Dubrovnik: The Walls

The main (some would say the only) thing to do in Dubrovnik is to walk the city walls. They are a mile+ around, with many steps to ascend or descend. Dubrovnik is on a steep incline from the heights down to the sea. Anyhow, we got up early--to avoid doing the walk in the heat of the day and to avoids the crowds of the many cruise ships--and got the bus to town. We spent a long day there, in part because of some confusion about where the return bus stop was. But we did the walls and many other interesting and worthwhile things, myself in a bit of a funk because of the incident in the olive grove. Eventually I got over it. I am already over Dubrovnik.

It's not Positano but it is a a bit of a vertical place

9AM and already there's a line to get in; as many as 15,000 cruisers can
descend on Dubrovnik some days

A bit of the wall, from without

Part of the fun, as it were, is watching all the other people, groups, that is

And so we are now on high, on the walls, beginning our march, looking down
to an interesting fountain/ablution thing

Doing selfies

We were going to climb up to this fort toward the end of our visit; but then we
didn't

Rounding the first turn; for half the trudge, you can either look out to the sea

Or the other way into the city; we thought these might be victims of the 1991
Serbian/Montenegrin/Yugoslav army shelling; but no, it turned out to be from
a 17th century earthquake

Another typical interior view

"See Silver Spring in glass-bottom boats"

Flotilla of kayakers heading for the island with the nude beaches

Many, many little alleys

Hobbit futbol field

Jacob's ladder

Typical wall scene

So much so it's actually a thing

Now we're about half-way around, looking into the marina; if glass-bottom
boats are not your taste, you can always go with the yellow or red submarines

At some point, you begin to realize most of whar there is to look at is the
terra cotta roofing of the old city; non-matching tiles indicate repairs where
the shells landed...

Another thing to do is take the cable car up the hill...for the view; but we prefer
our terra cotta roofing closer up

The wall walk is such a challenge for many of the visitors that first-aid stations
are located in half a dozen places around the 1.2 mile circuit

On To Dubrovnik

After 4 days and 5 nights in Split, we split from Split, driving mostly the tollway in the highlands, a beautiful modern highway, punctuated now and then by tunnels and high bridges, across some of the more desolate country we have seen. Not Nevada-desolate--there was ample low vegetation, but the limestone was so pervasive and broken that agriculture was unthinkable. Understandably, there is little in the way of human habitation. Eventually, we got off and took the road back down on the coast, which is anything but undeveloped.

One of dozens of tunnels

Most with signage like this; apparently wolves and sometimes bears hang out in
the tunnels; and they have right of way; or perhaps it is a lupine/ursine overpass?

Dropping down to the lower country, we stopped at one of the innumerable
rows of stands selling honey, olive oil, fruits and vegges

Thus; indeed we stimulated the local economy

Note the witch's broom with seat and handle-bar

An impressively large and totally tilled valley

I was impressed

Now back along the coast

The inlets and bays look almost like fiords

Somewhere along this drive, a 5 mile strip of Boznia-Hertzagovina pokes into
the Croatian coast line; documents, please... 

Ample marine agriculture here and there, mostly mussels

We found the campground we were looking--Pod Maslinam--and then it
happened: the incident with the olive tree; so many of the campgrounds we
have stayed in the last two months have been in groves...olives, lemons, almonds,
oranges...all of them rather low to the ground, spreading trees; the campground
at Pod Maslinam had trimmed the trees a bit to accommodate RVs, but not
enough, at least not this one, which I bumped into; even a mild bump bent the
seam molding and separated it from the side wall; I worked on it for a while,
ascertained it was beyond my skill (and tools), and put as much hopefully water-
proof tape over it as I could; now we're looking for an RV body shop...in Croatia,
Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina...but carrying on

The campground is above a beach on the bay

One of gazillons of islands in the Adriatic off Croatia's coast

Trogir

Trogir is a beau village 10 or so miles up the coast from Split. Much of it is late Medieval or Renaissance. One day during our time in Split we took the bus up to Trogir and spent a few hours exploring it.

Trogir is a small island actually; just barely

Before crossing the bridge, we had to check out the market; and buy some
smoked spicy sausages and other goodies

Main gate

Pretty scenes throughout Trogir

Main square, very old clock tower and town loggia

Church tower

Church entrance; somehow we weren't in the mood; the faces weren't funny

Ceiling in the loggia

And decor

Sic transit, Gloria

On the city hall

Today's fixer-upper

Nice rustic furniture at a resto

Plenty of ancient alleys to explore

Real people actually live here

Trogir castle

Bayside harbor

Camping Strobec Split

We were 5 nights at Camping Split, a really nice RV park/resort with all the amenities and then some.

Nice location, in Strobec, about 5k from centre ville Split; good public transit

Right on the bay

With its own beach, pools, etc., nice restaurant, bars 

Its own grocery (several others nearby)

Even a dog washing station

All kinds of rentals; here I am affecting a Steve McQueen pose aboard a Croatian
50cc scooter (it's a long story; fortunately neither the scooter nor I got hurt)

We have been in this part of the world long enough that it just doesn't feel right
to have a picture of our abode without the laundry aflutter alongside

Strangely, Croatian escargot are attracted to electromagnetic
fields...