Monday, December 18, 2017: Split to Dubrovnik

We are leaving the apartment a day ahead of our friends. They will be flying back to Zagreb on Tuesday, but we want to drive south along the coast to Dubrovnik and into the country of Montenegro. We will be arriving back in Zagreb by Thursday the 22^nd.  In Zagreb we will be staying in different apartments, as the one they booked, before inviting Cherie, is too small.  We have found another 2-bedroom apartment within the same block, so we will still be seeing them.    

We left the apartment around 9:15. Cherie and Rachel walked to where the car was parked, while Cal stayed with the luggage.  Since we parked in a residential area, did not have to pay for the parking.  When we left Split, we drove south on the toll-way for about a half hour, before we headed toward the coast.  For the rest of the day we drove along the coastline until we reached Dubrovnik.

Stairway Leading to our Apartment

Snow Capped  Mountains

Terraced Farming Areas

Beautiful Rugged Coast View - Winding Road

The coastline is very rugged but extremely scenic.  We were constantly driving through town that were perched on the edge of the mountain while having beautiful coastlines.  The highway provided remarkable vistas of the towns and resorts.

Hidden Villa

More winding Road

One area that was a surprise to us, was where citrus fruits are being grown.  There is a river delta which is all marshland. However, due to the installation of a canal drainage system, the water level has been lowered so that it is an extremely futile area to grow fruits, vegetables, and other produce products. Between the canals, on the dry land, are rows of trees, such as oranges & tangerines, which are currently in season. There were so many roadside stands, full of this local produce. The area is surprisingly large with many orchards.

Drained Marsh

At one point, we followed a road out onto a peninsula that juts out into the Adriatic Sea.  The first town was Ston.  The “old town” and a large surrounding area are surrounded by a stone wall that goes up the side of the mountain.  The wall reminds you of a miniature Wall of China.  The medieval town is inside the wall, whereas the modern town is just outside the wall. 

More Sea Farming - Muscles

Walled Town of Ston

Wall Around the Town and Surroundings

We continued driving on this peninsula road for a few more kilometers before turning around.  However, before we turned around, we came to a grape growing region. The area is quite rocky with rock fences bordering the terraces. The grape vines look to be old as they were gnarly from many years of pruning. Vineyard caretakers were pruning the grapes at this time of the year.

Stone Fenced Vineyards

We arrived in Dubrovnik around 5:00 and began looking for a hotel.  Fortunately, we found a very nice one that allowed us to have two adjoining rooms for a very reasonable rate.  After checking into the rooms, we took an hour to relax before dinner.  We stayed at the Hotel for dinner, where they had a very nice buffet with a variety of main dishes from which to choose.