We got up early and caught the correct cab that Ivana had called for us at 7:10 am. We went to the harbor and got our ferry tickets to Korcula. The ride was 8:30 – 12:30. We sat on the interior of the bow, and had a nice view. We sat with a couple from Columbus, OH, who were traveling in the same fashion as we were, so we had lots of stories to exchange. We arrived at Korcula at 12:30. It is beautiful to approach the old city by water. The old city is surrounded by walls, and the streets are arranged in a fish skeleton pattern, with the main street running from top to bottom, allowing free circulation of air through the fish ribs but protecting against strong winds. The winds are referred to ... read more

We met the correct van this time at 7:45, and picked up the rest of the group for Mostar. 9 including the driver: couple from Australia, 2 young women from Canada, and a mother/daughter from Russia. We headed off to Bosnia-Herzegovina and the famous city of Mostar. Our tour guide Antonio was excellent. He knew how to manage a group. After an hour, we stopped for bathroom and white coffee in a tiny village of Slano. It was tiny, with a nice little harbor, a 5 star Admiral Grand Hotel ($500 pernight), Hotel Osmina ( very nice for $50 per night). I would think about staying here for a beach holiday and visit Dubrovnik. The value is much greater… Dubrovnik is extremely expensive even for locals. Next we went through border crossings. First we went into ... read more

We had breakfast in the cafeteria aboard ship at 6 am. Surprisingly it was eggs, meat, cheese, toast, cereal, juices and coffee! Promptly at 6:30, our young porter arrived and carried our bags up two flights of stairs. He put them by the exit and told us not to worry about them; they were too heavy for any one to steal! I agree! We got off the ferry and went through customs. They stamped the passports, which did not happen in Italy. As instructed by Ivana, we got a cab for 10 euro which dropped us off at the Buza gate. Ivana was waiting for us to take us to our “sobe”, a room with cooking facilities in a private home. Ivana Raic, age 30, and her sister, Anita, age 38, run a beautiful facility here ... read more

We packed up ourselves and cleaned the apartment. We left our suitcases in the laundry room and headed to the bar on the corner to hang out until 1:45 when the bus leaves. We had decided to go by bus instead of train, since the bus is direct and we'd have to change trains to get to Bari. Gary had café and I had Coke Light (without ice). Several BAU fellows came by to chat and the time flew by. We went to the internet café to check in with our Dubrovnik “sopa” owner, Ivana. We needed directions to our room in the old town. She is very fast to respond and writes in English, with a few fun words such as “ your luaguage” and “I will weight for you” when the ferry arrives Sunday ... read more

Today is our last day in Otranto :( I did some laundry, blogged and wrote postcards this morning. It was warm and beautiful, with a breeze starting to blow. By afternoon there were whitecaps and very rough water in the bay. This was our first mild taste of how rough a storm could be. Today was my visit with the art critic, Lucio Pozzi, at 10:30 am. He is an excellent critic and artist, and found relevant issues to discuss with each person. I found the 30 minutes very worthwhile and gained some new perspectives on my theme of aging. He thought my work was really about “visuality” and not aging… something to think about! I cleaned up my studio space and left it for the next person. I waited for Federico to pick up the ... read more