Our big summer trip, week 4 - From Bol to Dubrovnik, Croatia

Day 20 – Saturday 13/10/07

Cam woke early and headed to town in search of milk and yoghurt. He managed to get himself stuck in town in the car, up a long one way street. The streets are extremely narrow and he had to reverse down the street on his own! Surprising he made it out ok and the car still in one piece! A quick coffee, our host offered to make us a pot of coffee, and who could resist! Cam downed his muesli and coffee in record time to rush down to the dive shop for his first dive. He was so anxious after getting caught in the town and found himself running late. Nat had a few hours to herself.

The weather was beautiful, apart from a strong northerly wind. It was too nice a day to wear hiking shoes, so Nat walked down to town and up to the Dive Centre which is about 2km walk in her flip flops, sat on the beach for about a half hour, still no Cam so walked back to the town, no Cam there either, so back up the hilly roads to our room. No Cam there either! Sat back and read for a while on the sunny terrace.

When Cam returned he had a massive smile on his face. He was a very relaxed happy man after his dive! We walked back down to the town and enjoyed the best pizza we have had all trip. There was a wood fired oven out on the terrace, and the pizza was just delicious. The dough was so good! We sat down in the sun on the terrace for a while before Cam had to go back to the dive centre for his second dive. We walked back to the dive centre together and Nat photographed Cam in his dive gear.

While Cam was out diving, Nat sat on the beach and enjoyed a couple of hours on the beach reading her book. Absolute bliss! This town is just so beautiful. Hardly any people around, very peaceful and the beach is just gorgeous. Still a pebble beach, but who cares when the water is so crystal blue!

When Cam returned he told the of his horror second dive. Not a story to tell your mother, but after being down over 30m he nearly ran out of air in his tank! Luckily the training and great dive leader with 45 years experience saved the day and back on dry land to tell the tale.

For dinner tonight we met up with Ben, Cam’s dive buddy. He’s a really cool bloke who is from Australia too! We enjoyed a really nice dinner at the same restaurant as last night. Cam had a really nice local strew and Nat enjoyed the grilled lamb that Cam had last night! Tonight was incredibly windy and cold. But the dinner was a big highlight!

Day 21 – Sunday 14/10/07

Today we woke late. No alarms were set today and we woke about 10am! We quickly packed our things and enjoyed a nice pot of coffee from our host with our muesli. This is the views we had from the balcony of our apartment. It is a really special place that we will never forget for the serenity and friendliness of everybody that we met. A stunning place. We took a drive up a goat track with the most amazing coastal views. In the distance we saw whales frolicking in the water! Cam raced the car up the goat track to get closer, but unfortunately the road came to an end and we couldn’t get closer. But still, we saw whales! Brilliant! After our drive we went back to Bol town and visited the monastery. The building is made of stone, but there is no mortar in between the blocks. Its one of the largest buildings that uses purely stone for its construction, no mortar.

After enjoying a coffee in the marina and Cam taking his last minute photos, we were back on the road. We bid farewell to Bol. A sad moment, we loved this town. We took a tour of the island and came across a town that wasn’t even on the map! We relaxed for a while and returned to Sumartin where our ferry left about 6pm. Nat had a nap in the car and Cam grabbed a coffee.

We arrived back on the mainland about 7pm, and we made a beeline up the highway towards Dubrovnik. Cam drove the windy dark roads for a couple of hours, a pretty scary road with many trucks, and crazy drivers overtaking when not safe around hairpin bends. We found a 24 hour restaurant for a quick feed. The place was packed with a bus load of tourists singing altogether in their native tongue. It was so loud. We were really not expecting much meal wise, but this would turn out the be the best Goulash that Cam had ever had!

Returning to the road, Nat was pretty scared but we made it into Bosnia Hertzagovnia and stayed in a hotel, which was the only accommodation we could find open. This town, Neun, has pretty much closed for the winter hence why it was so hard to find. Luckily we didn't have to stay in a stable with the animals (ahh like the Mary and Joseph reference)... Off to bed fairly late after getting our fix of German cable TV. But they did play the original version of Pulp Fiction, you beauty!

Day 22 – Monday 15/10/07

We were up early today, had the worst free breakfast ever and hit the road. We drove through Pelijsac Peninsula, a brilliant island, connected with the mainland. It’s a massive wine growing and mussel/oyster farming region and the countryside was beautiful. Hundreds of terraced vineyards, massive rocks, green brush, windy roads.

We passed many wineries on the way. The locals had advised us that the Pelijsac wines are some of the best red wines in the country. On this advice stopped off and collected a bottle. They aren't as cheap as we thought they would be. Cam could not taste these wines as there is a ZERO tolerance on drink driving in Croatia. Funny thing is that at every petrol station they have many fridges stocked full of beer! Go figure!

We were on our way to a town called Orebic, enjoying a coffee whilst waiting for our ferry to Korcula. While purchasing our tickets, we met a couple from Perth! What a small world! The lady was born on Korcula, but has lived in Perth most of her life. We arrived in Korcula, the ferry arrived on the island a few kilometres from town. Some French ladies asked us for a lift, and chauffeur Cam obliged. Silly really, we could of made some kunas for our taxi service! We arrived in the town and enjoyed a pizza and grilled vegetables. From here we drove to a little village and enjoyed the fine weather and peace of a tiny village with very little to do.

Afterwards he headed to a town called Lumbarda. Another sleepy little town, booked into a sobe. Nat sat on the sunny terrace, with views of the harbour and surrounded with mandarin trees. Cam had a nanna nap. We headed to the town, walked around the harbour, took in the last of the days sunshine. We sat at a bar and enjoyed some local wine. Once the sun set, the chill set in. We headed for a restaurant with great views of the harbour. We enjoyed a really nice dinner and a bottle of wine. Once we got home, Cam passed out and that was the end of the day, took much wine and beef for Cam!!

Day 23 – Tuesday 16/10/07

Today our host provided us a typical breakfast of lovely fresh bread, homemade jam, salami, cheese, yoghurt and a big pot of coffee. Not a very low GI breakfast, but good anyway! We left Lumbarda early and drove back to Korcula. This is a view of Korcula as you come back into town. We walked around the old town for a while. There is an old church in town that we got to check out. And look at this rather rude frieze outside the church! It looked like it came straight from the red light district of Amsterdam!

Korcula was the birthplace of the world famous maritime explorer - Marco Polo. Born in 1254, he was responsible for bringing the Far East and Africa to the rest of the world. Within the old town there is Marco Polo tower, the area rumoured to be where he grew up. The tower gave a lovely view of the church bell tower, the orange roofs and the gorgeous crystal blue ocean. We had an espresso and bought Cam a really nice coat for his birthday present. Cam then went swimming. The water was a little cold, but the views and sea life made up for it. We then drove back on the ferry and bid farewell to Korcula.

Back on Pelejsac Peninsula, the ferry arrives back in Orebic, a town renowned for its beaches and it didn’t fail to disappoint. We drove a little out of town and found a beautiful beach. We lazed on the beach for an hour or so, Cam went snorkelling around the rocks just offshore. It was some of the best marine life seen on the underwater adventures in Croatia, with many schools of fish and great marine fauna all in pristine condition.

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay forever. We drove to our next destination, Ston, a town well known for it’s seafood. As you can see from the photo there was an amazing wall set up around the town and right up the hills to protect it from mauriding pirates in it's day. This was an important place as it was the entrance to the pensinsula and valuable agriculture and seafood industries. Nat enjoyed plenty of fresh grilled squid with Cam enjoying fresh oysters and a mussel risotto. He claims it to be the tastiest mussels he’s ever had. Apart from the flies (not on the food) and the fighting cats it was a very nice lunch.

Back on the road, for our final destination, Dubrovnik. The coast road was amazing. Beautiful views of the ocean and nearby islands, with the late afternoon sun glowing on the mountains. We pulled in to the travel agency and picked a place to stay. This sobe has breathtaking views of the old town and out to the ocean and nearby islands. We arrived and walked up the many steps to our apartment. You couldn’t ask for better views for an apartment. We sat on the terrace with a complimentary drink and watched the sunset over the coast. Beautiful!

Day 24 – Wednesday 17/10/07 Cam’s Birthday

Today Cam the birthday boy woke early and enjoyed watching the sunrise over Dubrovnik old town. We headed in to the old town, walking down the 300 steps to get there! We searched high and low for somewhere that served breakfast with no success. We headed back to the entrance of the old town and bought pastries! Sat at a café and enjoyed the pastries with a morning cappuccino.

We walked around the old town for a while, before deciding to take the City Walls walk. The weather was picture postcard perfect, as you can see from the photos. On the walls the temperature was soaring. The views from the wall were breathtaking. The ocean was so clear, you can see down in to the water in this photo, and the wall is over 30 metres high! After walking about half way we stopped for a beer! It was getting quite hot so what better way to enjoy the views and cool off!

Unfortunately our audio guide stopped working at the half way point, but we battled on and walked the whole way round the walls which is about 2km. At some parts, the wall is up to 6 metres thick!

After the walk, we were thoroughly exhausted! Cam called his Mum to speak to her on his birthday. We then enjoyed a late lunch at a Bosnian restaurant. Cam had this amazing pastry thing which was stuffed with cheese and veal, very tasty! Nat had a bowl of broccoli soup and a massive plate of grilled vegetables! A nice change to our usual meals of seafood or pizza!

After the lovely meal, Cam had seen a beach on some of the postcards around with great views of town. We sought it out and Cam was in for a swim. A rather chilly swim, but the best marine life was the best that Cam had seen the whole time in Croatia! Unbelievable considering how built up it is. Thousands of fish swimming around me, within a couple of inches of my face! They are really friendly fish! Just like the people that live here. As the sun set we were off to get ready for a big night!

We headed up the 300 stairs back to our room to freshen up for dinner. We enjoyed a glass of wine before heading back to the old town.

We went to a Jazz café for a drink, unfortunately there was no Jazz or wifi, but the wine was really nice and we met a local Croatian girl who was great fun to talk to. After we finished our drink, we found a place that had free Wi-fi, so we caught up on our emails before going for dinner to Moby Dick restaurant. A really lovely dinner, gorgeous fresh fish and a lovely house wine. It was a shame that we arrived late, because they packed up all the tables around us and we felt rather rushed. Sorry Cam! After dinner we headed to an Irish pub for a drink and watched the English lose to Russia in a Euro Cup soccer match, we were the only ones cheering for Russia! Very funny! Back up the big stair case and off the bed.

Day 25 – Thursday 18/10/07

We woke early to drive our hire car back. We had booked the car for a drop off point in the city, without realising that they don’t have an office in the city! We had to drive the car back to the airport! Had we known we would have booked the car for an extra day, as we fly out tomorrow. Oh well! We arrived at the airport and it was very quiet. Got the all clear from the hire car company that the car was in the same condition we hired it in, pretty beat up, someone had keyed the car all down the passenger side! Cam added a few extra scratches to the side when driving up the goat track in Bol, but who would know!

We took a cab to a nearby harbour town called Cavtat. We posted Cam’s Mum a birthday present before stocking up on food to make our own sandwiches. We sat on a park bench overlooking the harbour. Very peaceful and relaxing! After a couple of hours we hopped on a boat, back to Dubrovnik. It’s hard to imagine how calm the sea is, but it is very flat, like nothing we’ve seen before. Just like the picture here coming into the old town.

When we arrived back in Dubrovnik, we stumbled across a guy selling canvas prints. We saw this amazing painting of a Croatian marina with different colour buildings. It attracted our attention and we looked at each other and decided we had to get it! Turns out the prints are made by local students, so the money is going to locals. We spent a while walking around the centre of the old town before sitting down in a restaurant and drinking beer and eating chips! After we headed out of the old town and met an Aussie lady from Perth who was with her British partner, in a shoe store of all places! We got talking with them for a while and had a coffee. It was great to meet some people who can use some of our knowledge of Croatia and they gave us some really useful information on driving around Spain and Southern France, which was awesome!

We said good bye to those guys and headed for an early dinner, to a place the local girl from the Jazz café had recommended to us. It was a really brilliant dinner. The waiter was awesome. Cam tried the squid ink risotto which actually tasted ok, but looks awful!. Nat had salmon pasta which was really tasty. But the dessert just topped off the night. Nat had pancakes with hot cherry sauce and ice cream, absolutely beautiful! Cam had pancakes in white wine sauce, which was equally as good!! The city was looking beautiful at night as they light up most of the stunning architecture, so of course we had to stop off for photos. We headed back to our room after that, we were so full!!

Day 26 – Friday 19/10/07

Sadly, today is our last day. We woke and did our final pack. We asked the host for coffee and he bought out coffee, bread and jams which was nice. Nat finished off the muesli we had and a tub of yoghurt, our first proper breakie in days!! We stumbled down the hills fully loaded, and down many stairs back in to old town. Cam went to Maritime Museum before we had our final lunch. We decided to go all out and had a big seafood platter and beer. It was absolutely massive! The waiter even de-boned our fish and served our food from the platter on to plates! What service!

Before we knew it, it was time to get to the bus stop. We rushed up the many stairs, puffed our way up the hill, to the bus stop! Very tiring! We got a local bus to the airport, which was a horror ride, the bus was full or rowdy students and we were packed in like sardines! We tried to focus on the view, which was amazing looking down big cliffs to the ocean.

After 45 minutes we arrived at the airport, checked in with no queues. We strolled through security a bit too easily! Bought some alcohol duty free and our holiday was officially over and we boarded the plane back to London. After a non-eventful flight we arrive to 5 degrees and a long ride home on the train/bus. What a trip! We are going to put on our 'top 5' of a few different things that we throught you would like to know. We hope you have enjoyed our blog of the holiday, and it hasn't been too hard to read or too much detail. Don't forget to click on the pictures to see them in full size! And any comments or questions please put them on!

Cheers,

Cam & Nat