In love with Dubrovnik

After a night in what indeed turned out to be a very nice hotel somehow booked at hostel prices, we headed south to Bari. The train was half an hour late or so, but we counted ourselves lucky, as most of the trains were three hours late. Ours was pretty modern and nice, except there was no canteen, so we were on a 6 hour trip with only what we had brought with us. Arrival was marked with a reasonably thrilling cab ride to the port, check-in, dinner, then waiting for hours and hours in the wind and rain with many other travellers, as the time of departure came and went with no sign of the ship, no announcements or communication, etc. We eventually boarded two hours late, found our windowless cabin at the end of a terrifying maze of tiny corridors, and went straight to sleep to the sound of the engine and the waves, and the rocking of the boat.

We arrived excited and slightly woozy, and were met by Zeljka, the woman who runs the guesthouse - really just an extra part of her house that she rents out in summer. She is lovely; full of shy overexcitement and generosity. She took us on a little sightseeing drive, then back to the guesthouse for coffee and biscuits. Our room has a view like you wouldn't believe, out over the main port to the islands. After coffee we headed into the old town, and I fell absolutely head over heels. I had been looking forward to it so much, and it surpassed expectations. Huge limestone walls encircle a town made entirely of stone, half of it in winding mediaeval alleys, and half rebuilt in the 17th century after a major earthquake. The air is full of swallows swooping and twisting like insects, and there are cats everywhere, sunning themselves in various picturesque spots. It is surrounded on two sides with the ayure waters of the Adriatic, which is dotted with sailboats, cruise ships, and little tourist vessels.

We ventured into numerous museums - the Franciscan and Dominican monastaries each have one, in rooms off their gorgeous cloisters. We had lunch at a restaurant on the old port - huge servings of excellent seafood - and tried some of a local homemade myrtle brandy. Despite it being Sunday, we stuck our noses in a few churches as well - there are alot of them for a reasonably small city. Croatia is 90 percent Roman Catholic, so I suppose there is heaps of demand for praying space. We went looking for some memory cards, as Margot had used hers up already and mine was almost full. Every touristy shop seemed to sell them, but for around 450 kuna for a 4 gigabyte card. That is 112 dollars, so I was a bit furious. We eventually found a shop selling them for 105 kuna, though, so no problem. Bizarre difference in price though - I would have thought the competition of that shop would drive the others' prices down.
After some dinner pizza slices, we got home and collapsed exhausted. In the morning we headed off early, and got a ferry accross to Lokrum, a small island opposite the old city. There is an old monastary which was turned into a villa by an Austro-Hungarian prince, abandoned, ruined, then turned into a restaurant. I forced Margot to find the fortress which was apparently at the top of the island, which we eventually did, and I thought the views were worth the hard slog. Besides, it earned us a swim. And what a swim it was. I desperately want to show a photo, but I have yet again forgotten my cable. The water here is so incredible. Just crystal clear and clean. It is so calm, too, not a wave; which was good as the "beach" was some steps off the rocks.

Returning to the mainland, we paid our 50 kuna for access to the city walls, and did the full circuit, taking about ten thousand photographs. The city was heavily shelled in 1991 during the war with Serbia, and manq of the original roofs were destroyed. They have been replaced with a different colour - a vibrant terracotta - part of an ongoing (almost finished) restoration project. Dinner on Monday was cooked at home, and Zeljka told us she'd made us pancakes for breakfast but we'd left before whe could bring them. We were crushed, it's like kicking a puppy. I don't mean to be patronising, she's just so sweet.

Yesterday, Tuesday, we went on an island cruise, which we were talked into by a charismatic local man with only half his teeth. His character alone convinced us, but it was good value - 250 kuna including lunch. No one really talked much on the boat, which was weird, but the scenery was amazing, and it was a beautiful day. The first island was a bit disappointing, not least because it was covered with Croatian teenagers (nothing against Croatian teenagers in particular, just tennagers in general. I'm getting old), but the water was nice and we finally saw some of the spiny sea urchins everyone has told us about. The second island was perfect - super picturesque, with a tiny stone town and old church, and we went for a swim off the docks, after waiting for a middle aged german couple to unload a dog in a life jacket from their inflatable boat.

We had lunch on the boat there, and it was delicious - a whole barbecued fish of some kind, bread, salad, wine. Brilliant. The third island killed the joy - a horrible slog over the spine of the (admittedly gorgeous) island - to a nice beach where we swam again, and had an ice cream. All our swimming has had to be one at a time, because we're paranoid about leaving our belongings for any amount of time. On the way back to the boat, tired, thirsty, sunburnt, and facing a hill, we caved and paid for a man in a golf cart to ferry us back. On the boat back to the mainland we just stared blankly at the passing vista, then caught the bus back to the guesthouse, had some dinner, and died.

So that's up to date. This morning we did administrative stuff, then went into the old town for some lunch - the food here is great, by the way - and to finish off the last couple of museums. It really doesn't get old. Every time we go to the old city, my mouth falls open and I go into a fit of photography, trying to take it all in. It kills me that I can't come here every day. It is honestly the most beautiful thing ever, and I want it.