.  It took about 2 hours on the winding, single lane highway from Dubrovnik- once again the BMW's, Audis and Mercs of the world tailing you so close that it is scary and over taking on blind corners- a little much for the nerves.  Arriving at the ting ferry terminal it was quite busy- we lined up for the 11am ferry- when it was time to load- there were a couple of cars without people and so others were cutting in front of us- we missed the ferry by 4 cars- but I am sure than more than 4 cut in front of us!  There is really no order at the ferries, I have to say- you have to be quick or you will miss them!  The next ferry was at 11:45am- we were on this one for sure.  30 mins later we were on the island of Hvar.  It was a 77km drive to Hvar town- shouldn't be too bad?!  Oh my- this was a NARROW, twisting road that went high up into the mountains and then descended quickly, then up again and there was no shoulder at all- just sheer cliff!  Cars coming at you don't seem to notice the white line and cross over into your lane far to often.  Eventually an hour later we arrived- found the apartment and settled in.

The apartment is about 200 stairs above the city- nice view!  Walking down the stairs landed us on the Riva and the main strip. We strolled in to town and saw the amazing architecture, lots of vendors and unbelievably huge yachts- the rich and famous hang out here!  We walked all the way to the hotels which I had previously booked and then cancelled as it was $500 per night!! It is a stunning hotel- but too rich for my blood.  Then we walked into town and found a great spot up the stairs to the fort- for dinner.  We had an okay dinner- should have had fish!  There was a South African couple across from us and I chatted to them- apparently Croatia has become a hot spot for SA'ers to vacation- who knew?!

After dinner we enjoyed the town at night and then got home at about 9:30, we were pooped after our day of travel- white knuckling takes it out of one. To bed and a hot day ahead of us tomorrow- looking in the mid 30's!

the massive yachts at night!

Elephiti

Monday was an early wake up!  The bus was picking us up at the hotel up the street to take us to our boat for a day on the water!  We were up at 6:45 to catch the bus at 8:15- we were on schedule and at the harbour in minutes.  The boat is a replica of the ancient sailing boats of Dubrovnik- pretty neat.  The  Karaka set sail at 9am and we were off to our first island Koločep – It is the closest island to Dubrovnik, located 5 km from the Dubrovnik harbour at Gruž, with a population of 294 inhabitants. It has seven pre-Romanesque churches dating back to the times of the Croatian kings, from the 9th to the 11th century. What a quaint town- we were here for an hour- so we sat on the bay had a coffee and watched the boats float in and the huge yachts setting up for the day.  Then we were off and heading to Šipan – The farthest and largest island in terms of area (15.8 km²) and population of 436 inhabitants. It also has two towns ,Šipanska Luka and Suđurađ- which is where we sailed into for a little stop over- there are sand beaches here!  We took up a spot on the dock and enjoyed the sun and boat watching.  Back at the boat it was lunch time.  The decks were set up with a delicious lunch- salads, tuna, cheese, cold cuts, chicken, veggies- so much to eat and so good.  Before we knew it we were at the last island- Lopud – Second in size and best known for its sandy beaches, it is located between Šipan and Koločep islands. It's well developed in terms of tourism infrastructure, including the Lafodia hotel in the town of Lopud. (looks like a nice place to stay- maybe next time!)  We found a great sunny beach- I had to rent a beach umbrella and so we go two loungers and umbrella and sat back to enjoy.  The girls were in the water in a flash- I got to read and enjoy.  The water was so nice though couldn't resist and after a few hours of sun in I went.  So nice and inviting!  Before we knew it 3.5 hours had passed and we had to head back to the boat.  Back on board we were homeward bound- they served up some watermelon and we took an hour to get back.  We sailed into Dubrovnik at 6pm and back to our apartment.  We freshened up and headed into town for our last night here- too bad as this is a great town- could have used an extra day or 2.  We had a quick dinner on the go- still full from lunch, did some site seeing and some souvenir shopping and then back to pack up and bed.

The Karaka 

Morning coffee

lunch!

swimming time...

The wall

Saturday we had intended to wake up early and walk the ancient wall that surrounds Dubrovnik. We wanted to beat the heat and the crowds. The only thing we managed to do was beat the crowds- as there weren't any.  We got to the wall and it was already hot- but up we went! We had entered the North or Buza gate and climbed straight up to the first turret - what a view.  All before us were red clay roofs- apparently 2/3 of these were destroyed during the 1990's war.  So the majority of the roofs are bright and new.  We continued along the wall- with a little breeze to cool us- the view constantly changing.  We quickly came upon a fruit juice cafe (of course you would find such a thing in the ancient walls!) That was refreshing!  We continued on and eventually came to the seaward side- we thought this would be cooler- but the wall is higher here and so no breeze.  Eventually we were greeted with gorgeous ocean views.  It took us just under 2 hours to walk the wall- which Delaney reckons must be double the length of the Great Wall of China!!

We made our way back to the apartment and a late sandwich lunch.  Relaxing a bit and cooling down- it was beach time!
Floatie and goggles in hand we ran across the street outside (the apartment opens up straight onto the road and a blind corner!) and over to the beach. The girls played for about 2.5 hours in the water - I floated for about an hour out in the gorgeous water. Back to the apartment, wash all the salt off of our bodies and into town for dinner. I had read a few reviews at the apartment about a great little place called Lady Pipi.  Heading off into town we were in search of this taverna.  One always has to hope that you are heading in the right direction as there are no street or alley names when you need them.  We knew we had to enter and then go up the steep stairs to the alley closest to the wall- up we went, and up and up!  Sweating we arrived at the taverna to be greeted with a line up. Guess everyone had heard about how good it was.  We decided to wait as we had nowhere to be. After about an hour we were seated up on the terrace overlooking the city- wow.  Frank and I ordered the fish plate to share- they cooked all our food on the open grill on the terrace- it smelt so good and we were starving.  Our platter was huge- sea bass, tuna, squid, mussels and prawns!  Frank and I demolished it :)

outside apartment

getting ready to climb up high

and higher still!

Lady Pipi I presume?!!!

After this amazing dinner (it was worth the wait!) we rolled down the stairs and to the sight of Dubrovnik at night- we strolled the main street and Frank and the girls had their ice cream (I had NO room!) and then it was home to bed as we had an early morning the Monday.

my yatch in the front there!!!

You've got to get here once in your life!

Saturday morning we left Split for the 3 hour drive to Dubrovnik.  We made a false start along the coastal highway but realised this was going to be a long, backed up route.  We headed inland to the A1 and off we went- driving at our granny pace of 140km's/hour!  We were on this highway for about an hour and then we had to exit and start the winding road to the coast.  We had many mountains to pass to get there.  We passed through so many little towns - all selling fruit and veggies along the side of the road.  About an hour into the winding roads we approached the Bosnian Border- passports ready we approached- they could care less- they just waved us through!  We drove the roughly 10km stretch through Bosnia and were waved back in to Croatia in no time at all.
As we approached Dubrovnik the temperature was rising and we got into town at about 2pm and 32C.
We had no trouble finding our apartment (if you believe me then you are a sucker- we only found it thanks to the maps app!)  There was no parking so Frank parked illegally and we ran up to great Goga at the apartment.  She walked down and directed Frank to a spot outside our place- think we will not need the car here!
Oh what a lovely apartment - very spacious and all the luxuries - if not more- of home!  We settled in and then were off in search of lunch.  It is always a bit of a challenge finding food when you are hungry, but we settled on a pizzeria inside the walls of the old town.

View from our apartment

The beach  

The Stadum- main street in town

Guess what time it is?

 There are a lot of English Speaking tourists here- Aussies, Americans, British- even said hi to a fellow Canadian or 2!
After lunch we had a little amble around and then back to the apartment and beach time, at the beach across the street- a SAND one too. ( I believe the sand is imported?!) They swam for a while and then headed back.  The girls were exhausted but we really wanted to see the town.  They wanted to just chill and watch a movie.  So Frank and I headed off in search of the Buza bar (as seen on Rick Steve's Dubrovnik!)  We had a little searching but did find this hole in the wall (not a bad hole in the wall, but literally a hole in the old city wall that we walked through into this bar).  It is a bar that is looking out over the ocean, while perched on the cliffs of this old city- what a setting.  We had a drink or 2 and took it all in.  The music selection was wonderful too- so relaxing and not too crowded (until the noisy Italian men showed up!!)  We then took a little stroll in the old city all lit up at night- too beautiful for words.  This city is very much like Venice- only so clean, and defiantly not as crowded- I love this city.

Trogir

Friday and our last day in Split- I had said this was the day I would like to visit Trogir. A little town about 20 minutes north of us that is an entire Unesco Heritage site.  Unesco sites visited so far:

Paris- banks of the Seine
Venice
Plitvice Lakes
Diocletians Palace
Trogir

we have vistited more than there are in Canada all together (maybe?)- there is only one in BC on the Queen Charlottes.
Trogir is a walled "city" that is pedestrian only.  We drove over the bridge onto the island- we had to circumnavigate the walls and ended up finding parking one island over on Ciovo.  We approached Trogir via the Riva - promenade and made our way to the main gate.

We wandered in and started exploring this great little treasure- all kinds of alleys and streets. 

   Lunch was calling and so of we headed in search of a place to eat- we ended up back on the Riva and found a place overlooking that water.  Frank and I had a salad- it was so good!!  We watched tons of large sailing vessels loading up and it appeared they will take off from here for some island hopping. island hopping.com I just checked it out- this is the way to see the islands- anyone who is coming here to Croatia I recommend this site- wish I had seen it before.

We were off to explore after lunch- first up was the Karmelengo Fortress, a very rustic fortress that we climbed up to the top of- a great view was to be had.  Then down and we went to the convent of St. Nicholas- it was wonderful peaceful place- there was no-one else there so we had a nice quiet visit. We also found some tortoises in the garden- we counted 5 and a tiny baby one- they were very "cute" and had the girls captivated for quite some time.

After the convent we made our way to the centre and stopped for an ice cream along the way (of course), and we were at the loggia and clock tower- a big shelter where the criminals were tried in the 1400's! All over there are signs that this was part of Venice- the winged lions (a symbol of Venetians power) are in many buildings, as well the "feel" of Venice too.
Frank bought a beer at this point, but they poured it for him so we had to sit and join him- "I guess I will have a coffee if I have to!" We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the streets and little stores- a really wonderful place to get lost.  We left around 5 pretty exhausted - it was in the low 30's today and we felt the heat for sure.

We drove back to Split and the Hajduk Split stadium as when we were there the other day they had said that the new store was opening on Friday night at 6pm and Frank was looking for a nice shirt.  We arrived as the grand opening was happening - we went into the store along with all the media!! Some guy asked if he could take mine and Danica's photo- maybe we will be in the paper tomorrow.  Also there were a few members of the team in store- pretty crazy stuff.  We bought and left!
Back home we had sendvičis for dinner (sandwiches!) and now we pack and off tomorrow.