Croatia 2007

I can hardly believe this journey is nearing its end, but what a great way to close it out…Croatia. We docked early on Nov. 13th in the new harbor of Dubrovnik. It had been almost 40 yrs. since our boat, the Jadran, docked in the old port of this old city when we were able to walk immediately into the Placa and visit with the women who were knitting, sewing, crocheting in the main square. This visit we were about 2 kms away from the old part of town that meant walking for an hour or so before entering the Pile or main gate. Dubrovnik has turned into chi-chi, Versace knockoffs, and expensive jewels. But there are still great cafes, ice-cream shops, and small museums to keep a visitor busy for a few days.
In Global Studies class we were told that Dubrovnik was caught in the cross hairs of the civil war that ravaged former Yugoslavia, and pummeled with some 2000 shells in 1991 and 1992. The extent of the damage was severe, and I thought we would not see the beautiful old city I had seen in 1965. One of the first and most urgent problems was repairing the city’s tiled roofs in order to prevent water damage from rainfall. The rosy terracotta tiles that had topped all of Dubrovnik’s buildings were originally produced in a tile factory in Kupari, south of Dubrovnik that had long since closed. Agen, France provided for around 2000,000 tiles, then Slovenia, before finally settling on Bedekovcina in the Krapina River valley. Looking down from our hotel terrace one could tell where all the repairs had been made. Restoration work is still going on and there are scaffolds all over the town. However, the town is slowly regaining its charm and glory.

Weather was cold and rainy, but that made the cafes even cozier. Lots of calamari and white wine. I played rummy with some Croatian men who cheated. Found a small hotel, the Stari Grad, in mid-town that has only 8 rooms and we picked the top floor near the terrace. The views were marvelous…bell tower, cathedral dome, great wall, central placa. Dubrovnik is simply a wonderful town to hang out. (I even saw saints’ bones and pieces of the true cross in the reliquary of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin.)
Next day appeared a wonderful driver who took us south to Cavtat for a stroll, coffee, and vistas of the sea. It was our one sunny day on this trip, and we walked around the curving bay, and then hiked up to see the mausoleum of Viaho Bukovac, one of Croatia’s most renowned painters. Also visited the modern museum in Dubrovnik to see some of his work that reminded me a bit of Renoir’s soft colors and beautiful faces. Robert was anxious to tell us about how horribly the Serbians had treated the Croatians during the civil war. Houses were burned, cattle confiscated, people murdered…but that’s another whole story having different episodes depending on the teller.



We went up through Konavle, but the town only echoed the dances and costumes of the folks who dance there every weekend during the summer. Croatian skimps on vowels and it was nearly impossible to pronounce the names of the towns we passed through to get to Gruda for lunch. How can one pronounce names like Brdo, Skoj, Drvenik, and Ljuta! When we finally reached our destination up in the mountains, the scenery was amazing. A Roman aquaduct, grist mill, waterfalls, mossy wood, and autumn leaves. Lunch was trout caught in front of us by the master chef, cherry brandy, carpaccio, cheeses, freshly made country bread, and a spectacular white wine….all made locally and lovingly. Robert dropped us off at the old town later that afternoon, and my friend Audrey and I walked the Placa once again and had some gelato until rain forced us inside for a good night’s sleep.
Next morning we walked the town walls built between the 13th and 16th centuries and still intact today. From the ramparts there are glorious views of the Adriatic, and I took lots more photos of tiled roofs, bell tower, small gardens, cafes….charm oozes out of every alley way. There is a small museum of modern art that had a display of modern photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Elliott Erwin. I was the only visitor for about an hour and it was pretty amazing to be within inches of some of the prints I had seen only in photography books. Remember the image of the Great Dane with a Chihuahua within its front legs…crazy.
Audrey and I had dinner later in the evening and then attended a concert in a very small chapel near the Pile Gate. A little Bach, Chopin, Gounod and Paganini and we retired to the Stari Grad for a well earned rest.



The last day in Croatia took six of us in a van to Montenegro about an hour south of Dubrovnik. Border crossing was easy as Robert once again guided us to a walled city that must have had five thousand steps down to the harbor. It was Sunday and most of the town was strolling. A noisy wedding party sped past in a series of horn-honking cars. And then we were off farther south to an area that looked to me like the Norwegian fjords. The inlet rested with mountains dipping down into the bay, very calm water, small islands of monasteries, and one restaurant to die for. We spent the afternoon eating mussels, calamari, red snapper, and more. And then we went even farther south to a mountain town that seemed a mile high with castles, winding roads, and churches. I must come back in summer. I wanted very much to visit the islands of Mjlet and Korcula, but the ferries were few and far between, the weather windy, rainy and cold and the wineries closed. Seeing those islands has to be the next reason for wanting to return.
Croatia is extravagantly beautiful, and I can imagine its glamour during the summer months when the Adriatic literally sparkles, the sea is the color of precious gems, flowers are blossoming and cafes are packed with visitors gawking at each other wearing the latest mod stuff. It’s pretty hard to find traces of the bitter civil war here, but it is still uppermost in the minds of its inhabitants, and they find the time to talk openly about its horrors. There is a War Photos Limited museum managed by former photojournalist Wade Goddard. The photos on display concentrate on the subtleties of human violence rather than on its carnage, but one has a very good idea of the horrors by studying the faces of the war’s victims….ordinary citizens trying to escape the bombardments.
Snow is already falling in Split and Zagreb, and many of the buses cancelled their routes during our stay. Still the visit was filled with good and interesting days, pleasant (but not overly welcoming) Croatians. They seemed worn out from the long summer days catering to tourists from all over the world. We left port on Sunday Nov. 18th with good memories and one last port…Spain..to visit. I will be most ready for Miami in Dec.! And when I return to Prescott I will tell all about SAS that has never been included in these blogs. Stay tuned for the great mysteries.