An older gentleman picked us up in a mini van which I thought would take us to a bigger tour bus. But we started driving out of town and he told us he was going to be our tour guide. There were only four of us, the other two a young couple from Ireland.
Unfortunately I started not feeling well the night before and on this morning I woke up with a head cold. Because I was hopped up on cold meds, a lot of the day is a blur but I have a few pics to show of our trip.
Our first stop was the overlook area for Old Town. After about an hour drive, we came to the border between Croatia and Montenegro. I knew very little about the new country (and still don't recall too much), but I was intrigued to see what it was like. Border control checked out passports and without much fanfare, let us go through.
The overlook with Old Town in the background.
The main road from border control led us to a very large inlet of the ocean that was surrounded by tall mountains. In the middle of the lake a church had been built many years ago. We made our way to a few towns, did some shopping, had lunch, and headed back home. Instead of driving all the way around the inlet, we drove the minivan onto a ferry and cut across the harbor, saving at least 1.5 hours of driving.
The church built in the middle of the inlet.
A street in a small town in Montenegro.
By the time we got home, all four passengers were nodding off. The tour guide dropped us off and because I wasn't feeling well, we opted for dinner at a cafe next door to our apartment. It turned out to be great food. We finished a bottle of wine on the patio and went to bed.
Our last day in Croatia. We both woke up late and puttered around the apartment, starting to get our heads around packing everything up. We decided today would be another beach day. We grabbed cold pizza from last night's dinner from the fridge and set out for Old Town.
Instead of going all the way out to Lokrum beach, we settled for a seaside cafe outside the Old Town wall. We found and settled into our chairs for some sun time and a few beers. It was one of the best days. People were there fishing, though I suspect they wouldn't know what to do if something actually bit their line. Others were reading books or talking with their table mates. Others were swimming. In fact the bartender would strip down to her very small bikini every half hour and jump into the water for a quick swim. I'm sure it doesn't hurt the tips. We both jumped in the water for a while too, but no tips for us.
Maggie relaxing the way it should be done.
Our view of the water from where we sat in the cafe.
We begrudgingly packed up our towels and headed home. We met with Srvencko, our landlord, at 7pm for dinner at the same cafe next door. Then we had a glass of wine to toast our last night at a seaside hotel. We both packed our bags that night because a 6:25am flight comes very early.
Our taxi arrived at 5:15am and whisked us to the airport. The journey home was more of a struggle than most I can remember. In each place we had to check-in and get a new boarding pass because the airlines don't have agreements. First to Zagreb from Dubrovnik. Then to Paris where Maggie had to claim her baggage because she was flying on a buddy pass. Fortunately, there is at least a baggage agreement between Croatia Airlines, Air France, and Delta, all of which I flew to get home. And through some miracle I still amaze at, my luggage made all connections and arrived in Salt Lake City with everything still in it. Maggie and I parted in Paris because she had to find a flight that wasn't full to get on. I found out she did the Paris to Atlanta, then to Salt Lake. I arrived at 9pm after more than 24 hours of traveling. Very tiring, but totally worth it.
