Mljet to Dubrovnik

Friday 4th July

Well today the cruise ends in Dubrovnik, but we still have one night on the boat left.

Everyone pretty quiet - no one really wants it to end!

We head off for our usual morning swim stop after breakfast. Today it is Lopud Beach on Lopud Island just off Dubrovnik. There are a couple of other boats in the bay too.

Will miss the swims! The water is so nice, really clear and a good temperature.

We head into Dubrovnik as we are eating our lunch. The bridge is amazing. There are two huge cruise liners in the port. Apparently they hold up to 5,000 passengers each! Best not to be in the old town in the mornings, when they are heading to do their tours.

Think I like our smaller boat better!

Our tour guide Natalya leaves us today to head back to Split to catch the next trip tomorrow leaving from Split. So today's our only chance for a group photo before she heads off. She has been fantastic.

Once docked we head into the Old City of Dubrovnik for a walking tour. The city is walled, some of which dates back to the 7th century. The wall is about 2kms long.

Our tour guide shows us some of the main sights within the city and explains a bit of the history of the city. It has survived fires, earthquakes and of course a lot of conflicts in the Yugoslavian wars.

The city has been rebuilt over the years and has a mixture of Renaissance and Baroque Architecture as a result if it's past history.

Onuphrius Fountain - a popular spot for filling up the water bottles - lovely cool, clean water straight from underground springs.

 There are lovely white stone paths and little lanes with steps leading to the top of the streets. I can imagine it would be treacherous on a wet day because the stone is pretty smooth from all the wear and tear.

These little circles and ledge bits on the buildings were used like an air conditioner, poles threaded through the holes and wet cloths looped around , so the air was cooled when blowing in windows!

The Rectors Palace - every month a new Rector was elected (like the mayor) this was their residence.

The St Blaise Cathedral

St Blaise is seen on lots of buildings . He is Dubrovnik's patron saint.. He holds Dubrovnik City in his left hand.

The bell tower with the little green men that ring the bells.

Note the filled in railings added in later - known as modesty railings, as it was realised before this was done you could see the ladies bare ankles as they walked up the stairs to the church when standing below! How terrible!

The old town harbour.

"Buza Bar" - pronounced boozer, and that's just what they are! You get to the bar through a hole in the wall and it sits on the cliffs. A great spot for a cold drink after the walking tour.

Batteries recharged we decided to walk the wall - still hot but a good time to do it as not so busy and tomorrow will have all the cruise ship passengers doing it.

Amazing views across the rooftops!

The old and the new tiles. Over 70% of all the roofs have been replaced with new tiles because of damage in the Yugoslavian wars. You can tell old tiles - apparently made by shaping over thighs - handmade. Newer tiles are all very uniform and factory made.

The steps heading down into the town.

Views from the highest point.

Looking down from the wall to the Buza Bars.

An area not repaired after the bombings.

The wall walk all done, time for dinner - seafood for a change!  

Then back to the boat for our last sleep on board. Boo hoo!

Korcula - Mljet

Thursday 3rd July

This morning we travel down the other side of Korcula to Lumbardia. 

The sea is like glass.

There are two excursion options today - kayaking or buggy rides through olive groves, vineyards and villages with a stop at the beach for a snorkel. We opt for the latter.  

We are transferred to a speed boat which takes us into the bay to pick up our trips. Our boat carries on to Mljet which is a National Park, a half hour away.

The buggies await us! Much to Sam's disappointment we have to stay in line, so no chance of giving it a bit of a blat. 

The road is pretty bumpy and dusty, but some lovely views on the way to Lumbardia Beach for a swim

Through the Vineyards

Lumbardia Beach - popular because it has sand - most beaches are pebbles or rocks.

Yes I did get to drive! Great fun, just couldn't go fast enough!

After the trip we were jet boated to our boat which was moored up at Mljet - about half an hour away.

Goodbye to Korcula!

We arrive at Mljet at about 12.30pm in time for lunch.

We are moored at Pomena

Part of Mljet is a National Park. It has lots of walking/hiking tracks and cycle tracks. There are lots of protected species with the park. There are two lakes one small and the other larger. Apparently there are mussels that are up to a metre long in the lake. The lakes were originally freshwater but centuries ago monks that lived there dug a channel to the Adriatic to improve transportation which then turned them into saltwater lakes.

After lunch and a bit of a snooze we hired bikes to cycle around the park. It's about 16 km around the track.

The waster is crystal clear and warm too!

This is the monastery that sits on an island in the middle of the larger lake.

There is a water taxi at the end of the lake to get to the other side, but just as we got there he decided to finish for the day so we had to ride all the way back.  Apparently according to others that caught the boat it is just an oversized dinghy holding about 8 bikes and the guy rows across!

This bridge crosses the two lakes. You can jump in the channel and float between the lakes with the current. This is the smaller lake.

Think we've done our exercise for the day today. Tonight is the Captain"s dinner on board. 

We're very flash - candelabras and all!

 

Dinner's pretty good too!

There are 5 of us on board that have celebrated our 50ths recently, so we have a cake specially made for us ! And that's our dessert!

A great night!

We discovered Sam and two others share the same birth date too. Pretty freaky out of 36 people on board!

A great night of celebration. Lots of dancing and drinking, which we had to continue onshore - no music after 12 on the boat. Think we were the last to bed about 2am. Heaps of fun with the locals.