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From Split to southern Croatia (Dubrovnik)


Home -> Europe -> Croatia -> Travelogue Croatia -> 05 September 2007

Wednesday 05 September, from Split to southern Croatia (Dubrovnik)

After a renewed attempt in the shower I get out cold to the bone, no drop of hot water, we've probably missed a boiler button somewhere. But the good news is that it is dry again outside and we drink our cup of coffee on a terrace where the English are already drinking their beer at 10 o'clock. We wait an hour for Josko but if he is not there yet we decide to travel on, we will call him later.
Twisting road near Brela Coast at BrelaThe new highway to the south, however, soon ceases, and then follows a long and slow road along the coast from Brela, but it is very beautiful! From the mountains we saw the freshly fallen snow lying on the mountains but here at the coast the mercury quickly rises to t-shirt temperature.
On the way Josko calls us, he is sick in bed with a fever. We also have a cold by the changeable weather but he sounds really bad. We're trying to meet him again on the way back.
Igrane, Adriatic coast Lake Bacinska near PločeThe coastal area is slightly less rocky here than in the north, but the contrasts between rustic fishing villages and suddenly super tourist convent villages are much larger. Most villages have only a few hundred inhabitants and the number of tourists is probably many times higher.
Near Ploce we pass the shiny blue water of Lake Bacinska where we are not the only ones stopping. Elisabeth reports that this can also be seen in the toilets, one of the dirtiest she has ever seen on our travels, but we will not go into details.
Plain at KlekFurther to the south we suddenly arrive in a very flat piece of land, we are completely surprised. It takes almost half an hour to round the plains at Klek and it looks like it is very fertile, so green it is, again different from the mainly rocky regions in Croatia. Fruit trees grow here and that is also evident from the many vendors who are selling fruit along the road with loads of fruit. Then, suddenly we face a border post.
Then we can add our first new country to our visited countries list: Bosnia and Herzegovina. At Neum Bosnia owns a piece of coast of about 20 kilometers long, the result of a treaty from 1699 in which the Republic of Dubrovnik gave this piece of land a gift to the Ottoman Empire to prevent the Republic of Venice, which had a lot of land along the Adriatic coast, from attacking Dubrovnik. Croatia is considering building a bridge to the peninsula of Peljesac so that Croatia will become one again and you do not have to drive through Bosnia, but of course that does not go smoothly and we first have to cross 20 kilometers through Bosnia in the south of Croatia. We effortlessly cross the border and we notice that the billboards along the way are all Croatian, the websites they refer to end in .hr; Bosnia will probably get a lot of money for that. But soon we leave the country again, on our way to Dubrovnik.
Bridge near DubrovnikThe first sight on Dubrovnik is beautiful and despite the clouds it is already more than 25 degrees. Fortunately, we got rid of the Bosnian kamikaze driver who overtook a bus full of passengers on the busy road in places where it was absolutely impossible, preferably for an unclear bend. More about these kamikazes later! We first enjoy the beautiful view that we have on this impressive city, one of the most beautiful in Europe according to the travel guides.
Fortressress wall Dubrovnik DubrovnikThe road plan is unclear to us at first, but soon we drove past the walls of the old city and we are already looking forward to visit it these days with its beautiful walls and towers that stand out against the clear blue water. Around the old city it is all one-way traffic and soon we are somewhat lost in the new part of the city where we are looking for a campsite. We drive through the city at walking pace and we are busy for an hour and a half to get out of the city again.
We look for a hotel with an internetcafe to view the weather reports, but the hotels that we visit don't allow us. Reserve a room first, only then use the internet. Oh well, it's 27 degrees, we're going to look for a campsite, but rather a bit further away from the city.
Coast at DubrovnikThe road rises again when we are finally out of town (also the new part is quite worth a visit!) and when we look around we have a good view of the sea, the islands and Dubrovnik, phenomenal. What a beautiful country it is and how sad some parts of the history. We have just read again about the war crimes that (some) Croatians have done and then you sometimes look with a questioning look at the residents: what kind of person were / are you? More than in the neighboring countries, (convicted) Croatian war criminals from the nineties are still seen as heroes. It is now much better: they share their land with the tourists and get paid for it even without it costing lives!
Getting cold in the tentIn Kupari we see a campsite that is almost empty (except for a busload of Dutch youth) and we are looking for a quiet spot to set up the tent. The toilets are too dirty to look at and there is no hot water but still it costs € 16. But we have a really quiet spot and the tent is stands quickly this time. However, the temperature also drops very quickly and the air is so clear that we are almost afraid that it will freeze. Fortunately, last year we bought a slightly larger tent so that we can now also sit inside.
We go to bed early because of the cold. We have not traveled many kilometers, but because of the crowds it has been a very tiring day. But very rewarding!

 


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