After a big breakfast at the “One-Eyed Pig” restaurant near the piers, I boarded the Kirlo catamaran for the 4 1/2 hour down to Dubrovnik with several stops at some of the Adriatic Islands along the way.
Old Town Dubrovnik view from the cable car landing.
The third island stop was Korcula which was a walled town followed by a stop at Pomona.
Our final stop was Dubrovnik and as we came into the harbor, we saw a huge cruise ship docked on our same pier.
From there it was a short walk to the bus stop that took me to the Pile neighborhood stop about 4km from the piers. As I got off the bus, the walled old town of Dubrovnik was right before me complete with a drawbridge I crossed to get into town.
As you enter the old town from here you immediately see the long and broad Placa (Stradun) with the nearby Big Onofrio’s Fountain built in 1438, where the gargoyles spew water from their mouths from a water source some 12km distance.
It was obvious the cruise passengers were in a town noted by their audio tape machines, ID tags around their necks clustered around their tour guides speaking to them in their different languages—English, French, German, etc. Despite this cruise ship crowd, most of the restaurant tables were empty. The staff is hoping July and August will be better.
I was staying at the Angelina Hostel which was a big climb up the stairs in the northeast corner of the walled city by the Minceta Fort. Once I got there they had a sign that said it was closed and for accommodations go down to their annex which was near the Cathedral.
This turned out to be a much better location since it would not require climbing all of those stairs at least daily and it was near many restaurants and places to tour.
The manager, Annamarija, told me their other hostel was closed because they did not have enough travelers. The place, with 40 beds and a big patio and kitchen was very clean and comfortable. My room has 5 bunks and is a mixed dorm. About half of the travelers are from the US, others are from France, Germany, Argentina, Ukraine, Spain, and Taiwan.
I was planning to stay here for about 3 days, but when I went to the Autobus station, I learned that all of the international buses to Montenegro had been canceled because there were too few travelers.
I then went online and found out the same was true when crossing to Albania, North Macedonia, and Greece. Some said I could catch a bus to Bosnia and another to Montenegro, but were not sure about traveling through other countries south. I talked to Iliana from Ukraine and she was planning to fly to Greece from here and that all planes to Greece first routed you to the Northern European countries.
I went online and found a flight that would take me to Madrid>London>Athens for $109 on June 20th with a combination of Iberian and Ryan Air so I booked it. I then had to fill out COVID information documents for both Spain and the UK which I have to finish completing once I receive my seat assignments. Such paperwork. I also have to get a COVID test for my pass through the UK.
I extended my stay here for a full week which included a day tour to Montenegro.
The city has produced a map available at the Tourist Office and at our hostel which shows a variety of walking tours to various attractions throughout the old town and broader city.
I took the wall walk around the perimeter of the old city and enjoyed some spectacular views. The brighter and newer roof tiles replaced the ones that were damaged during the Homeland War from the bombing by the Yugoslavian military despite protest from UNESCO since it was a World Heritage site. Over 2,000 shells pummeled Dubrovnik between 1991-2. Also, the Srd that is on top of the 412m high hill containing communications equipment was attacked and bombed. There is a photo exhibit of this war in the Fort Imperial which still has bullet and bomb markings on the walls. The people of Dubrovnik endured and rebuilt after the war.
The harbor provides the gateway to the surrounding islands including Lokrum which I visited with its many rocky shores for swimming and peacocks roaming freely, especially around the Monastery area.
It also has a number of restaurants and one by the “Dead Sea” kids were frequently jumping off the rocks to the amusement of me and other customers.
I enjoyed a brisk swim in the Adriatic Sea near the Buza Gate where you could jump off the rocks into the sea from 1 to 10 meters. I chose the one-meter jump and enjoyed others going off the highest rocks.
There were so many various churches to view and many were built in the 1400s. Over the Pile Gate with the drawbridge is the patron saint of Dubrovnik, St. Blaise, who is shown holding the city in his hands. He was a 4th-century martyr.
This was a perfect backdrop for the filming of the “Game of Thrones” and they have tours to the filmed spots and thrones for picture taking. It makes me want to see the series to see how they have incorporated the city into the movie. I saw a similar thing in Morocco.
They have a variety of museums to choose from and I went to the “War Photo Limited” Museum, the “Dubrovnik During the Homeland War, and “Love Stories Museum” which was a counterpoint to the “Museum of Broken Relationships” I saw in Zagreb.
War Photo Limited Pictures
The Love Stories Museum contains post-it notes of love messages along with stories.
Homeland War
Salvador Dali Museum
While here there was a football match between Croatia and Czech which ended in a draw, but most restaurants have pulled out TVs for their enthusiastic fans.
My next destination will be Athens by air via Madrid and London. Turns out there are no nonstop flights to Athens from here. After getting the ticket, I wish I would have routed myself through Germany since my UK transfer required me to take a COVID test. Fortunately, the Dubrovnik Airport has a rapid antigen test at the Departures area of their airport that operates from 6 am to 8 pm. It took just 15 minutes and 200 Kuna to get them printed and emailed results.
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