Monday 22nd May 2018

Cathy posting,

(we haven’t had good enough wi-fi for a few days now to upload photos so we are playing catch up!)

It’s our second day in Dubrovnik, we’ve decided to get the bus again, there is a ferry from Mlini which would be a nice view, but the bus is cheaper, so we head off for the 9.40am, it’s much cooler this morning, we decide we’d like to go up the cable car to Mount Srd, it’s a small stroll to the starting point, there is a queue but it’s moving quickly, we are transported the 415 metres in 4 minutes, the view over the city walls is fantastic, it’s such a beautiful city, we can clearly see the fort and the wall, people walking along them look like little ants from our aerial position, the red roofs of the old town contrasting against the grey walls of the old city, you can see which roofs are new after being rebuilt after the 1991 shelling as they are a lighter brighter shade of red. We took in the panorama from the view-point and a photo opportunity, then we made our way to the Museum inside the Imperial Fort, this is dedicated to the Croatian homeland war of 1991 -1995. Pictures and information on the walls, it’s difficult to quite get a grasp on the politics of the war, there was a video which mainly consisted of news reel from ITN news from 1991 showing the shells raining down on the city, it was a strange situation for me watching the film because I clearly remember the news reader/reporter on the ground with Dubrovnik in the background and the ITN news. I would have been 30 years old at the time and Yugoslavia was a place I had always wanted to visit, I remember wondering if I would ever come here.

We take the cable car down and go for a short walk through Stradun within the city seeing  it with new eyes and looking closely for the evidence of the destruction that it had suffered.

We found a sports pitch high up within the city walls!

We didn’t go in to any more churches or museums this time, instead we opted to sit on Banje beach overlooking the old town and marina buying two sandwiches and some crisps from the local shop which we passed, it was then that we realised that the loud music which we could hear from up the top of Mount Srd, the local kids had finished school for good! Just like at home they had written messages all over their shirts, they were having a huge party with fireworks going off all over the place, we assumed the police presence was for their protection

The signs on the steps said no food to be taken on to the beach but we ignored this as its normally there because there’s a private bar on the terrace, there is no way you can stop families eating and drinking on a public beach, there were other restrictions too as you can see from the photo, we sat on some rocks and it was hot now! I needed my hat and so did Dave.

The heat was getting to us now so it’s up those steps again and back to camp, I cooked outside, Dave acting as sous chef and chopping loads of veggies, courgettes, peppers and potatoes to make a veggie curry, we don’t mind spicy food when its hot strangely. We have to be up early tomorrow as we have a 7am appointment at a garage to check the front brake squeal, so we packed away the awning canopy, chairs and tables, off to bed early, all the windows are open for some air!

Good night

Cathy x x