Our first port of call was the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. This is probably the most popular tourist destination on the Adriatic Sea, especially due to the massive popularity of the HBO series Game of Thrones, which has been shot in Dubrovnik. Some of our cruisers were ecstatic about a couple of the excursions which were tours of many of the specific locations used in Game of Thrones. Christine and I didn’t choose these excursions (we’ve never watched Game of Thrones). We wanted something sedate, so our excursion took us about 17 kilometers south of Dubrovnik to the resort town of Cavtat.
This area around Dubrovnik is called the Croatian Riviera. The coastline really is gorgeous. The mountains come right down to the sea and there is a lot of really lovely vegetation, making the area green and quite lush. We were really intrigued by the wonderful pine trees that bordered our walk around the 2 harbors of Cavtat. This little resort is supposedly where the rich and famous come. The town has 2 smallish harbors, one for the locals and one for the yachts of the visitors. It was no longer yacht season, so we didn’t see any, but one could imagine 10 or 12 yachts anchored in the harbor.
There is a wonderful 3 kilometer walk around the harbors. It was shady and level and right next to the fabulous blue waters of the Adriatic. It was a perfect walk and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The little town was beautiful, much of it perched on a little hill. In the touristy section, we found a café and enjoyed a pizza for lunch.
The ride to Cavtat was by bus and we had a great tour guide who told us about the area, and a little about the history of Croatia and Dubrovnik. The ride was along a mountainside road. I was sitting by the window on the side that dropped off into the sea. It was a little alarming to look down and see the drop-off. We did stop at a pull off which had an extraordinary view of Dubrovnik.
Back in Dubrovnik, Christine and I had opted for no other excursion. We just wanted to wander around the old city. One little problem, though, was that we needed a restroom. Come to find out, public restrooms require a payment. We hadn’t exchanged any currency to the Croatian kuna. Although Croatia is an EU member, it kept its currency the kuna and didn’t go with the euro. We could have just gone to a café and ordered something in order to be able to use their restroom, but we didn’t really want to do that because we had just had lunch in Cavtat. Christine opted to return to the ship to rest. She still isn’t totally recovered from her cold. I walked her back to the tender station and sent her on her way back to the ship. I wanted to wander around Dubrovnik and walk some of the city walls.
I took off up these little passageways in search of an entrance to the city walls. What an adventure. Everything in Dubrovnik is up stairs, a lot of stairs, and it seems as though the higher you go, the narrower the passageways become. I was off in residential areas and it was fun seeing the apartments and little courtyards and gardens that people have. And everyone lives practically on top of others.
I didn’t find an entrance to the city walls until I came back down stairs and went to an entrance through the city walls. The city walls have been there beginning in the 11th century and have been added to right through the 19th century. Surprisingly, the walls are thicker on the land side than the sea side. Croatia, or Ragusa, was a powerhouse in the 15th and 16th centuries. Their primary rival was the Venetian Republic. Croatia didn’t have a forceful military; instead, their claim to fame was diplomacy. They talked their way into being a powerhouse and made deals, mostly involving land swaps.
To walk the city walls, you will go around a 2-kilometer track and will climb up or down 744 steps. I didn’t intend to walk the entire thing, but I actually did. The views were stunning.
After my wall walk, I was definitely ready to return to the ship. I was really tired. Dubrovnik is an interesting place and I’m glad we had the opportunity to see it and learn something about its history.
Tuesday was a day at sea as we head for our next stop, Chania, Crete. We had a nice day attending some meetings about Olivia, the trips available over the next 2 years, and what Olivia’s leaders are doing on the national political scene. Olivia throws an alumni party for those who have taken multiple Olivia trips. This is our 8th. It was astounding to learn that one couple has taken 60 trips over the nearly 30 years Olivia has been doing travel adventures for lesbians. Wow!
The day ended with a lovely sunset.
The weather forecast isn’t in our favor for Chania on Wednesday. We didn’t sign up for any excursions, preferring to just wander around the harbor area and some of the old city streets. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that. The seas have been very calm up until Tuesday night, when the swells got bigger and rocked the ship all night. We were told Tuesday evening that the original plan for the ship to do an anchorage near Chania had to be changed because the sea swells would not be conducive to transporting us by tender to the town. Therefore, we will be docking at Souda Point about 20 minutes away and the Azamara has arranged for us to be bussed into Chania. We’ll see what the day brings.