Dubrovnik, Croatia

---

Saturday 27th April, 2013. Dubrovnik, Croatia.

We had a good breakfast and, after changing some dosh for the local Kuna's, caught the local bus to the Old Town. We visited the Tourist Office and obtained a map and then went straight to the jetty to catch a boat to Lokrum Island. Lokrum takes its name from the Latin word "acrumen" meaning "bitter fruit" which refers to the orange and lemon trees which have thrived on the island since ancient times.

We passed the Monastery Complex as we made our way to the first point of interest on the Island which was the Botanical Gardens. In 1991-1992, during Croatia's War of Independence the garden suffered more than 50 direct artillery hits that damaged many of its plants and destroyed much of its infrastructure and also the botanical library's collection of research files. The garden covers some 2 hectares and about half of it is open to the public and comprises some 500 species of mainly trees and shrubs. Restoration has been taking place for several years but the gardens appeared unloved and were somewhat overgrown. However, as it is Spring the flowers were all blooming so it was very pleasant. Outside the botanical garden there was a muster, an orientation or a pride of very vocal peacocks.

Next we made our way to the Royal Fort which is quite a climb to the top of the Island. The views were brilliant but the Fort is really just a pile of rubble. It was then things started to go downhill - literally and metaphorically!!!. We took a different path down from the fort only to find that it had been blocked off with red and white tape. We tried to find a way through and ended up encountering more and more areas that were taped off. We ended up getting lost and walking much further than necessary - we were on the island for 2 hours before making it safely back to the jetty.

While we were waiting for the return ferry we had a very surprising and disconcerting experience. As we looked out to sea for the ferry we saw a huge cruise ship sailing just off the coast of the island. It was so close that you could almost touch it. The cruise ship was called the Costa Fascinosa. The captain was clearly "Show Boating" around the island. You would have thought that they would have learned their lesson after what happened to the Costa Concordia!

Once on the mainland we embarked on a walking tour of the Old Town as mapped out in a leaflet we had picked up in the Tourist Office earlier. After visiting an ATM we went to Dubrovnik Cathedral. We climbed the steps to St Ignatius Church. We walked around the underside of the city walls avoiding the expensive bar with the best views in Dubrovnik (apparently) - but we did take a photo. We did not walk the city walls as we had been totally walked out on Lokrum Island. We returned to the Pile Gate (one of the main entrances to the old town) and walked the main street again before heading to the Polce Gate where we had good views across the harbour. We retraced our steps past the City Hall,Rector's Palace and St Clare's Convent before walking back past Domino Church and the home of Marin (DRŽIĆ (a 16th century writer). On the way we passed a sign showing the bomb damage to the Old City during the 1991-1992 conflict.

We exited through Pile Gate and took some more photos of the city walls including Fort Minceta (the highest point on the walls). We then caught the bus back to the ship.

We went to see the show at 6.00 pm. It was called Droom and was performed by the Noordam singers and dancers. The stage was transformed into an enchanted dream garden where mystic creatures both good and evil dwell. It was FANTASTIC - the best cruise ship show we had ever seen. We had another good dinner with a lovely couple from Grenada. Afterwards we went to see the show again - it was even better the second time!

---