It's Not Flat!
⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡Day 9 ~ 14 September ~ Dubrovnik
Amanda goes for a run first thing, while it's still cool and the streets are not heaving with tourists.
She gets down to Gruž, the part of the city where the main port is located. There's more activity here, and the shops are not just for tourists either. This is where the big cruise ships will come too. There don't seem to be any of the true monsters in town today, but an article from the Dubrovnik Times in 2021 says that "The largest cruise ship ever to visit Dubrovnik sailed into the port of Gruž this morning", being the Norwegian Epic carrying up to 4,100 passengers. Still not one of the really big ones, at 6000+ guests, but it helps to explain why the Old Town is so rammed, even this late in the season.
She gets back and has her shower while I wake up.
We've booked one of these "pay what you think it's worth" city walking tours this morning, so we're back down to the Pile gate to meet our guide.
It's all a bit chaotic down at the square in front of the gate, and the description we've been given of Marco, our guide, doesn't quite match Roko, who is our actual guide in his place, but we figure it out.
He's a good guide, very knowledgeable and gives us an excellent little potted history of the town as we walk around it.
This bronze statue of the writer Marin Držić was made to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his birth in 1508. Somehow it has become the custom to rub his nose for luck!
Note what appears to be a bullet hole in his neck, which nobody seems to be able to explain. The fighting in Dubrovnik during the Croatian War of Independence was all well in the past by the time it was installed, so it's not a war wound.
Lunch at another cafe near the harbour. Tuna poke bowl for me and Amanda has a (barely!) toasted mozarella, pesto and tomato ciabatta roll with chips. I have made the better choice, but it's ok.
And a fine Croatian beer, of course.
We discuss our next move. We think a boat ride might be good, but we can see that they are all very crowded (and not cheap) and we reckon that it would be a bit of a step down from our Montenegro experiences. There's a cable car up to a fort at the top of a hill just inland from the city, and Amanda can hike up a footpath while I ride the car, so that's what we'll do.
"Dubrovnik's Cats" is not just a shop! They are part of city life and are everywhere. We approve.
Not sure if it's a bar or an art gallery!
There are quite a few little galleries here, and we do find some things we like a lot, but not quite enough to buy.
Incidentally, this is the entrance to our apartment. Not particularly exciting, but really it's all about the terrace and the city view.
We work out our logistics with Google Maps. The cable car station is just outside our gate, a couple of minutes walk away, but from there, Amanda will have to walk along the main road a short distance before she gets to the base of the path up the hill. She shouldn't be able to get lost, but she does have a talent for it.
Ok, slight divergence now. First, Amanda's ascent:
She doesn't get lost. Phew.
The trail is clear, though a bit rocky and rough, especially at first.
Wow, a wild tortoise on the path!
Now back to me. Unfortunately I draw the short straw and am crammed into a full car with people in the way for the most interesting picture angles.
From the station at the top, though, I can show that there's a superb view of the Old Town to be had as the cable car climbs.
Radio tower or ballistic missile?
I give Amanda a call and start down the path to meet her.
Gosh, bronze Stations of the Cross for ascending pilgrims. Amanda didn't know she was a pilgrim.
Both at the top now.
Amanda says that Google told her she should take 1hr 4m with no stops. She reckons it was 53 minutes including a tortoise stop and a Stevie stop.
The fort proper is a tourist attraction but it's not covered by our Dubrovnik Passes and it looks like it's €5 just to read some sign boards inside a stone-walled courtyard, so we don't bother.
The ice cream isn't a patch on the ones we had at Perast, but not bad. We'll both walk back down the path now.
Another excellent view of the entire Old Town on the way down.
One of the rougher bits.
All but back now. Ambling casually down has taken longer than Amanda scuttling up!
The car park at the bottom is outside the Buza gate where we'll go back in.
Drinks and nibbles on our terrace again.
We briefly meet Pat and Mike from Illinois, who are staying in the other apartment. Despite Amanda's initial concern for the shared spaces, we've not so much as glimpsed them until now. Funnily enough, they had wanted to go hiking in Montenegro but couldn't find a company to organise the trip for them. Gosh! We tell them about WF: perhaps we've found them some new clients.
Then it's back to work in the kitchen for me: pasta with octopus and salad. Amanda is sorting out some of our stuff for re-packing, though we still have another full day here.
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