It was an adventurous day.

We were up in good time as we had booked a boat tour to the Blue Cave. One does wonder why I ever agreed to it… but I did.

I decided to wear my bathing suit under my rompers; Rick was confident that there would be a place to change on the boat so dragged his suit along in the bag. (He was wrong btw, which resulted in some amusing on-deck gymnastics and ultimately a swim in his shorts 🤐)

We had breakfast at one of the many outdoor restaurants that were just opening up for the day – cappuccino and a croissant “plate” that came with “marmalade and butter”. Marmalade seems to be a generic name for “jam” which was actually apricot or “rose hip” strawberry. Tasty.

Caffeine loaded and croissant confusion resolved, we headed for the harbour. I do recognize that a breakfast of cappuccino and croissant is not terribly exciting, however, food is a big part of every adventure which is why I feel so compelled to mention it in almost every post.

Back at the dock… We stood patiently waiting with another couple of groups who gradually boarded their boats and headed off. One particular boat, called “UFO”, was clearly the party boat – all young people, a plethora of bikini clad bodies and very loud music.

Our somewhat more sedate catamaran, simply called “Catamaran”, arrived moments behind them, which had us all departing with only a brief interval between boatloads. We were warned a few times that the sea was quite choppy today, which only made my already anxious self slightly more anxious.

The ride out from the harbour took us in front of the city, with a great view of the walls. The boat was bouncing and rolling all over the place, like some crazy liquid based roller coaster ride at Universal Studios. I specify Universal because a Disney ride is typically friendly to most, while a ride at Universal is often a bit over the top – and this was.

The slightly less loud rock and roll music played by the crew proved to be an excellent distraction. Special thanks to Bob Marley: “Don’t worry, ’bout a thing, every little thing, is gonna be alright” while the boat also rocked and rolled.

After 30 more musical minutes, with a reasonably entertaining playlist, we arrived at our destination. There were already a few boats there – each group taking their turn. Loosely anchored, boatloads of adventurers waited patiently, while arriving and departing boats tried to avoid each other, and the floating humans. I couldn’t wait to get off the boat as it wibbled and wobbled even more randomly without the benefit of forward momentum.

I kept a close watch on the cave entrance which was beneath a very low rock overhang – pondering whether I would actually have to swim into an unknown space underwater, or could I scoot through on a lucky wave with my head out of the water? Was I going to suddenly become claustrophobic and race out in sudden panic? Deep breaths.

Worth noting, not everyone in our small group was bold enough to actually try it. I was not to be deterred. I threw myself into the water and began the 300m or so paddle to the entrance. The water was comfortably warm – so at least I did not have to worry about that. With no place to change without providing all the other boats a spectacular view, Rick was close behind me in his shorts.

Ducking into the opening was a bit anxiety provoking as the only thing I could see inside were a few faces in masks staring back at me as they waited for their turn to exit. With one sweep of a hand one of our caretakers from the boat (Lawrence) grabbed my hand and swept me safely in to this. (Full disclosure I got this photo from the internet because no one takes an iPhone with them into a place like this).

It was indeed beautiful – several shades of blue, predominantly turquoise, with white sand on the bottom (which I could not touch) and rocky walls that were helpful in steadying me while I looked around.

It was a short visit, not big enough to warrant a long stay, so 10 minutes later Lawrence was timing the waves to sweep us back out, and we paddled back to the ship.

No one warns you about how hard it is to haul yourself out of the water onto the back of a boat with only a tiny ladder and the full weight of your emerging body, that only moments before had felt delightfully weightless. Looking more like a sea lion than a mermaid, I made it with the help of our minders. Once on board, I could see I was not alone in needing assistance… literally every single person was hauled out of the water vs climbing aboard unaided. Not terribly elegant.

Off we went. Next stop was another much smaller cave and an opportunity to float about or snorkel for half hour or so. I opted for the former which was very relaxing and at least I was off the rocking boat. Ken and Cathy headed for the little cave and Rick dried off on the boat while he watched.

As the day had become more windy, and the sea more rough, plans were adjusted. We were to be delivered to a small port, just north of Dubrovnik’s old town, where a car would pick us all up to return us to the city. I was not unhappy with this choice as it abbreviated my boat time, and meant we could dawdle a little and have our lunch on a sandy beach.

Being back on land helped my mood considerably so the rest of the trip was quite enjoyable. We had some drinks on board and all celebrated our bravery with homemade grappa, beer & wine. Rick also tried the local Coke substitute, “Cockta”, which he said tasted more like Dr. Pepper but was good.

For the interested (or the bored) in the early 1950s Cockta was invented to compete with Coke, which was not yet being sold in what was then Yugoslavia. Emerik Zelinka, created the drink from a blend of eleven different herbs and spices, including rose hips. (Doesn’t Kentucky Fried Chicken have 11 herbs and spices too? Coincidence?)

It turned out that our destination was actually the major port near Dubrovnik. It was busy with a number of high end, exceedingly large yachts, as well as tiny boats like ours and one massive cruise ship. That afforded some context on the large numbers of tourists in the city during midday, compared to the quiet and relatively deserted streets in the mornings and the evenings.

Our ride back to the hotel was short and uneventful, but I was exhausted – mostly from the tension that comes about when you are being bounced around like a rag doll in the waves. We had a short rest then headed out again – intent on maximizing our Dubrovnik time.

Rick and I intended to take the cable car up to the top of the nearest hill to get a better view of the city, however, we discovered the cable car was closed only after we had climbed the 400 or so steps to get to the top of Old Town. Disappointed, we came back and enjoyed a glass of wine while people watching on the waterfront.

A few random things about Dubrovnik:
1) There are quite a number of dogs but no patch of green or even a tree to pee on. That seems sad when I consider the green grass Hazel is able to enjoy in our neighbourhood.
2) The dogs are significantly outnumbered by cats. Cats are everywhere and clearly feral. They are not grumpy and will come by for an occasional pat. They all look quite well fed. Actually, we saw a woman from a home next to the hotel feeding them as we headed out for dinner.
3) Colour! The city is all white limestone. The people in the city are generally dressed quite well and colourfully. There are lots of women in pretty floral print dresses and even the men are in print shirts and coloured shorts or jeans. Appreciating that many of these people may be holidaying tourists, it is still quite astonishing to see so much colour.
4) There are no cars in the Old Town. Unless you see little tiny delivery trucks in the early morning. We also saw a toy sized police car while walking back to or apartment this evening.
5) Everyone speaks English, and generally quite well. The 70+ year old woman at the nearby grocery store speaks English. I feel a bit of guilt about my distinct lack of Croatian.
6) There are a surprising number of tourist babies. This seems like a big job to me – having babies on holiday with the their schedules and food requirements. Very brave. I was not that brave when mine were tiny.

Well I must get packing. We head to Trogir in the morning to start our sailing/biking trip. It is supposed to be very wet all day tomorrow – and Saturday – so I am a bit unclear about how that will go. I also remain slightly concerned about the boat, but will not allow myself to contemplate it too deeply. At least I know that if the boat bothers me I will be exceedingly eager to hop on the bike and go for a long ride.

Tyrion Lannister (aka Peter Dinklage) says good night on behalf of the entire cast of Game of Thrones.