Sitting in New Zealand at Christmas we had read about this National Park that has 17 waterfalls cascading through its limestone country. Now we were here..and loving it. Yes it’s popular with 1 million people visiting last year, but there’s a reason it’s popular – it’s absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.
We had booked a tour from the camp site we stayed at, a 9-5 day visiting the highlights of the park by minibus. There’s no way we would have seen some of these place left to our own devices.
A two hour walk had us deep in the forest on boardwalks, with streams and small cascades flowing all around us.
Water water everywhere, the boardwalk wound across lakes and streamsA Baltic Green Lizard poised ready to fight his opponent The boardwalk – busy already at 9.15amSmall cascades give us hints of the beauty aheadThe waterfalls increase in size….helped by a huge thunder storm last night, bringing the first rain here for 40 days
Then we came to the first major waterfall, which allowed swimming. Catherine was off as I guarded our bags. It did look quite spectacular.
Skradinski Buk – the longest waterfall on the Krka River . Swimming is allowed hereMrs A feeling refreshed after her dipTravertine islands, barriers and lakes help create the falls which send a fine refreshing spray of mist for a hundred metresEnjoying the sprayRelishing the shade on the the way back to our bus – it was about 34 degrees centigradeCloth making and basket weaving was common here historically and here we see where the cloth was washed – right up until the 1970sThe power of the water here has been harnessed for electricity since the late 1800s – the first hydro electric plant in Croatia
A Franciscan monastery sat resplendent on a tiny island in one of the lakes, Roman catacombs beneath another monastery…this park has the lot.
An Eurasian Kestrel soars above us searching for food in the valleyA dry, harsh country – much of the water deep undergroundThose monks certainly knew how to isolate themselvesBeautiful pink Oleander grows wild everywhere we go in Croatia
We had lunch in a little tucked away cafe alongside the ever present waterfalls. Simple but lovely food served with Croatian wine….yup still the same verdict…thumbs down in the vino.
Cold meats, cheese, bread, olives and sliced tomato – simple fare but tastyIf you wanted to cool down you could sit at one of the wet tables, with the water rushing past your bare toesKrka Monastery – built on top of Roman catacombs – mentioned in texts back as far as 1402. The fountain in the foreground is thick in dripping mossThe church painted in richly coloured frescos was renovated in the past decadeA refreshing breeze entices you to this windowImagine the monks here…More secret viewing spots visited along the wayBilusica Buk – at the furthest easterly part of the park, very remoteA Roman military camp and amphitheatre are to be found near here – Bisulica Buk
The park entrance fee was about AU$50 and the trip including the monastery tour and lunch the same. What great value! With a million visitors a year it was disappointing to see little evidence of that money being reinvested in the park, but that seems to be the story across Croatia with the tourist dollar. I wonder whose pocket it goes in?
Saturday: It was time to disembark our cruise and head back our campsite just south of Split. Another load of passengers would be joining the boat in two hours, so no break for this hardworking crew. Youth unemployment in Croatia has run at an average of 33% in the last few years, although thankfully at least dropped this year to 20%. We see a determination to work hard and put in really long hours though to feel secure. We wished them well and also our friends, who would be going seperate directions from here.
Stobreč Harbour
We headed back to our campsite down the coast from Split that had been storing our motorhome. Thankfully all was well. Camping Stobreč have been super helpful to us, keeping an eye on it for us while we were away. Another set of mostly young staff who put in incredibly long, hard hours. I hope Croatia finds industries other than tourism to diversify its economy and provide a year round income for the locals, who have to put up with their infrastructure of roads, ports and airports groaning under the weight of visitors in the high season. I can see why there is a touch of resentment from some that they don’t get to enjoy their own beaches, restaurants or scenic town centres in the good weather.
We unpacked into Truffy our petite motorhome, filling every available nook and cranny, had a cuppa and oh no…the power has gone off from the mains supply. We soon established with from the camp’s ever helpful staff that it wasnt on their side the problem lay. Running out of ideas of what to check after the usual cut out switch check, we sought help from multiple sources; our dealer (but it was a Saturday lunchtime in the UK), the Hymer Owners Group Facebook site and then in desperation I called the local Croatia Camper rental company to see who they might use for repair. Well all three were gold.
Within minutes we were getting suggestions of what to check from the owners group (this site has been our guide and saviour!), then I got though to the camper rental owner, who sent his brother round who was at the local beach and arrived a few minutes later! As he arrived and started eliminating issues the phone rang and it was our dealer’s workshop. Between Dave from Fuller Leisure and Robert from Croatia Campers the problem was tracked to an unplugged wire that I had managed to dislodge when cramming our gear into a wardrobe containing our cut out switch! A big thanks to all. This blog helps us a little bit to be able to return a little value to all those suppliers who have made our travel so relatively easy compared with the challenges we faced in Australia. I wonder why its so different? Is the “Lucky Country” a bit too lucky, with little competition in many areas breeding a “relaxed” customer response?
So powered up once again we lost no time in throwing ourselves in the refreshing waters of the Adriatic 100 metres from our pitch. Ah, its good to be “home”…because thats what we call it, no matter where we park up.
Down to the local beachA very young cat living wild in the campground has had three adorable kittens…
Sunday: The next day we bussed into Split to explore the Diocletian Palace, one of the best preserved Roman ruins in the world and built as a retirement home for the Roman Emperor of the same name in the 4th century AD.
The emperor himself
It also housed his garrison, so picture more of a large fortified castle. The basement area had gradually filled in with rubble over the centuries, but in the 1950’s was gradually cleared. Now this UNESCO listed site sees throngs of tourists, like us, tramping round.
Roman sewerage pipes
I wonder what they are thinking about when they do? For me, its a reminder that just because our century has seen many technological advancements, very very clever people have always been innovating on this earth and we can/should always learn something from what they did and why they did it. Just touching the stones we tried to imagine what our lives would have been like working in that place.
Incredible scale and pillarsOld pillar bases, showcasing the skilled carving
This was a simply breathtaking site, with soaring roofs and massive rooms, copying exactly the layout of the palace above, most of which has now been built over, but still functions as a thriving hub of the city.
Artists impression of the palace
We knew there was a 3,500 year old Spinx that had been looted from Egypt, so it was quite funny reading the description when we found it of it being “imported”!
Sphinx…’imported’ from Egypt (ah-hem!)…
All ruined out, but feeling satisfied we had added another enriching experience to our visit to Croatia, we wandered around the old town above, had a light lunch (we really need to lighten up the calorie intake over the last few months!) and then headed back to our camp for an early night.
We discovered ‘cat corner’ where locals had provided sleeping quarters, food and water for stray catsThey were all well fed, and we donated a few kuna to their causeA concerned mum checks out her playful escapee kittenOne happy, full, sleepy cat
Catherine is off in the morning to London for another op on her throat. I’m staying here “guarding” the truck and trying to shake my cough and cold with fresh air, exercise and salads…my only friends the multitude of cats who also call the campsite home and come looking for food pretty regularly.
One of the locals comes to dinner at Truffy – we always carry cat food nowadays in case of hungry visitors
We will miss each other I know, but living 24×7 in about 2 square metres of internal space, its good for both of us (but especially Mrs A poor thing!) to have some “own time”.
We left the island of Brač early and were mored up near Stanići and the bikes unloaded by 8am. Within half an hour we were off on our day’s cycle, relieved at the cooler temperatures (only 27 degrees centigrade) and early morning shade.
Riding along the waterfront in Omiš
Our ride took us along the coast a short way to Omiš and then followed the River Cetina for a way before climbing up into the hills.
“Car back”…”Passing”…the constant call as we ride along the riverside
Unlike our island cycleways which had little shade, many of the roads were treelined and cool, and there was a lovely breeze to help refresh us on the climb up the switchbacks into the mountains.
Oliver takes a second to look at our beautiful surroundsAppreciating every scrap of shade that comes our way!A drink break beside the riverClimbing up and upThe hills keep on comingAt 70 years young, Don is our most senior cyclist, but completes the ride with ease and no battery!The strongest riders making it first up to our next rest stopFinal ride team photo – Mrs A, Mr A, Tim P, Paul, Oliver, Don, Glen, S-J, Dave, Tracie, Michelle and Tim C
Once up at the top we had the reward of a winding descent back down to the river and back along to the boat.
Space and dry mountain topsThe lower reaches of the River CetinaOne of the many butterflies that kept us company on our ride
We finished our 28.5km ride with a swim before lunch was served and the boat upped anchor and headed off to our final destination, Split.
Our boat docked in Split, the seventh boat in a row of cruise boats of different shapes and sizes. We had to jump between boats to reach the shore, and set off to explore.
Split is quite unique in that it combines a literal maze of streets within the fortifications of a former Roman palace built for the Emperor Diocletian. The historical core of Split was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
The Silver Gate entrance into the palaceThe Peristyle – the palace’s magnificent courtyard is a popular space for relaxation in the shade. Much of the marble for the pillars has been mined from Brač, the island we left this morning. Look out for the perfectly preserved 3,500 year old black sphinx here, taken from Egypt by Diocletian’s armies.The temple tower
Split old town was our destination, and we were immediately taken with the combination of new with old, older and very old architecture. Roman pillars integrated with medieval archways, topped with Venetian style balconies and more Roman architecture. The limestone pavements are worn smooth with centuries of feet walking across them. It was Friday afternoon and the streets were bustling with tourists exploring, but it was not hard to escape them.
Everywhere you walk you cannot help but look up to see layers upon layers of architecture Of course it would not be a Croatian town without cats…Check out those ice rink polished floors…plenty of quality shops to browse throughQuiet little alleyways host restaurants and stairways to whole new worldsMany keep looking at ground level at the variety of shops selling shoes, jewellery, knives, bags, food…but look up and you can observe more than 600 years of architectureA refreshing juice is just the ticket for a late afternoon pick me up
We enjoyed exploring the little lanes, the warm afternoon dictating our route through the maze – if there was shade, we’d head in that direction. I found a gorgeous bracelet from an artist in Studio Naranča – she has glass beads custom made for her on an island just off Venice and shipped over to create bracelets, earrings and necklaces. If you’re in town, check it out! We stopped for a fresh juice in a shady square, taking the opportunity to just sit and people watch for a few minutes.
New bracelet!The underground shopping area is hosted within part of the ancient palace’s sub structures
We went back to the boat for showers and get ready for a final night’s dinner with our friends. Tomorrow everyone goes their separate ways – some returning to home, others continuing travels throughout Europe or elsewhere in the world. For us, it is back to Truffy the truck and life on the road.
We still have a few days in the area, and definitely plan to come back and explore Split a little more. Meanwhile this was a great finale to a fabulous week exploring the coast and islands between Dubrovnik and Split. In many ways it feels like we just had a taster of several areas, and we definitely have a wish list of places to return to and explore further.
A delicious final meal at Mazzgoon – highly recommendedCourtyard dining at MazzgoonJust a young cat watching dinner from an old Roman pillar….
First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.
Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.
Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.
The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800s
Team photo in the square down by the water
Gordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guide
Starting our visit beside the old town walls
The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.
The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.
As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.
The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls
The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!
The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806
There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.
We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.
Coffee and a snack for some of the gang
Plenty of steps to climb up
Mr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and more
Every street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidays
Old cart wheels put to use
Looking out towards the ‘new’ town
Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the scenery
A heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…
‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!
Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.
A water break at Kneza
We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.
Vela Luka as the sun sets
Sunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinner
Looking back towards the harbour
The town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!
We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.
First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.
Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.
Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.
The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800s
Team photo in the square down by the water
Gordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guide
Starting our visit beside the old town walls
The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.
The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.
As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.
The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls
The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!
The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806
There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.
We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.
Coffee and a snack for some of the gang
Plenty of steps to climb up
Mr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and more
Every street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidays
Old cart wheels put to use
Looking out towards the ‘new’ town
Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the scenery
A heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…
‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!
Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.
A water break at Kneza
We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.
Vela Luka as the sun sets
Sunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinner
Looking back towards the harbour
The town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!
We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.
First of all, sorry for the multiple emails coming through, those of you who are email subscribers. We are continuing to try and pinpoint the issue and will try to resolve it as soon as possible.
Monday: Our cycle for the day commenced at the wharf where we had docked, and had us riding off at 8.30am.
Before long we arrived at the town of Korčula, where we parked up our bikes and Gordy, our local host, gave us a run down of the town’s history.
The old town of Korčula – building outside of the walls was not permitted until the 1800s
Team photo in the square down by the water
Gordy explains the town’s history. In the background, H, our cycle guide
Starting our visit beside the old town walls
The town sits out on a peninsular, with the mainland a short boat ride away. Apparently it is subject to strong winds in the winter, often up to 200km/hr so the old town has been built in a herringbone pattern – allowing a breeze to filter down to all homes, but without the damaging winds.
The old town is walled, and all streets are stepped, with the exception of one road which rings the town known as ‘the street of thoughts’, where residents could walk and think without the need to watch their feet.
As we entered the town of Korčula through the gate, Gordy explained the symbolism of the lion with the book carved on a stone. The book is open, showing the town was founded in peaceful times. Had it been closed, it would have been during a time of war.
The town coat of arms featuring a lion on the entrance gateway through the walls
The town’s main claim to fame is the birthplace of Marco Polo, with strong evidence to suggest he was born in a house here, something that is hotly contended by the Italians who claim him for themselves. It seems the Marco Polo Wikipedia entry has been written by the Italians rather than the Croatians!
The cathedral of St Mark – complete with working moon clock – built 1301-1806
There are many ‘Marco Polo’ related hotels and restaurants here and in the surrounding countryside.
We had a couple of hours to explore the town, browse the jewellery stores and refresh ourselves ready for the next ride.
Coffee and a snack for some of the gang
Plenty of steps to climb up
Mr A admiring the interesting architecture – a mixture of Greek, Venetian and more
Every street has quirks and unique architecture – and not busy outside of the school holidays
Old cart wheels put to use
Looking out towards the ‘new’ town
Even the pets here are tastefully colour coordinated to fit in with the scenery
A heavily pregnant cat decides to adopt me…
‘Please don’t go!’ – clearly I am emitting ‘I love cats’ vibes!
Our time exploring up, we rode off along the coast to our next destination. While not massively steep, the coastal road was rolling hills, and again I was grateful to be on an electric bike. The way my airway is right now, there is no way I would have enjoyed riding manually without a great deal of coughing and wheezing.
A water break at Kneza
We concluded our 20km ride at Račišće (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) where the boat motored on around and met us. Lunch was soon served and we continued cruising around to the top of the island to the port at Vela Luka, where we were to spend the night.
Vela Luka as the sun sets
Sunset over Vela Luka as we disembark and head off to find dinner
Looking back towards the harbour
The town had been celebrating St Ivan’s Day and was quite lively
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the town by day, but apparently it is famous for having a cave with evidence of human habitation from 20,000 BC – our hunter gatherer ancestors. They had a very pretty home!
We ate and retired to the boat to sleep. We’re setting off early in the morning for our next destination, Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
Thursday: Our ferry from Split pulled into port at around midday, after just over four hours of travel. The passenger ferry had called in at many of the islands we are about to visit on our cycle-cruise and we had tried not to look and spoil the delights to come.
Once we had disembarked from the ferry, we put our backpacks on and jumped on the bikes to ride half an hour to our Airbnb. There were no cycle lanes and the pathways were quite busy with tourists, so it wasn’t as easy as we expected. And of course the roads were quite steep, so we were grateful for our electric motors.
Our host, Ela was there to meet us, and let us into the four bedroom terrace house with courtyard. What a perfect place! We had found this online back in January, knowing nothing about Dubrovnik. It sounded nice, just outside the walls of the city. It was much better than we even expected. Air conditioning in every room, just two minutes walk from the entrance to the city, with a little bay less than a minute’s walk away.
The entrance to our accomodation, complete with courtyard
We settled in and before long got a message from our friend Owen to say his flight had landed and he was on his way. Once he had unpacked, the three of us headed into the city to meet up with some of the other friends and Owen’s family who had also travelled over to join us.
We were congregating here specifically to help Owen celebrate his 60th birthday. All in all about 18 people had flown to Dubrovnik tor this auspicious occasionfrom around the world, including California, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
We met at a bar in the centre of Dubrovnik Old Town, sharing some wine, beer and nibbles as we caught up with old friends and got ourselves acquainted with new ones.
Getting acquainted over drinks in the old town
Friday: Our day began early with an 8am tour around the walls of Dubrovnik.
Nowadays a park, this used to be a moat around the city
The streets are blissfully quiet at 7.30am
100 steps up, I was grateful not to be climbing up these every day
It was the day of Owen’s birthday and also the birthday of our tour guide, Vlaho. We had found him via Tours By Locals, a company which organises city tours by those who live and have grown up there. Vlaho had excellent reviews and not only was a long-time resident of Dubrovnik but also had spent some time in Australia living in Sydney, so understood our sense of humour and was able to give us pertinent examples.
Punctual Vlaho is there waiting for us under the clock tower at 8am
We learn that cats have been revered in Dubrovnik since the Black Death, which killed a third of the population
‘The walk of shame’ steps – a scene from Game of Thrones for a team photo. L-R: Nic, Oliver, Anton, Lisa, Mrs A, Mr A, Donald, Gayle, Tim P, S-J, Amy, Dave, John, OE, Tim C and Tom
Mr A finds the earphone is a little too small for his ears
The little port
A lovely calm day with not a cloud in the sky…it was warm up on the walls
Team photo around the walls.
Terracotta rooftops as far as the eye can see – mostly replaced post the war in the 1990s
The tower in the background has a significant part in GOT, with many fans visiting
Owen and Nic admire the views
Views out across the viaduct into ‘new’ Dubrovnik
Looking across the city from the highest point on the walls
Starting early in the morning and at a time before the cruise ships disembark means you can get some time without people
By 10am the city is already much busier
For the Game of Thrones fanatics out there we were shown some of the top filming locations, along with photos of particular scenes that were shot. There were many people dressed up in wigs and costumes, dragons on their shoulders and suchlike posing around the city…weirdos!
For us though, most of the focus was on the history of Dubrovnik along with the stories of how it survived the war in the early 90s, not without a great deal of hardship. Vlad was one of the residents prepared to give his life protecting the city, and he is a very proud and respected man for it.
After the three hour tour, some group members headed off in search of beer and lunch while Mr A and I instead decided to go for a kayak. Just around the corner from our accomodation was a rental company, so we jumped on a double and paddled out.
It was stunning escaping the crowds and being on the water was so refreshing. We followed the city walls where they plunge down into the Adriatic Sea. We then paddled out to Lokrum, an island just 600 metres from the city we had spotted during our tour.
Happy to be away from the crowds and much cooler out on the water
Beautiful colours along the coast
Crystal clear water
A cheeky dip in the water
Crystal clear water in the caves
Coming around the southern most point of the island
Back around to the little port where we started our tour this morning
And finishing up where we started near our accomodation
We stayed out for a couple of hours, enjoying a swim or two along the way, before returning home to get ready for the evening.
Housemates (minus Oliver who was on a work call) ready to go. L-R: Dave, S-J, Owen, Mrs A & Mr A “Happy birthday Owen!”
We then caught taxis up the narrow winding road to the top of the hill overlooking Dubrovnik for our meal at Restaurant Panorama.
Our first view down the coast as we arrive at 6.30pm
It’s like being in an airplane
Table 1: LHS from front: Donald, Gayle, Tim, Amy & Tom RHS from front: Oliver, Mr A, Mrs A, Tim & Owen
Table 2: LHS from front: Fay, S-J, Dave, John and Lisa, RHS from front: Otto, Paul, Steve, Claire, Anton
Birthday boy
Amy and Tim bathed in sunshine
Tom enjoying his prime seat
Looking up towards the islands we’ll be sailing around from tomorrow
The sun sets inland, looking towards Bosnia & Herzegovina
Surprise birthday cake for OE
The city looking lovely at night
Owen’s birthday celebrations continued back at our courtyard, with music, more beverages and lots of laughter…and clubbing for some who are never too old to drink shots and dance to awful music!
*****
Footnote: apologies to our email subscribers who have been receiving many duplicate messages recently. This is an error with WordPress, not us, and we are working with our web hosts to try to resolve this issue. Please be patient with us while this happens, and sorry again!
