WHERE ARE WE ANNE?: ONE NIGHT IN DUBROVNIK

Thursday 15th August 2013

We motored more than sailed the 35 nautical miles into Dubrovnik from our little anchorage and fig plucking spot.

They have you over a barrel in Dubrovnik, there is not really anywhere to stay except in the marina at 81 Euro per night, so that's what we did.

We did the med mooring shuffle, Bill made it look easy reversing in to that tight little spot between two Sunsail charter boats. After paperwork and discovery that the wifi only really works up at the office we decided we had to solve the empty gas bottle situation. A hot afternoon walk and an overshoot, we finally found the gas man and ticked that job.

That left us free to have showers, a pre dinner sundowner and head into Dubrovnik old town on the bus.

Dubrovnik is all about the medieval old town. We headed in with approximately one or maybe two million other visitors. It was heaving. Cruise ships and summer and us, joining the tourism bonanza.

So this was the Dubrovnik, the iconic old town that I saw on TV being blown to bits over eight months in 1991. The scars of war were hard to discern as we walked around the rebuilt stunning old town streets that were all about tourism for their lifeblood.

We navigated the throngs, passed long queues waiting at the more prized restaurants, passed hip doof doof bars, good jazz sax, buskers, hawkers and gawkers to plump for a vacant table outside in a perfectly picturesque street that turned out to have perfectly reasonable prices as well. A slow amble back to the bus station after dinner and we weary travellers were ready for a worry free night in the marina as the wind whistled through the Aeolian harp of the collective rigging.

Bill and Linda did a day trip the next day into the Old Town while Anne and I dodged the heat and crowds knowing that we were planning to be back later when cooler and less peak season.

We did a shop, reprovisioned, rewatered, rebeered, refuelled, spoke to a couple of Australians who tied up next to us, and headed south 7 nautical miles to the next spot, an anchorage in Srebreno near Cavtat.