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Saturday, October 5th.
First thing this morning we boarded the coach and were driven to the old city of Dubrovnik. Here we bid a very sad and fond farewell to our amazing driver Urska who is heading north to pick up another group in her seemingly endless journeys across Europe.
The history of Dubrovnik, or ancient Ragusa, begins in the 7th century, when it was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire. In the 12th century Ragusa, formerly an island, merged with mainland settlements and the channel between was filled in with carted-in material. Today this area is the main street of the old city named the Placa or Stradun. After shaking off the yoke of Venice in 1385, Ragusa became an independent republic. It remained one of the most powerful maritime powers in the Mediterranean for over four centuries (until 1808). Ragusa was the link between the Mediterranean and the Balkans and hence developed into an important centre of trade and shipping. Dairy products, wax, honey, timber, coals, salt, silver, lead, copper, wine, oil, fish and slaves were all traded. During the "Golden Age" of Ragusa in the 16th century, she had the 3rd largest merchant fleet in the world and consulates in over 50 countries. After changing hands a number of times, the city was finally ceded to Croatia (former Yugoslavia) and in 1918 the Slavic name of Dubrovnik was officially adopted.
This morning we had a walking tour of Dubrovnik's historic center. Dubrovnik has been called "Croatian Athens" and the "Pearl of the Mediterranean" for its astounding beauty, sophisticated history and culture, and prosperity. Again we had a local tour guide who was obviously very proud of her city and country, but unfortunately she gave us way more information than any of us could retain. Like much of the country it has changed hands numerous times. These are the highlights I want remember: Over the course of its tumultuous history, the city had to be extensively reconstructed; the earthquake of 1667 destroyed much of the city; and in recent memory, the town was bombarded by over 2,000 shells in 1991-2 during the Bosnian War. After great international efforts, the city has been restored to its former glory, with its towering fortifications, magnificent medieval architecture, red tiled roofs, winding paved streets and picturesque harbours. Today we visited the Cathedral and Sponza Palace; en route we saw many famous landmarks including Onofrio's fountain, the Clock Tower, Roland's Column and the Church of St. Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik.
After the walking tour we had the afternoon to explore on our own. Shayna and I walked the walls of Dubrovnik, considered by many visitors (including us!) to be a highlight of our visit. The price of the walk is 35 Euros, thankfully paid for by Adventues Abroad and the money goes towards the continual rebuilding of the walls and fortifications. The total circuit is nearly 2km and from the bastions we had magnificent views of the city's monuments, including the Minceta Tower, Revelin Tower, and the mighty fortress of St. Lawrence, with walls 12m / 40 feet thick! Over the course of history the walls of the fort were made thicker as the weaponry became more and more accurate and deadly.
Shayna wanted to visit the city synagogue and Jewish gift shop on ‘Jew’ street, so after the wall trek we headed there. I was interested in a small boat tour to see the city and fortress from the sea as the traders and invaders would see it, so I went to check the price and length of the ride. When I went back for Shayna she had finished her visit. She enjoyed the visit to the synagogue in Split more but she bought a small beautiful menorah in the gift shop.
Then we took a 50 minute small boat ride around the small harbour and the coastline to a small island that today is a national park. The ride was a bit rough but the views were excellent and we were both glad we took advantage of my FOMO. When we got back we visited a couple of shops and then walked back along the old city’s main street where we met Terry and Lorraine who were sitting at a little bar on the street. We joined them for a drink and people watching. Then the four of us left the city and took a taxi paid for by Adventures Abroad (because we no longer had a coach) back to our hotel.
After a change of clothes we met up in the lobby again for our last dinner together. We walked for about 20 minutes along the coastline on a beautiful path passing a beach and several restaurants and bars until we got to the restaurant that Amanda had booked for us. It was beautifully situated with a great view of the Adriatic and an island which the sun sank behind as we ate. It was bittersweet as we are a group that jelled quite well and we will miss many of the other travellers. We will stay in touch and hope to see Reg and Brenda who live in Waterloo and Gary who lives in Florida. Amanda celebrated birthdays for three members including two who are turning 80 very shortly. Then we walked back to the hotel and Amanda and five of us had one last drink in the hotel bar before going to bed. It began raining just after we got back to the hotel… we have been amazingly lucky with the weather throughout the trip!!
Sunday, October 6th.
We were up early and had breakfast with Gary, David and Caroline (who are traveling on another leg going to Macedonia and Albania), before catching a cab to the airport for the first of our three flights on route to Toronto. All went well with both the British Airways flight from Dubrovnik to London Gatwick, and from there JFK New York, but although we boarded the 90 minute to Toronto in time we sat on the tarmac in the dark and very cold plane for an hour without explanation before we finally departed… frustrating, but at least we got home with our luggage.
Great job Joe , your beautiful photographs, and the telling of the history of the places you go help make your blog interesting to read 😀
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