Dubrovnik & Montenegro

After spending 4 nights in Krvavica it was finally time to head to Dubrovnik to meet Kelly and Lloyd, our friends who were holidaying there for a week. Like a couple of overexcited kids we got up at 6am and packed everything away, by 7am we were checked out and on the road. We took the coastal road south, winding 184km around the mountains along one of the most spectacular coastlines we’ve seen yet.  We passed dozens of stalls colourfully decorated with chilli garlands, selling all sorts of home produced products, fruit and veg, oils, preserves and liquors.  There is a small segment of coastal land between Split and Dubrovnik that is owned by Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had read on various blogs that some people travelling to Southern Croatia via this route had experienced various problems relating to camper van insurance. By the time we reached the border I had read every section, clause, term, condition and additional note in our insurance documents and was fairly sure we wouldn’t need a green card to pass through. We stopped at border control ready to hand over our passports and were promptly waved through without a second glance. Bosnia was fairly similar in appearance to Croatia; it’s hard to believe that less than two decades ago this country was devastated by a bloody war. The country seems to have recovered and is well and truly back on the European holiday makers’ map. The 13km route along the coast was lined with large resorts, souvenir shops and restaurants and the pavements packed with holidaymakers, not at all what we expected.



Bosnia & Herzegovina

After doing a little research I learnt that Bosnia pretty much functions as two separate countries, not Bosnia and Herzegovina as I first assumed but in the west including Sarajevo, the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina and to the east and north the Republika Srpska. Surprisingly there are also three official languages as well as three presidents in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was not somewhere we had originally intended to travel via but is now somewhere we would like to learn more about and visit again. We reached the Croatian border again and continued along the coastal road, we spotted lots of small private beaches and coves with bright blue crystal clear waters lapping against the rocks as we approached Dubrovnik. We drove across the famous Tudjman Bridge and down towards the port where there were two enormous cruise liners docked emptying thousands and thousands of excited tourists. We arrived at our campsite mid-morning and chose a pitch with some shade, after setting up camp for the next few days we spent the rest of the afternoon recovering from our early start in the sunshine.



Never one to miss an opportunity 



Franjo Tudjman Bridge

 

A wooden pirate ship at the port



Later that evening we went to the immaculately preserved medieval Old Town where sturdy walls encircle the city’s white marble streets. We entered, with open mouths, through the 15^th century Pile Gate, the main entrance to the city. We stopped at Onofrio’s Large Fountain, built in 1444 so Oscar could refresh himself before continuing along the dead straight street known as Stradun towards Luza Square. We sat sophisticatedly sipping from our 49kn beer cans waiting for some familiar faces to emerge from the crowd.

 

The Old Town

 

All three of us leapt up in excitement when we spotted Kelly and Lloyd in the crowd, we were so excited to see them. Oscar was clearly excited too and let out an excited howl when he spotted them coming towards us. We found a quiet bar down a small alleyway just off the Stradun where we spent the next few hours catching up.  Jac and Lloyd sat talking football and drinking beer whilst Kelly and I meticulously planned our next few days together over a few glasses of wine. There was lots of celebrating to be done as Kelly and Lloyd had got engaged earlier in the evening.  




Celebrating Kelly & Lloyds wonderful news



Jac & Lloyd catching up over a few beers


Later that evening the four of us fell into a taxi and headed home, but not before we stumbled across the famous gargoyle, Maskeron. It is attached to the outside wall of the Franciscan Monastery, the top is worn down and as slippery as polished marble, it protrudes just 15cm from the wall and legend has it that if you can balance whilst facing the wall and remove your shirt you will find true love. Naturally we all believed we could do it and set about trying to beat the myth.  Jac and Lloyd both gave a pretty impressive performance whilst Kelly and I both had to be hauled up and held in position.

 

Maskeron

 

Jac's highly successful balancing act



My measly attempt  

We spent the next couple of days dodging the frequent rain showers, playing cards, sampling as much food as humanly possible and consuming copious amounts of beer and champagne to celebrate Kelly and Lloyd’s engagement. Jac used this to our advantage everywhere we went to get something free for us all. Luckily for us, his persuasion techniques are rather rusty so this only resulted in one round of free tequila at a Mexican restaurant we visited in the Old Town.  

 

Celebratory Tequilas

 

After reading that the Elaphite Islands were a must see we booked a boat ride for 200kn each (around £20). Excitement woke us at the crack of dawn and we were ready and waiting to be collected from our campsite. We were taken to Gruž Port where we boarded a small boat with around 20 other people. Less than 5 minutes after we left the port the skipper was free pouring home brewed brandy for everyone. I smelt the bright green nuclear looking substance in the plastic cup I was handed and almost fell off my chair. Afraid of what it might do to my insides I discreetly disposed of it, Jac and Lloyd however polished theirs off.   

 

Boat trip to the Elaphite Islands

 

The Elaphite Islands consist of around 14 islands and islets only three of which are permanently inhabited.  After a short trip of around 5km we arrived at our first island Koločep, the smallest of the three with just 294 inhabitants. We visited St Nikola Church and bought some homemade jam from an alleyway stall before heading back to the boat for lunch. Our old rickety boat had been replaced with a large wooden sailing boat with a huge outdoor canopy. We were ushered onto the boat and seated for lunch; we opted for the outside seats as we had the dog and sat with four other British girls. Just as our food was served the heavens opened and I was soon eating my smoked mackerel in waterproofs. The poor girl at the end of the table opted for the chicken which was swimming in rain water on her plate before she’d even managed to start eating.  We all sat picking at our soggy lunches whilst being battered by wind and rain, the only thing that made these 20 minutes of hell slightly more bearable was the free wine.

Jam & Honey stall; Koločep

Captain Birdseye in his waterproofs



Kelly enjoying the free wine

By the end of lunch the rain had cleared and the skies were bright blue again and we were headed for our next island, the second largest in size Lopud with a population of 220 and famous for its sandy beaches. We docked in the marina and set about exploring, we didn’t get very far before we found a large pontoon where we spent the rest of our time jumping into the sea.

Lloyd was straight in the water

Next stop Šipan our third and final stop and the largest of the three islands with a population of 500. We pondered water sports before spotting a bakery and abandoning this idea completely.  Kelly and I spent ages salivating at the counter whilst trying to decide what to have whilst Jac and Lloyd shouted their orders from the door. The four of us walked along the beach snacking on cheesecake, biscuits and ice cream. Feeling stuffed and very sick we stopped outside some old church ruins for a rest in the sun. We headed back to boat, much to Jac and Lloyds disapproval stopping at every shop along the way to look at every piece of tat, bric-a-brac, jumble and junk, before sailing back to Gruž Port. All in all the trip was excellent and we were glad to have visited the other islands. Later that evening we were eating again and went for dinner and a few drinks at a local’s restaurant. We had a mixture of pasta, pizza, meat, cheese and seafood all of which was very good and really reasonably priced.

 

Our forth meal of the day



Out for dinner

 

The following morning we met Kelly and Lloyd and walked to the Old Town. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a rain cloud in sight so we decided to walk the ancient walls, a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the citizens of the city since the 14t^h century. The walls are recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The walls span almost 2000 metres in length and 25 metres in height, the sea walls are between 1 and 5 metres thick and the land walls reach up to 6 metres in thickness.  The whole city is immaculately preserved and is crawling with tourists, the city walls walk provides some of the most amazing views of the city so it’s no surprise we took almost 200 photographs there. From the walls the entire city looks like a patchwork quilt of terracotta roofs, we were also able to see damage from the attack by the Yugoslavian People’s Army in 1991/1992. Later that evening we headed to a sports bar to watch the football and then to the beach for sunset before an early start on our last day.



Walking the walls of The Old Town



A view of The Old Town from the walls

The following day we decided to head out of Croatia for the day. We collected Kelly and Lloyd from their apartment and drove 64km south to Montenegro. We stopped at Herceg-Novi just over the border. We hired a boat and headed to the two most interesting attractions in HercegNovi, accessible only by water. We travelled at speed across the open water, Kelly and I holding on for dear life, Jac and Lloyd laughing at our expense and Oscars ears blowing back and forth in the wind.

 

Herceg-Novi; Montenegro



Montenegro

Oscar enjoying the breeze

Our first stop Lastavica Island, an uninhabited island located at the entrance to Boka Kotorska Bay, one of the 28 most beautiful in the world. We pulled up alongside the small islet with crystal clear water glistening in a tiny bay at the entrance where we climbed a long skinny staircase, through some fairly dense vegetation where we were vastly outnumbered by lizards. Every time you took a step a firework of these tiny creatures would scatter from the path to the nearest leaf or shrub for shelter.  After winding around untrodden paths we reached the entrance to the fortress.  We were all taken aback by the huge wooden gates at the entrance and scurried quickly inside to explore. We all scattered, including Oscar, in different directions although Kelly and I soon convened in a huddle to wait for Jac and Lloyd to come back when we realised how eerily quiet and creepy this place was. There wasn’t another soul on the island although Kelly and I convinced ourselves we heard all sorts of strange noises. Oscar explored an old concrete toilet block whilst Jac and Lloyd ran up a winding staircase and appeared four storeys up on top of the fort.  We took lots of pictures and made our way back to the boat and headed for the next stop. Upon further reading we learnt that this mystery fortress we’d visited was built in 1853 along with two others to protect the bay and was later used as a prison in both World Wars. 200 metres in diameter and circular in shape, built and named after an Austrian general taking up about 90% of the islands surface space and is now inhabited by only rabbits and lizards.

 

Fort Mamula on Lastavica Island

 



Fort Mamula



The eerily quiet Fort



Kelly & Lloyd exploring the Fort



The view from the Fort across the Adriatic Sea



Waiting for our boat at Lastavica Island

Lloyd en route to the Blue Grotto

 

The Blue Grotto, the only one accessible by boat. When we arrived we were the only ones here although this place quickly fills up with tourists. No sooner than the boat had stopped Jac and Lloyd had donned their snorkel and goggles and were diving into the crystal clear water. Kelly and I elegantly, or not so much so, slid over the inflatable side of the boat and dropped into the water. Inside the cave the water was fairly fresh; we were able to swim right through the other side into the sun where the water was much warmer.  The others all used goggles to admire the tropical looking fish below; I however would rather not know what lies beneath and stayed with my head firmly above water. After being hoisted back onto the boat we set off for land admiring other tiny abandoned islets along the way. We worked up quite an appetite on our boat trip so we headed straight for a café where we sat in the sun playing cards, we shared pizza, cheesecake and ice cream procrastinating the drive back to Croatia and ending our week of fun. 

 

Oscar in the Blue Grotto

 

We drove the 64km back to Dubrovnik which took a little under two hours. We dropped Kelly and Lloyd back at their apartment and said goodbye for another 4 months. We had so much fun this week although all three of us are on a strict diet starting tomorrow. We drove 32km to Slano where we parked at a 2* Autocamp for the night, no more 4* city camping experiences for a while. We paid 100kn (£10) for the night and could barely keep our eyes open after a busy day in Montenegro.

 

Sunset in Dubrovnik