The former Yugoslavia has been my favorite port stop so far! Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovinia, and Montenegro were breathtaking countries with rich histories and extremely friendly people- here is what I did there for four days:
The first day in Croatia was magical. I don’t throw this adjective around lightly, but I couldn’t think of a better way of describing this coastal country. Normally we get into port during the night and then are able to clear the ship after clearing customs in the morning and listening to our diplomatic briefing (done by US diplomats, congresspeople, and their foreign counterparts), so we usually wake up to our first sight of the country. Unfortunately, the ports are usually not very appealing aesthetically (Naples’ water was black and had dead fish and garbage in it). Croatia, however, was a beautiful port. We opened our blinds in the morning and saw a tree-covered mountain across the turquoise blue waters of the Adriatic spotted with white homes with red terracotta roofs. When we were able to clear the ship, we took a bus to the “old city” part of town. The old city is a Medieval town surrounded by massive white walls to keep out invaders of the time- I’m thinking the Turks- any help Dad? (By the way- learning about Constantinople and the Crusades right now in Global Studies – why didn’t I know this stuff before the age of 25?). Anyway, we paid to go up on the city walls and walk the perimeter- about one and a half miles total. The views were amazing. The water was every color of blue and green imaginable, and the town of Dubrovnik seemed like it belonged in an old fairy tale. All the buildings were made of white limestone and marble (the same stone as the white house- Croatian limestone and marble is the only kind to stay white) and have red roofs made of large terracotta tiles. We took in all the boats and went inside towers and turrets for about 2 hours, and took over 200 pictures each- I feel so stupid lugging my big camera around but the pictures are great. Then we explored the city- small shops and cafes everywhere as it is one of the biggest destination for European travelers. We had a good lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches and beer before heading to the War Photos museum. The exhibit there was entitled “Troubled Islam,” and was a photo-essay look into the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, and Saudi Arabia. It was so weird seeing these horrific and saddening photographs of War while being in the country where they were taken- even odder knowing that this beautiful and advanced country had been in an ethnic war only in the 90’s. When I saw news photos of the war in Bosnia and Croatia, I never thought I would find this area to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. After we lifted ourselves up from the depression the museum caused, we went for a coffee and found out some interesting news. In the middle of the town (it’s a total pedestrian town that you need to cross a drawbridge to get into) we saw people setting up a large tennis court surrounded by chairs. We found out that John McEnroe would be playing later that night, and decided to come back. So we then hit the beach, where a lounge chair or cabana only cost 60 kuna- about 10 bucks, and ordered mojitos and beer for a few hours while swimming- oh, Paddy, you would be happy to know that all beaches we have been going to are topless and some people are nude. After that we had an excellent meal of mussels, seafood risotto, and calamari and white wine right on the harbor. The Croatians are so friendly and mellow- we all felt much safer here than our last two ports- 65 people got pick pocketed in Barcelona and around 40 in Rome- 0 in Croatia. We then walked into the city to find McEnroe playing some Eastern European I haven’t heard of. We didn’t buy seats cause they were too expensive, but some nuns who were watching on the roof of a church waved to join them. Unfortunately, we could not find the stairs up, so watched through the fence- very exciting. After the match we wandered to find a place to grab a drink and found the Buza Bar- a bar literally carved into the side of the cliff the city walls are built on top of. There, we watched the sunset and my friend Raj and I cliff jumped into the waves below. We talked and drank for a few hours before heading back to the ship… a great day.
On day two, Chrissy and I had another scheduled trip with the ship- a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovenia. Unfortunately, the bus ride took forever because of the passport checks at the border, so we spent about six hours in a bus that day. When in Bosnia, we went to the city of Mostar, named after the gothic bridge (or Most in the native tongue) built in 500 AD. The bridge had been destroyed in the Bosnian war in the nineties, and since been rebuilt. The water under the bridge looked like glacial water, and the mosque on the other side of the bridge had waterfalls entering into the river around it- very picturesque. Other than the mosques we visited and the bridge, Mostar was not that spectacular. There were bullet holes and shrapnel pieces still embedded in many of the buildings, however. As we travel more East each day, I can see the Islamic influence in each country. More mosques, different dress, Arabic architecture- but in the former Yugoslavia, the West and East are both equally prominent- with Croats being Catholic, Bosnians Muslim, and Serbs Eastern Orthodox. That night we went out to eat with friends at a very good Dubrovnik restaurant, the Taj Mahal, and called it an early night.
Day three was probably my favorite in Croatia- well, it wasn’t in Croatia but in this port. I tried to sign up for a trip to Montenegro with SAS that Chrissy got, but unfortunately I didn’t. So, Serena, Raj, Rachael and I decided to go by ourselves. We caught a bus early in the morning to the country of Montenegro- which is named for the “black” mountains surrounding it. We arrived around lunchtime and grabbed some food before heading to the harbor. We wanted to snorkel, and so went to the tourist office to find a good place. The woman there suggested the “Blue Cave,” similar to Capri’s blue Grotto, but alas told us that the last tour group left about an hour ago. The blue cave was about an hour and a half away by boat, so we thought we may just snorkel by the beach. On our way, we saw a man coming into the harbor on a very small outboard motor boat. We offered him money to take us to the cave- He seemed nice enough- and we finally settled on 50 Euro as payment. This was the best decision we made. The guy, Micheilo (Mik- ki- low) was a born and raised Montenegran and told us the stories of the forts built during WWI that guared the town of Herceg Novi from invaders. We went to the blue cave, a huge cavern that allows light in from a small, unseen, opening underwater and creates a blue glow in the water. It was kind of freaky, so we didn’t snorkel there, but at a private beach he took us to owned by the Russian mafia. We just laid out while he went and had lunch for a couple of hours before heading back to Herceg Novi. All in all, we got a private tour in a tiny boat for 5 hours for about 15 dollars a person. We then explored the town for a while before eating some gelato and heading back to Dubrovnik. When in Dubrovnik, we ate at a great restaurant overlooking the cliffs with live music. It was the night of Croatia’s summer festival, so tons of people were in town. A firework show over the Medieval walls ended our night before we headed back to the ship.
On our final day in Croatia, as part of our Grad work in Global Education, we attended a trip to the Croatian Children’s Hospital and Orphanage. We learned about Croatian healthcare and child and family services, social problems in Croatia, and state vs. family rights. My favorite part of the six hour experience was playing a very rough game of soccer with some Croatian orphans, three boys about 3rd to 6th grade. I played barefoot on a gravel basketball court and now have blisters all over my feet. After that we just headed back to the beach and enjoyed our last few hours before on ship time. It was definitely my favorite port so far.
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