I had planned to blog about our 2012 trip to Croatia and Italy in one fell swoop but was overwhelmed trying to condense 17 days of vacation and over 4000 photos (both Bob and I went a tad wild with our cameras) into a manageable entry. So, I will present the trip in several installments, with the first focusing on Bari, Italy, Dubrovnik, Croatia and Medjugorie, Bosnia.
We traveled for 17 days through Croatia and Italy with our long time friends Barb and Larry and Larry's brother, David, and his wife, Joyce. Flying into Rome, Barb, Larry, Bob and I took another flight the day of our arrival to Bari, Italy, where, after an adventure involving the Croatian ferry line, Jadrolinija, we took an overnight ferry to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We met up with David and Joyce in Dubrovnik.
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| Barb, 8am coffee at Fiumicino airport, Rome, Italy |
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| Larry, noon lunch before our flight to Bari |
Getting our ferry tickets from the very laid back Croatians set the stage for our week in Croatia, where the pace of life is leisurely. We booked the ferry from the US, and received instructions that we would have to exchange the reservations to get the actual tickets once in Bari, an Italian port on the Adriatic sea. What we weren't told, though, is that no one would tell us where to get the tickets and that there would be no information on how to do so at the ferry terminal. The lone person in the ferry office pointedly ignored us and the other passengers when we tried to ask questions.
A couple from San Francisco, also booked on the ferry, ultimately found a blog site on the internet that explained we had to take a bus (where it stopped, how often it came and what it looked like was a mystery) to the Jadrolinija office to exchange the reservations for the tickets. Finally, Barb found an address for Jadrolinija in an obscure place inside the terminal and off we set on foot, wanting to have dinner and see part of Bari during our 6 hr layover.
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| Dinner in Bari, Italy |
After lunch,we searched for the Jadrolinija office. Taking several wrong turns, we finally arrived at the address Barb saw and, speaking with hand gestures and a few words, we asked a nice Italian lady to show us where in the building the Jadrolinija office was located, since there were no signs! We opened the door the lady pointed out, trooped in and got perplexed stares from the Internet sales staff for Jadrolinija. This was not the correct office. However, much to our delight, they were able to upgrade one of our rooms to include a shower and toilet, a must after 30+ hours of traveling. We had tried unsuccessfully to book a room with these accommodations from the States.
We were told by the internet staff to return to the ferry location where a bus of some sort would pick us up around 6:30 and take us to yet another Jadrolinja location, which turned out to be several miles down the road. After waiting in three lengthy lines to get the tickets, return to the ferry and pass through customs, we were finally on the ship.
For anyone who may stumble on this blog trying to figure out how to exchange reservations for tickets on the Jadrolinija ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik, the bus is a little white shuttle bus that stops in front of the ferry terminal and takes you to another location a couple of miles down the road where there is a small office. You have to stand in line for a while to get the tickets. The little white bus drives back and forth between the two sites. Give yourself plenty of time to get the tickets before the 10 pm sailing. This was very time consuming. From what we were told, this is the off season process. We travelled on September 18th. In the summer, you can apparently exchange the reservation for the tickets at the ferry where the ship docks.
The entry into Dubrovnik from the sea has been described as spectacular and it did not disappoint. The sun was rising as we passed by islands and entered the harbor outside Dubrovnik around 7 am. It was so stunning, we ate our breakfasts outside, taking in the city on the hillside, with its iconic red-tiled roofs and ancient wall.
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Ferry docking in Dubrovnik. You can see the islands with the sun glinting
on them we travelled through to reach to harbor. |
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| Breakfast! |
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| After showers and a night of rest - life is good |
After getting off the ship, we waited in yet another line to pass through Customs. From what we were told, the Customs office does not open until 8 am, even though the ship docks around 7:00 am. The wait was enjoyable though, in that we met some really fascinating people who were also visiting Croatia. The same was true of the time spent waiting in Bari.
We found a taxi to take us to our apartment but the driver dropped us off at the wrong location, about a mile from our lodging. Taking off on foot, we had to use a phone in a bar to call and get someone to show us where the place was located. On a teeny, weeny little sign, we finally saw the address. The apartment overlooked the walled city and was right across from the tramway to an overlook with a fantastic view of the city. Here is a link to the apartment website.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/101548 I would highly recommend Tanja, the apartment manager, who is also a guide.
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| Our apartment. You can see the tram lines I mention later. |
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A pomegranate tree right outside our patio. I had a pomegranate that
was the sweetest, best pomegranate I've ever eaten. My guess is the ones
we get in the middle of the US are weeks old. Fresh makes a difference! |
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The joke of the trip. The bottle of water (albeit purchased at a restaurant) was
way more expensive then the 2 liter bottle of beer. But, beer
was generally less expensive than bottled water. |
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| This gives you a sense of just how huge the bottle of beer was |
Dubrovnik is nothing short of spectacular. The people were friendly and all the young people spoke enough English that we were able to communicate well. We had met on the ferry an expatriate US citizen who had lived in Dubrovnik for 16 years. He gave us the best advice of the trip - avoid the old town and the walk around the walls of the city between the hours on 10-4, when the cruise ships disgorge their passengers. During those hours the old town is a wall to wall mass of humanity. We took his advice and went later in the day.
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The wall enclosing old town Dubrovnik is over a mile long with steps going
up and down and back up and down again. You can see folks walking the wall in the lower
left hand part of the photo. |
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| More of the wall |
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| You can see how scenic the harbor is |
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Since our apartment was on the hillside, we had to walk down countless steps to
get into old town. There are many such passageways into the old town |
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About 2,500 residents live in the old town. Houses have been in the
families for generations. The lives of the residents are on daily display
to the tourists walking along the wall. It was interesting to see the differences in
outdoor living spaces, just like we have in the states. |
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| Laundry, laundry everywhere |
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| A large garden within the city walls. What a view! |
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| The main passage in old town Dubrovnik |
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| Children playing outside, oblivious to the tourists |
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| The "beach" in Dubrovnik |
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| This gives you a perspective of the "beach". It's all rocks on the side of a steep cliff. |
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| An ancient cistern in old town. |
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Twilight in Dubrovnik. I love photographing at twilight
when the sky is so blue. |
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The cable car to the mountain top. The cable car was a half
block from our apartment. |
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Sunset view from the top of Dubrovnik, overlooking the
Adriatic and the city |
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| Dubrovnik lit up at twilight |
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| Dinner at the top of the mountain |
On our second day in Dubrovnik, we took a day trip to Medjugorje Bosnia, where it is said the Blessed Virgin appeared to three young people in the 80's. Four of us climbed apparition hill, which is a very steep, incredible rocky path. We saw several pilgrims making the trek up the hill bare footed. It was difficult in sturdy shoes. I can't imagine what it was like barefoot. We also were able to enter the house of one of the visionaries where apparitions are said to have occurred.
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| Stunning view of the beautiful countryside from the hill |
The town was a major disappointment. It was so commercialized, it was stupefying. Any holiness to the sight was buried under the junk (mostly made in China) that was for sale. The church was very modern.
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| Medjugorje Mary neck pillows - really?!! |
I nearly got us thrown into a Bosnian jail when we crossed the border from Croatia to Bosnia by taking a photo of the sign on the border crossing that said "Bosnia". The guard got angry and shook his finger at me, took our passports and disappeared. Ultimately, he gave them back but I am probably on a Bosnian watch list now.
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Bosnia travel stop, you can have you coffee and shop for your
lingerie all in one place |
On Friday, we had yet another "laid back" Croatian adventure renting a car. I had read it could be a problem renting a car from the US through an international company like Hertz for pick up in Croatia. Our experience confirmed that. We had rented an 8 passenger van through Hertz, that was confirmed for a Friday 9 am pickup at the Dubrovnik airport. Out apartment manager had tried to call the Hertz rental agent on his mobile phone the evening before the pickup and the phone was never answered. On arriving at the airport, the Hertz counter was closed. The Avis agent called the Hertz guy who said he might be there in an hour or so (his girlfriend was in town) but he did not have a van for us. We had a party of 6 with a great deal of luggage, so a car was not an option.
The Avis guy said all the airport car rental agents try to help each other out, so he took us to the Bingo car rental counter. The Bingo agent had the only van available for rental at the airport, and for a mere $200 more, he said he would rent it to us. He would have matched The Hertz price had we been willing to pay cash. No thank you!
Ultimately, the van was perfect, well almost. The rear seat heater had to be duct taped and pinned to the ceiling Larry was a pro at driving the beast of a van along the narrow winding coastal roads. The coast of Croatia is not easily seen without a car, as there is limited train service and less than reliable public transportation up the Dalmatian coast.
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| Quite roomy |
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| Hmmmm. Makes you wonder about maintenance. |
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| Our fearless driver, Larry. What a fabulous job! |
Next installment - Zaostrog, Stobrec, Split and Hvar, Croatia, all on the Dalmatian coast.
