From Mostar to Spit

Today was moving day! We had to drive about 200 km so we had a leisurely morning leaving around 10 am. When we left the hotel we passed a building that I assumed had not been repaired after the war. The roof was blown off and the walls had lots of marks that must have been bullet holes. I wondered if this had been the location of a “sniper” with the holes represented people firing back?

We had to go through the entering the EU again with the requisite immigration proceedings. However somehow the bus driver found a friendly agent (I think he told them something about old people not being able to walk). So they came aboard with a hand held passport scanned and camera and did the checking right at out seat. It was very convenient but we did have to wait a bit. Once we cleared that we headed to a local “winery” for a tasting and snacks. At the Konoba Jokan we had welcoming drink. Once seated there was fresh bread, cheese, prosciutto (Croatia style) cut thicker than we usually get it and a tasting of white and red wine. They also had deep fried dough balls that reminded me of apple fritters from our family.

We drove to Spit which is the second largest city in Croatia. We managed a glimpse of a castle where some filming for Game Of Thrones was done. We finally stopped at the Amphora hotel which is located right on the ocean. Very Nice!

Dinner tonight was at a local restaurant where we had choices of what to eat from the platters set on the table. The Chop and Grill (?) is a popular eatery in the core area. They served everything on a platter. We had 5 (?) appetizers enough for the 4 at the table. The main plate had chicken, lamb and 4 beef tenderloin. There was more that enough to eat then came the dessert platter. Enough said. The rain kept coming but hopefully it will be done by tomorrow when we are back to walking tours.

Travel to Mostar, Bosnia

Today was a travel day to Mostar. Out by 8 for a 2 hour drive. We are travelling

north for the rest of the trip. The drive along the coast provided good views of the many islands that are along the Dalmatian coast. We did see the prime oyster grown area. There were many buoyed beds in the bays.

Since we were crossing into Bosnia Herzegovina a non EU country, we needed to go through the leaving the EU area procedure. The Bosnia Herzegovina border check point was basically in the same building. Scanned passports, photo and then scan passport stamp the old fashion way and off we went. We crossed through the mountains and the karst topography area to our lunch spot. The “complex” had a very large outdoor restaurant. There we 5 or 6 (?) tour busses already there. The specialty is trout which they farm right where the large spring discharges into the river. The flow was pretty strong. We saw buildings with “slate” roofs something we had never seen before. We crossed the picturesque bridge, had a nice salad, local wine and 2 10”(?) trout with the heads still attached. Very tasty. The meal also had potatoes and spinach. That is the second time that spinach was the vegetable.

After lunch we made the short drive to Mostar which was our stopping place for the night. A local guide met us and walked us through the old quarter. She detailed the war which split the city. She indicated that during the conflict snipers would fire on the population. We crossed the old bridge (destroyed and rebuilt) into the Turkish section which is the oldest part of the city. Streets were cobblestone with many souvenir shops. The tour including a visit of an original Turkish home and the Mosque. We arrived at the hotel where we had a bit of a rest.

One of the things mentioned was that the unemployment rate in the city is 50% and people are in need. It was depressing to see young girls (10 years old ?) begging with signs asking for money. Women with young babies asking for milk money. In fact one women was nursing a baby!

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!