Montenegro A Border Crossing and Rain Torrents

Today was a real adventure! We headed out at 8:00 this morning on the optional tour to Montenegro. Everything was going along just fine until we stopped at the border. The first check point was the Croatia exit. With the new immigration system we had to “leave” the EU. Everyone needed to scan their passport and have their picture taken again. The 15 Canadians finished easily. The problem was the bus and the operator. Our original transportation (mini bus) was in an accident the night before and was not available. There was along delay in the release of the bus. It was finally resolved with the payment of a fine. The crossing into Montenegro went faster. It was finally resolved 2.5 hours after we first arrived there. Needless to say we missed parts of the tour because of the shortened time available. We picked up our new guide and spent the next few hours touring the Kotor area.

Kotor is at the end of a very extensive “fiord”. The walls of the fiord were not steep but the water area was very extensive. There were 3 cruise ships anchored in the city so again just like yesterday it was overrun by visitors. The Viking ship was the same one that we saw yesterday. The tour included a boat ride to an island church and then a walk along the city streets. Because of the border delay we needed to get to our lunch location quickly. After lunch we had a mini look at the older parts of the city and our guide did an excellent job of pointing out the various buildings.

The only drawback other than the border delay was the very heavy downpours that continued all day. Some of the storms were extremely heavy! We managed and headed back to Dubrovnik. This time there was only a minimal delay at the border as we were scanned fingerprinted and photoed again as we entered the EU. Another adventure in the books. We are on the move north tomorrow.

Dubrovnik City Walls and A Small Town

Today was a full morning boat ride and tour of the walled city of Dubrovnik.

Our guide “Tom” is excellent with his detailed knowledge of the history and background information about the city, art works, churches, etc. The morning started with a boat ride from the inner arm of the water around to the seaward side. There were 2 passenger ships in today one carnival and a viking. Needless to say the old city was wall to wall with tours ship tours! The view from the sea gave a very good perspective of what an invader might have to face if attacking the area. Interesting enough the city was attacked during the Bosnian war and we did see some a shell hole in the wall in one of the buildings.

All of the city has been rebuilt from a very early (centuries ago) earthquake and fire and the last war damage. The city has a relatively “new” feeling. We did have a very good look at the churches and government buildings. We were in the Franciscan Monastery which houses Europe’s oldest apothecary. There was a book on display that had formulas for making medicines from plants. It was 500 plus years old.

We did have a few hours free time in the afternoon. It was an opportunity to pay for our optional tour for tomorrow. Later we travel by coach to the region of Konavle with a stop at the little mountain village of Gruda to see the mills and enjoy a tasting of local ham, cheese and grappa. This was a very interesting stop to actually see an old small working a corn/wheat grinning mill. There use to be 5 mills along this small stream but only 2 are still “operational”. The second mill was to “fool” the cloth which I think means to soften it. A very interesting demo with a local drink (or 2).

From there we proceeded to a “farm house” for our welcome dinner hosted in a local family. It was a great location. Local musicians entertained us while we had more wine, dinner and dessert. By 9 when we got back to the hotel we had had a full day. Tomorrow is the optional side trip to Montenegro.

TRAVEL DAY AND ARRIVAL CROATIA So after being on the road for 4 days we are finally settled into the Royal Ariston hotel in Dubrovnik. W e started travelling on Saturday morning. After trying travel to Toronto by train last year we did the same this year. Business class made the trip very relaxing as opposed to driving. We visited with our family for 3 days we were ready for the long haul. We arrived at Pearson 1 for the first leg of the trip to Amsterdam by KLM. It left at 4:45. Our Tour Manager Daisy met us and we quickly had our tickets, luggage tags and were through security. We managed to get 2 seats together, no small feat when our last names are spelled slightly different. (Don't ask!) 16 of us boarded the plane and the last person met us in Europe. We arrived around midnight (6am local time). Europe now has a new passport control system much like arriving in Canada. You scan you passport your photo is taken. Europe wants finger prints. Mine scanned OK (Judy's did not) at which point you need to go into a secondary line to see an agent. I headed for the automated line where they could not verify my information and I was directed to the agent line. The easy go line had nobody in it. We had been warned by Daisy to expect this! That went quickly. Waited until 10:30 for the next leg to Croatia and finally arrived in Dubrovnik. Our bus was waiting. We will have the same bus driver and guide for the entire trip with other local guides as needed. Check in went smoothly.

We had time to relax for a few hours. Needless to say we were tired by the time dinner was served around 6:30 local time. Staying 3 nights meant a big unpack getting our clothes ready for the next few days. After some searching we found everything we needed. There are 17 people on the tour and most seem to be fit enough for the activities planned. There are 5 couples and 7 independent women. Most are from Ontario. So everything starts tomorrow with a full day of touring!

Croatia Slovenia & Venice Croatia is an area that we have wanted to visit for a long time having heard about it from many travelling friends. None of our many cruises stopped in the area. So this year we decided to finally see this part of the world. After having travelled with Senior Discovery Tours the last 2 years we decided to travel with them again. We enjoyed our trips to Sicily and Tunisia. They are a one stop company that provides a complete package planned. The part that was and is most appealing is that the price they quote is all in – air fare, transfers, meals, all tips, tours, taxes, etc. One price done! The Croatia trip is 15 days long starting and ending with flights from Toronto.

This land tour concentrates on Croatia but we also visit Slovenia, have an opportunity to take a side trip to Montenegro; before finally ending up the trip with a short visit to Venice. Although we will be moving around the country, we will stay at least 2 days in every hotel. We fly into Dubrovnik to start the tour before going on to Mostar, Split, Zadar Zagreb Ljubljana and finally Venice. We are looking forward to world heritage sites, snow capped peaks, lakes and lush valleys before going underground to the impressive cave system and finally another visit to the always impressive Venice. It should be fun. In Toronto we will meet up with Daisy the tour manager. She was the manager on our last trip to Tunisia. We fly out on Monday afternoon October 5th to Amsterdam on KLM airlines before our second leg into Dubrovnik. We will retrace the flights from Venice on October 19. Watch for posts every day.

Day 16 Returning To Canada

Midnight Tunisian time (6 pm Ontario) was a bit early for a wake up call but that was required to get us to the airport to start back to Canada. Before we leave Tunisia, there area a few observations and comments to share. One thing was the road system. There are modern expressways as well as paved secondary streets. Only in the south in the Atlas mountains and salt lakes did the going get a bit rough. There are very few stop signs except for the largest town where you find the ever present traffic lights. However they do make extensive use of traffic circles which work just fine! Tunisia is a wonderful friendly country that are trying to build up the tourist industry. Having visited many UNSESCO sites with many ancient cultures on display they do have much to offer. Beautiful coastlines, endless olive groves, hidden oasis, salt lakes sand dunes , etc. add to the appeal of Tunisia. Many of the towns have medinas – old fortified or walled areas where people work and live. Every day brought another spectacular discovery. The friendly people and the endless number of sellers (not really pushy) of pottery, leather goods, camel skin shoes, as well as the standard key chains and fridge magnets add to the charm. An outstanding guide and tour director made this trip very enjoyable. Visit Tunisia if the opportunity arises. A 2.5 hour flight got us to Paris airport, a 5 hour wait and an 8 hour flight ended this adventure!

Day 15 Carthage

Today was our last day in Tunisia. We did have another full day starting at 9 and ending just after 6. This morning included a tour of the capital city Tunis. We started at the Bardo Museum. It is housed in a former palace.

It has one of the finest collections of Mosaics in the world. There are close to 200 mosaics plus other relics from all the ancient lands in Tunisia. Some of the mosaics were so large that it is hard to explain. The designs are very intricate. They are not just pieces of stone cemented together but rather whole stories. They went on and on forever. Every room was more outstanding than the last. How they removed them and then reconstructed the entire piece was amazing.

We did come across the 2 young girls who were friendly with people in our group. Everyone was taking pictures of them but I liked the East meet west as shown in the photo. That is a contrast that we constantly encountered. We only saw a few women with the full burka, many more with just the scarf and the rest in what you world expect to see in Canada. After lunch in a seaside restaurant, we headed to Carthage. We were well aware of the Punic Wars and the role that Hannibal and the elephants played.

The city that was destroyed by the Romans had 400,000 people living there at one time. The cistern was huge. Much of the ruined city is still buried with houses constructed on top. Unlike the other sites we have see, it was a bit “disjointed?” It was the site if the second largest Roman baths in the world. The layout was similar to what we say the other day.

Finally we made a stop at the resort town of Sidi Bou Said which overlooks the turquoise gulf: crowded, many souvenir shops, etc. The town was the main attraction. However the sunset although not the greatest was very nice. Tomorrow we leave for the airport at 2 am. Breakfast at 1am. We will be up about 24 hours by the time we land! It has been an amazing and exhausting trip but well worth it.

Day 14 Dougga To Tunis A Long Hard

After such a nice day yesterday today was another one of those long hard days with lots of kilometres to be covered. Early wake up call and then on the bus and on the road by 7 am. We had a 3 hour bus ride to our first stop. We were headed back west towards the Atlas mountains to a place called Dougga. It is about 550 meters above sea level. It is another Roman site but this one is the most impressive one we have ever seen.

It was more than just foundations, walls, etc. The temples were “completely” rebuilt. The roads, the baths, the houses etc were all very impressive. It is impossible to describe it. There was an amphitheatre, Roman baths where you could see all the rooms – cold, hot, etc. The heating system for the hot air was clearly visible, etc. We even saw the house of ill repute complete with public toilets. We had seen something similar in Ephesus. The main roads still bore the marks that the chariots made in the “pavement”. The forum and the markets were in a remarkable state.

All of the town was situated on a mountainside with a commanding view of the valley far below. It even had a mosque that was built on the site long after it had been abandoned by the Romans. In all quite the site. By the time we finished there it was past 1 and we headed for lunch at the only place in town. This site is a major tourist attraction and this place does a big tour bus business. There were 4 buses of various sizes in the parking lot. They served a chicken or wild boar meal. The boar is quite a tasty meat. We headed for Tunis about 2.5 hours away. The tour guide decided to take us into the city to see the capital buildings and the largest Medina in Tunisia. This one is a world heritage site. It really was quite impressive. About 100,000 people live in this walled area and where we walked there were many many shops selling all different types of goods. There were plenty of gold and silver places. It was impressive but it had been a long day.

Once outside the Medina we walked along the avenue built by the French who ruled the country in the 19th century. It reminded us of the main streets of Paris. He did show us a catholic church called St Vincent De Paul. It is a typical cathedral looking structure. We then headed to our hotel which is located outside Tunis in a place called Gammarth. The streets were congested early evening traffic and we did not get to the hotel until shortly before 7. As I said a very long hard day! Final tour day tomorrow! It feels like we are running a marathon.