Walking the massive walls of the old townWe had such good intentions. We'd head to Dubrovnik, spend a day or so checking out the old town, then fill our last couple of days in Croatia with a day trip to Mostar in Serbia or maybe to Kotor in Montenegro to see Europe's largest fjord. Or maybe we'd cruise out to another island, like Korcula, and check out a traditional sword dance.
Mmmm ... we did spend a day or so checking out the old town, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. We strolled through the narrow white stone streets, explored all the beautiful old buildings and we walked right around the city along the old fortress walls (okay, so we skipped the last little bit but we were parched and needed beer!). And we did visit a couple of tour companies to price some day trips to Serbia and Montenegro.
forgetting the view ... just for a moment
Unfortunately, we encountered three problems. The first problem was that Steve and Waz, having had enough culture for one holiday, decided they wanted to do something a bit of adventurous. From our cafe just outside of the old town, they spotted canoes and before we could muster the energy to protest we were booked in for a paddle around the nearby Locep island.
We set out at 4pm, with the sun still shining. Couldn't pronounce, let alone spell, our guides name. But he was about our age and we quickly got chatting about life in Croatia and, of course, the events of 1991/1992, when the serbs attacked Croatia because the people dared to declare their independence from the Milosevic regime. Our guide was from Split but he remembered when the serbs set the old town of Dubrovnik alight. When the television cameras showed the city in flames, Milosevic claimed that the Croats had set alight the tyres of their cars. But the damage to the city tells another story. Signs around town show where the serb forces hit the old town, destroying the city's distinctive red tiled roofs and spattering the white stone walls and streets with bullet holes. Apparently, one family has a serb bomb hanging on a wall in their house, after it dropped into their living room one night and failed to detonate.
We set out at 4pm, with the sun still shining. Couldn't pronounce, let alone spell, our guides name. But he was about our age and we quickly got chatting about life in Croatia and, of course, the events of 1991/1992, when the serbs attacked Croatia because the people dared to declare their independence from the Milosevic regime. Our guide was from Split but he remembered when the serbs set the old town of Dubrovnik alight. When the television cameras showed the city in flames, Milosevic claimed that the Croats had set alight the tyres of their cars. But the damage to the city tells another story. Signs around town show where the serb forces hit the old town, destroying the city's distinctive red tiled roofs and spattering the white stone walls and streets with bullet holes. Apparently, one family has a serb bomb hanging on a wall in their house, after it dropped into their living room one night and failed to detonate.
We paddled our way right around the island, past the gay nudist spot, stopped for a late lunch and a swim in a little cove, and views of the old town, which can only be appreciated from the water. I thought it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Carl - who had been forced to share a canoe with me - was feeling the burn in his biceps big time.
This is our fav swimming spot
The second problem was that, when we paddling around, we spied the most amazing swimming spot. To get there, you had to climb through a small doorway in the old wall, take up a spot on the rocks and never leave (or you'd lose our spot), which suited us because we just couldn't muster the motivation to move, even if we'd wanted. Great music, some beers, the clearest of clear water, the sun, great big rocks for Warwick to jump off. And, yep, those hot girls.
Steve and I cooling off
The third problem ... well, some of the rest our photos should give you a big hint ...
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