Destination Dubrovnik

According to our guidebook, there are two roads from Mostar to Dubrovnik. We choose the slightly longer, but less travelled scenic route. Peter uses a couple of way points to put into the GPS to make sure we start off in the right direction. And we set off through rugged mountainous terrain.The Skoda gets put through its paces along the winding roads. There is very little traffic and we are making good time.
We have to return the car at noon by rendezvousing with the rental agent in the parking lot of the Hilton Hotel, so we want to be sure to make our destination on time. Car rental in Croatia is a bit complicated. There is a premium for one way rentals. You also have to make sure to have the right paperwork to enter Bosnia & Herzegovina.

After a while the road narrows down to little more than a rough track, one car width only. This seems wrong. We turn back to the last crossroad and ask some people sitting outside a lonely cafe for directions. But they are tourists too and their guide has wandered off to have a smoke, so we decide to trust the GPS and continue on our way. It is very bleak landscape, with only an occasional dirt road heading off to a distant farmhouse.

 Finally we arrive at the border crossing but it is deserted except for an empty construction van. No one to stamp our passports; so cautiously we travel on, expecting to be stopped at any moment but we are not challenged. This seems like a good route if you want to smuggle something across the border. More likely, it's a road used only by farmers and the military.

The back road connects with the main road, and the spectacular city of Dubrovnik reveals itself, spreading from the old walled city up the mountainside, Circumnavigating the walls, with a fort looming over us, we arrive at the parking lot at the appointed time; also at the same time as busloads of people from cruise ships.

Our apartment is in the old city at the opposite side from the Pile Gate where we have dropped off the car; so we have no choice but to drag our luggage through the milling masses, into a maze of cobbled streets.
I have managed to pick up a map at the Tourist Information office outside the gate, but it's tricky orientating with the map and trying to navigate these crowd filled streets that seem to wander, change names and are intersected randomly by steps and squares. Peter pulls out the GPS and that way we find our way to the residential area of the Glamour Town Apartments. With a name like that, we expect to find some kind of splendid signage, but even when we find the right street, we still have trouble finding anything to identify the apartment. A friendly neighbour offers help and when we tell her what we are looking for, she yells to a window above us. "Viktor" she calls. In a while Viktor descends and directs us up a couple of flights of stairs to a pleasant, studio apartment. At $154 a night, this is the most expensive accommodation on our trip by far. Yet it is well worth it to spend one night inside these venerable walls in a real neighbourhood.

 Staying inside the old walls of Dubrovnik is a little like living in a museum, except that is bustling with life. The residents are a resilient lot. They have withstood hardships, bombings, war, deprivation and the crew filming Game of Thrones. They rebuilt their city after the siege of 1992 and have adapted to the economic reality of tourism with aplomb.
With only one day here, we set out to explore with vigour. Now we embrace the confusion of streets, alleys and squares.

If you do nothing else when visiting Dubrovnik, you have to walk the walls that encircle and protect the city. It can be very hot and crowded, there are a lot of steps and in parts it is quite narrow, so we wait until later in the afternoon when the crowds supposedly will be less and then spend a couple of hours, taking time to stop and click our cameras and enjoy the view.

The jumble of red roofs also tells the tale of the recent restoration after the city was dramatically attacked during the Croatian/Serbian conflict. The fresh red roofs are those that were replaced - and there are many.

Among the sturdy walls and forts, wedged between houses, we find a basketball court with a view.

 Some buildings still remain in ruins.

We have a bird's eye view of the famous Onofrio fountain. Built in 1498 it supplied water to the City for 500 years.

When we descend from the walls, we have a pretty good idea of the layout of the city and it's not hard to find a good spot off the main street for a libation. The biggest challenge for the end of the day is choosing a dinner spot from all of the interesting restaurants that spill their tables onto the narrow alleyways.