Day 10
10 June 2012
Weather: See Day 8 (the one on the far right)
T-shirt count: 6
Cat count: 7
For once I had enough room for the cats in the room and they
were living it up with some Saudi prince. I slept like a log and was down to
breakfast by 8:15. This hotel has the best selection so far which also includes
a potato quiche and little pots for your tea so that you can have two or three
cups from the one pot that you pour yourself.
And Twinings English Breakfast too.
I’m all set for what is going to be the longest day for me
since I don’t expect to be back to the hotel until 9 pm. We board the bus for 9
am and drive first to the lookout from the road above.
The only problem is that the one big enough for the bus has
trees growing up in the way. I got better pictures from the bus after we turned
around. There were only two cruise ships below us too. That means it won’t be
overly crowded. The Saudi’s ship is gone, so I’m guessing the cats are back on
the rocks sunning themselves.
And sleeping off the night before.
One of the cruise ships is a Costa ship, too. The Costa
Fascinosa.
No worries about the cats hitching a ride there. You know
how cats hate water.
As we drive back to the Old City, Gasper gets a phone call
from what he called “two nervous guides.” We were a little late because there’s
road construction just down from the hotel and it is delaying us by ten minutes
every time we come or go from the hotel.
We pull into the area where he says the bus #6 would drop
people off.
The entrance there is called Pile Gate (pronounced Pea-lay). We
meet up with our guides near the gate and split into two groups of 13. They
won’t take a tour of more than 25 people. (And since I signed on, the original
25 became 26 so that they ended up with splitting the group instead of taking
one large group – and believe me, the smaller the group, the better. I can’t
imagine doing it with 25 and 6 cruise ships in port).
We start by walking down into the park at the base of the
walls on the outside. The guide tells us that a moat used to exist there but
was filled in when the Austro-Hungarians took over the area. There is a short
draw bridge between the gate and concrete bridge. Apparently, that bridge was
pulled up every night for 400 years.
Then our guide points up at the walls. She tells us that
they’re a 1940 m walk. That’s almost 2 km and takes about 2 hours to complete. She
points to two towers in the northeast corner. One is round, one is square. The
square one was built first and they eventually learned that with the coming of
cannons, the rounded towers held up better by deflecting cannon balls.
Then she led us inside the gate via a door from the moat
area and showed us two maps of the city. One was a tourist-like map. The other
showed the places where the city sustained damage during the war. The Montenegrins
had shelled the city from the hills above and they still don’t know why. The
Montenegrins have close ties with Serbia and even maintained a union with
Serbia until 2006. I’m guessing they shelled it because they knew it would get
media coverage around the world and bring attention to their own concerns.
The city was reconstructed with help from UNESCO and is
considered one of the best restorations of a war damaged city. There is
virtually no battle damage apparent in the city.
Inside the first square is a huge fountain with water
pouring from several spigots around it. The guide said the water come straight
from the mountains outside the city through a 12 km long aqueduct and is pure.
We can drink it straight and many people do. The fountain was damaged in a
major earthquake in 1667 and was partially restored.
Across the street from the fountain is the Franciscan
monastery where you can find the oldest operating pharmacy in the world. But
it’s Sunday and it’s the one thing in the city that is closed.
The city contains 38 churches in all – one for each noble
family. It now also has 98 restaurants and some 129 souvenir shops.
Oh yeah!
I should note that you see a few churches on this tour –
like so many tours – but we spend precious little time inside. But in most
cases, you can return during free time to go in so that people who don’t want
to see ABC can go shop or explore elsewhere.
Our guide refers to one church near the port area where they
excavated one church and they found a second one below it. That was expected.
What they didn’t expect was to dig farther and find the remnants of a third
church that dates back to the 7th Century. That was a shock.
Kinda like waking up to 315 hungry cats staring at you at 3
am.
Our guide takes us up from the main street (Stradun) to the
back street that parallels it. She does this to keep us in the shade as we
walk. It’s 9:30 and already sweltering despite the bit of haze. She points out
some good restaurants along the way with some great guarantees.
We come out at the port and walk back into
the city at the far end of the Stradun. She shows us the Rector’s palace. The
Rector was like a governor but he didn’t rule per se. He was a representative
of the senators.
Across from the palace is a church with what appears to be a
bit of shrapnel damage.
Our guide points up one street to a set of steps that look a
little familiar. And sure enough, she says they’re a copy of the Spanish Steps
in Rome.
As we wander into the square under a bell tower, it rings 11
times for 11 am. Then it rings again three minutes later (just once). Our guide
says that the bells were sometimes a call to a meeting and that anyone should
be able to get there in 3 minutes. When the second bell goes, you’re late.
Our school used to do the same thing.
The guide pointed out some places of interest including the
public toilets and then Gasper let us loose on the city. I had already arranged
it with him that if I wasn’t at the hotel at 6 pm when they were to leave for
the Highlight Dinner, that I would meet them at the restaurant which was just
outside Pile Gate.
That gives me 7 hours to explore the city.
Woohoo!
First things first. I check out the public washrooms. There
isn’t much of a lineup and I think I know why.
They’re the first squat toilets I’ve seen since China.
Hey. They’re free.
From there, I go looking for the entrance to the walls. The
one at Pile gate looked busy and since I was near the second entrance, I tried
there first. There were only two people in the line. It costs 70 Kuna (about
$13) for a ticket and entitles you to one go around the walls. The walk is
continuous but divided into two sections – the north and the south. I’m
starting with the north side. They check the ticket at the top where a line of
people coming from the south half have to have their tickets checked to see if
they can continue or have to exit at that point.
The most interesting part is that you can only walk in one
direction – counter-clockwise.
Absolutely ingenious. When the walls are busy, there’s no
bumping into people trying to go in the other direction. Very orderly and less
chance of being pushed over the edge.
And for my two hours up there, it’s very quiet.
Probably because it’s hotter than you know what. I had
already put a layer of sunscreen on. I put another one shortly after I got up
there and started in on my first bottle of water.
Before the day was out, I would drink eleven.
Plus 3 coke, 1 pepsi, 1 fanta and 3 ice cream.
Did I mention it was hot?
And this is mid-June.
Problem is, I only have one up with me on the wall and don’t
realize that that isn’t a good thing until after I pass the only kiosk on the
north wall.
And I’m not allowed to turn around and walk back to it!
The views of the city are phenomenal.
If you only want to do
one section, do the north wall which you enter from the port side. The south
wall starts at Pile Gate.
The north wall is the higher one and looks down on the red
roofs. It’s worth the walk up to the tallest tower when you get there too. It
gives the best views from the city itself. (There is a cable car that goes to
the top of the mountain above that probably gives the best views but I’m happy
with what I got from the road above and from the tower).
I come down off the tower and pass by the entrance for the
south portion of the wall. There’s no one checking tickets there. Only at the
start of the north section. I get some good shots of the Stradun from above.
Then I start climbing up towards the Adriatic side of the wall. I’m out of water by
now and there is absolutely no shade in this area. I’m spent by the time I get
to the last few steps.
And what’s waiting for me?
No. Not 315 felines.
One wonderful kiosk with a cooler full of water that they
could sell for 10 Euro each and not get an argument from a single soul.
I take pepsi #1 and water #2 and continue on. The crowds are
noticeably absent as I do the southern half.
That’s cause they have enough sense to stay down in the
shade of the streets below.
D’oh!
So, yes, my first recommendation. Leave the walls for later
in the afternoon. It can be comfortably done in 2 hours.
And my second recommendation. Take three bottles of water.
Two for you.
One to sell to the spent Newfie you meet on the steps for 10
Euro.
With so few people, I can get pictures of the walls with no
one on it.
It’s after 1 pm by the time I finish the wall. Gasper has
the transfer set up to return to the hotel at 1:30 but expects only a few to
take advantage. In the end, about 10 take the transfer, the other 15 find their
own way back (most on bus #6) and I stay in the city.
I buy water #3 and #4 on the wall (a couple of bar/cafes on
the south wall). I come down from the wall on the port side and my first stop
is to a room dedicated to the defenders of Dubrovnik. The faces of over 100 men
are displayed along with pictures of the destruction and a synopsis of the
conflict. It’s free to enter that section and worth a few minutes to take a
look at so many young faces.
My next stop is one I had planned. It’s a display of war
photos from journalists and right now has a special display on Srebrenica. (The
topic of my book).
It costs 30 Kuna ($6) to get in and is well worth it. The
photos are well done. I could only spend so much time there. I found a photo
book that contained all the photos (a coffee table book that will add about 5
lbs to my luggage) and I bought for 350 Kuna ($60) so that I can take a look at
them later.
I highly recommend it. So few Westerners know of the
massacre and it’s a crime that such a crime can go virtually unnoticed by so
many.
From there, I go in search of the Hole in the Wall called the Buza that I
was told about earlier. It’s a bar that sits on the rocks outside the walls on
the Adriatic side. I saw two from the ship last night but only found one in my
search.
I took a picture of the doorway leading out there and went down and
asked for a coke. Somehow, I ended up with water #5 and coke #1. So, I took a
can of Pringles to go with it and took a seat. I was surprised that the place
wasn’t packed but obviously, not a lot of people know about it. Good for me.
I take my time drinking the coke and water. It’s a good rest
in the shade, which I need at this point. I’m starting to notice the effects of
heat stroke. Then I notice the cats on the rocks below and I sneak out before
they look to start a tab at the bar.
So, I get away clean and aim to stay in the shade for a
while. I start wandering the streets looking at the shops and declining pizza.
(Yeah, half those restaurants are pizza shops). I find a bit of jewelry for my
sisters and a couple of t-shirts and the mandatory fridge magnet.
At this rate, I’m going to struggle to get my luggage up to
50 lbs.
Heh.
I drink water #6 and coke #2 and #3 while I’m shopping. On
my rounds, I check out the port and walk out to the farthest point and notice
that the Costa ship is gone.
Hopefully, it sailed away.
As I walk back into the city, I see my first Dubrovnik cat.
The
cat population is not as high as Greece but there’s more than Scandinavia.
Which was none.
By 4:30, I’ve had coke #3 and am on water #7 and I go
looking for the Fort located just outside the city that also gives a good view
of the city. By the time I find it, I’m standing at the bottom of a very long
staircase and only have a half bottle of water.
I know I would need four to do it, so I turn around and get
ice cream #1.
It’s really too late to bother going back to the hotel, so I
wander around a little longer and even take a birdbath in the fountain to cool
my face, neck and arms. Talk about refreshing. I get ice cream #2 and Fanta #1
and sit and watch people for a while.
This is a vibrant, living city and worth every penny UNESCO
put into it to bring it up to former glory. The place feels alive.
I had considered skipping the Montenegro optional to spend a
second day here, but am glad I opted to go to Montenegro. I spent the whole
seven hours there and did pretty well everything I wanted to do. I should have
went for the cable car ride instead of trying for the fort in the end, but the
pictures I got really do the city justice.
And nothing says one has to go to the highlight dinner at 6
pm. One could easily find a nice place to eat in the city and go back to the
hotel on your own time (or meet them at the restaurant at 8:30 to return to the
hotel). The city isn’t large and can easily be seen and re-seen several times
in that time.
Just after 6, I went up to the restaurant entrance and
waited for the bus while I drank water #8 and #9 and had ice cream #3. The tour
showed up at 6:20 and we went into Mimosa restaurant.
I immediately ordered a bottle of cold water and a glass of
ice.
The waiter gave me a bucket of ice.
Bless his heart!
Gasper didn’t think it was a good idea for me to eat ice,
but I think with heat stroke, keeping the body temp down is the best way to
keep it from taking over. I go through water #10 and #11 with dinner. That’s
over 5 litres of water plus 2 litres from the soft drinks.
I’m going to be up at 2 am, 3 am, 4 am and 5 am for sure.
Dinner is mixed meat for me. It’s similar to the other mixed
meat with a pork chop, burger and grilled chicken with French fries and salad.
The appetizer was a meat salad that was delicious. The grilled chicken was
especially good.
Fruit cocktail was dessert but there were fruits in it that
I’m not fond of…and I wasn’t sure I could add anything to the dinner and 7
litres of liquid in my system.
Tonight is the first game of the Euro 2012 for Croatia and
everyone is anxious to get back to the hotel to watch the game.
I’m just anxious to go back and use the washroom.
We leave at 8:30 and get back to the hotel in time for the
game and other necessities.
I take a cold shower and immediately fell 100% better. The
bathtub in this washroom is the type that has a half glass door and nothing
else to keep the water from going everywhere.
I wiped up some with the floor
towel and went about my chores and went back into the washroom and the wet
floor was like ice. I went down, hooking my arm in the bathtub as I fell. It
arrested the fall a bit but pulled something in and around my shoulder blades.
Didn’t feel it right away, but did about an hour later. I took a couple of
Advil and as I went to sleep, I wasn’t sure if I’d wake up fine or with a
seized up neck.
I got to sleep, but woke at 2 am, 3 am, 4 am and 6 am for
obvious reasons.
And in between, I dreamed of cats massaging my back.
