Back to Dubrovnik

Our second visit to the old, walled city of Dubrovnik was rather more wet than the first. While the Monday was hot and sunny, by Thursday, it had turned uncharacteristically cold and wet. But we were not to be put off as we travelled by bus along the coast road. Umbrellas were in evidence when we got there and the rain made the cobbled streets shiny.

We stopped for an espresso - something the Croatians do very well indeed - before setting off to explore some of the steep side street.

Everywhere there were hundreds of stone steps to negotiate, which was not always as easy as it seemed as the cobbles and flag stones were wet and slippery and the the steps were heavily worn and uneven.

Soon, as we became chilly and wet, we decided to head back for the bus. It was all a bit different from our hot and sunny visit on the Monday. In the sunshine, the grey city walls were a formidable sight.

The imposing tower of Fort Minceta was originally built in 1319 but, following the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the walls were reinforced and the tower was redeveloped.A huge round tower was built around the original, quadrilateral one, with walls 6m thick.

The steps up the tower were steep and uneven, so Malcolm decided not to risk the climb (knees not what they were!) So I set off up the tower alone. The views from the top were wonderful. The keen-eyed observer might make out the figure of Malcolm below...

... Aah yes! There he is.

From Malcolm's perspective, the tower was everything you might expect from a fortification.

From this part of the walls, we had some nice views outside the old city and up some of the side streets of the 'new' town.

And a very colourful sight it was too...

Still a little more to come tomorrow.

Boats and Blue Sea

We were extremely lucky to have some fantastic weather while we were in Croatia, with only a couple of exceptions. Mostly it was warm and sunny and as such the views we had across the sea were quite lovely. We were also lucky with our apartment, which had a fantastic balcony looking straight out to sea.

Several small islands dotted the view. The nearest was called 'Supetar' Island and is inhabited - albeit rather sparsely.

From our apartment, it was just a short walk down to the beach although the paths were fairly steep and there was no shortage of steps to negotiate. Once there however, we had the place to ourselves and with the sound of lapping waves and clear blue waters, it was quite idyllic.

Looking down through the water, it was amazing how clear it was, not something you get much of around the coastline of Britain.

Rocky coves and pebbly beaches were great for clambering about on.

We were not the only ones to appreciate the area. A couple of Kingfishers were busy trying to spot tiddlers among the shallows and allowed us to get quite close before flying off.

When we flew in to Dubrovnik airport on the Sunday, we could see from the plane, a large and very impressive yacht, moored in the bay just off shore from Plat. Two large helipads with 'H's painted on the decks gave away the size of the thing even from the air. When we reached our apartment, we were soon informed that the super-yacht in question belonged to Roman Abramovich and was the second largest, privately owned yacht in the world. It is called 'Eclipse'.

Launched in 2009, it supposedly cost over half a billion US dollars and is just over 533ft long. It is equipped with two helipads (as seen from the air), two swimming pools, a disco hall and several hot tubs. It also has three small launch boats and a mini submarine as well as its own missile defence system. All of which needs a crew of around 70 to keep it going! Not your usual little 'run-around'. At night, it was lit up like a Christmas tree, making quite a sight from our balcony.

On our trip by boat into Dubrovnik, we passed a cruise liner called the Star Breeze. Even with a passenger capacity of 208 and a crew of 164, it was still almost 100ft shorter than the Eclipse!

With a west facing balcony of course, you get the chance to see some lovely sunsets and we were not disappointed on this score either.

Its amazing how quickly the sun sets and in a few minutes it had nearly gone...

... leaving behind a beautiful sky and the promise of another lovely day tomorrow.

Plants and Animals

As usual when we are on our travels, I managed to ad a few new 'ticks' to my life lists whilst in Croatia. Several new plant species have been added, including a strange member of the Campanula family. Part of the Campanula pyramidalis complex, Campanula austroadriatica is a newly named species - and a rather beautiful one too.

Among the more exciting discoveries was new (to me) orchid species. This was found growing in waste land beside the many footpaths we walked along and was not immediately obvious as being n orchid at all. Closer inspection revealed it to be Spiranthes spiralis more commonly called Autumn Ladies Tresses.

At only 6 inches tall, it was in no way an imposing plant, but the small, white flowers, which grow in a loose spiral formation up the stem, were delightful.

Another tiny flower found all over the place was that belonging to the Annual Gypsophila (Gypsophila muralis).

Lastly for the flower list was a bright blue flower found dotted among the roadside vegetation. This turned out to be Forking Larkspur (Consolida regalis).

Moving away from plants, we also found a few new 'ticks' on the reptile life list. (Malcolm's mum, look away now!)
By far the largest of the reptiles we found, was one which goes by the name of Sheltopusik or Pallas' Glass Lizard (Pseudopus apodus). This large, European legless lizard can grow to more than 4ft long and was quite startling to come across while standing one day, taking in the views. At first sight I thought it was a snake, but having taken its photo and studied it more closely, the eye gave it away as being a lizard. This specimen was a little over 2ft long and a very impressive sight.

We also came across a couple of small snakes on our walks around Plat. This one was particularly well marked with silver and black as we came across it on the road down to the sea. Only very small, it probably measured not much more than a foot long and turned out to be a juvenile, Four-lined Rat Snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata.) Native to the Balkans and Italy, it is becoming increasingly rare and is now on the Red List of threatened species, so we were lucky to find this one.

Finally for today, a fish which we found swimming among many other species in the harbour at Cavtat. This long, slender creature was a Garfish (Belone belone.)

Sometimes called Needle Fish for obvious reasons, they are predatory fish, feeding on other smaller fish species although this particular youngster was more interested in the small piece of bread it had found floating on the surface.

Not finished yet... more to come!

Mills

Between Plat and Dubrovnik the small seaside village of Mlini was well worth the couple of visits we paid it. Known in the past for its water mills, the name Mlini means 'mills.

The mill streams which survive, are now populated by hundreds of fish and ducks and they still look rather attractive.

Nearby, there is the small church of St. Hillarus (sometimes St. Ilar) who supposedly defeated a dragon on the beach. There is also a smaller chapel close to the beach, dedicated to St. Rocco. The beach itself was quiet and had great views out towards Plat and absolutely no dragons...

The walk from Plat took us up and down some steep footpaths and lots more steps. Where these paths took us through some pine groves, the woodland floor was sprinkled with hundreds of Cyclamen flowers - a common native wild flower.

In the centre of the village there was a reminder of old mills which once dominated village life. This one was once powered by the waters of the river Zavrelje and was used for olive oil extraction.

Behind the old mill stones, stands an enormous Plane Tree (Platanus orientalis). It was planted in 1742 and now reaches to 100ft tall and has a trunk some 22ft around. Not surprising then that the 'Plane Tree of Mlini' has become a feature of the village. The little chapel of St, Rocco can also be seen behind the tree.

Soon, it was time to start our walk back to Plat and to tackle those steep paths again. This time it was uphill almost all the way!

Cavtat

I thought we would take a break from Dubrovnik for today.
Just a couple of miles to the south of where we were staying in Plat, was the picturesque fishing town of Cavtat. Originally founded by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, it was known as Zaptal by the Illyrians living in the surrounding area.

The town got its modern name during the middle ages when it was known as Civitas Vetus, meaning 'old city' and from where the derivation 'Cavtat' comes.

We had a splendid time wandering around the old streets and looking out across the blue waters of the town's bay and harbour.

To the south of the town is a small, wooded peninsula with some wonderful views from the footpath which skirts it. Through the pines, we could see plenty of small islands just off the coast, such as this one, called Mrkan.

The harbour was packed with small fish of all kinds. These were busy taking advantage of some scraps of bread which had been thrown in for them.

By now, it being lunch time and such a nice day, we found a lovely, harbour-side restaurant to sit and have what turned out to be probably the best pizzas either of us had ever eaten - and a glass or two of local red wine of course!

After lunch, we strolled around the town and through some of those narrow lanes, where Bougainvillea plants spilled over the walls.

The tower of St. Nicholas' Church looked out over the harbour nearby.

Across the bay, another ecclesiastical tower looked over the scene, this one belonged to the Franciscan Monastery and the church of Our Lady of the Snows.

We had to take a closer look at that one too and it turned out to be rather similar to the tower of St. Nicholas'.

Away off in the distance, we could just make out the city walls of Dubrovnik.

Here, zoomed in a bit more.

Much more to come yet...

Churches

I mentioned the other day, how it seemed that nearly every building within the walls of the old city of Dubrovnik, were either churches, monasteries or in some way connected to the ecclesiastical life of the town. Several of the largest buildings we encountered, were indeed churches.
Legend has it that Richard the Lionheart was returning from the Crusades in 1192 when he was shipwrecked in a storm on Lokrum Island in front of Dubrovnik. In order to thank God for his life, he vowed to build a great church on the spot where his life was saved. When he put his intentions to the Dubrovnik leaders, they convinced him it would be much better to build the church in Dubrovnik instead.

The original, Romanesque Cathedral was destroyed in the 1667 earthquake and the magnificent, domed basilica we see today was finished by 1713 and dedicated to the Assumption of Mary the Virgin. The cathedral sustained damage during the 'Homeland War' when it received at least two direct shell hits. Restoration work is ongoing and inside, some areas were shrouded in tarpaulins.

The interior was very plain, with white walls and very little 'frippery'. There were however, a few areas of high decoration, not least of which was the alter of St John of Nepomuk.

By far the more elaborate of the two churches we looked around, was the church of St. Ignatius. Completed in 1725, this imposing building dominates the sky line of the old town even more than the cathedral.

The church has a single nave, with side chapels and a semicircular divided apse, decorated with magnificent Baroque frescoes depicting scenes from life of St. Ignatius de Loyola, painted by Gaetano Garcia.

The church belfry houses the oldest bell in Dubrovnik, cast in 1355 - though we didn't hear it ringing!

Almost the first thing we saw when we walked through the city gates, was another of the large churches. This time it was the Church of St. Blaise, but this one didn't appear to be open at the time, so we had to make do with a view of the exterior.

The dome of St. Blaise's church didn't quite compete with that of the cathedral.

It seems that wherever there was a space, someone has built a church, chapel, convent or monastery. But it all made for a wonderful view as we continued on our way, sweating, around the walls.

Still more to come...