August 14 - Back to Dubrovnik

Traveling independently on a budget may not be the same as a first class tour, but it can lead to some new and different experiences. Today we had an interesting adventure taking a three hour car ferry from Korcula back to Dubrovnik.

As the ship pulled into the port in Korcula, my first impression was it looked like a small cruise ship. Our tickets said deck and I envisioned a nice cool lounge inside with panoramic windows, but for that privilege you must eat at a restaurant. We ended up sitting outside on the floor under the life boats. Not exactly first class, but with our picnic lunch it felt more like a genuine experience. All around us people were reading or just watching the view. Turns out it was a transport ship for people and cars, but for $30, it was worth it. Had we gotten on at an earlier port, we probably could have gotten a deck chair.

Arriving in Dubrovnik was a bit of a hassle. The street in front of the terminal was blocked off for a festival and we ended up carrying our luggage quite a distance in the full sun to the taxi stand. There's a heat wave here. Our accommodation is Aparments Pavisa and it is right next door to our other sobe here in Dubrovnik.

As a special treat, we decided to take an evening cruise. There are so many choices here ranging from catamarans to pirate ships. For our budget, we chose a glass bottom boat panoramic cruise and it was perfect. There were only 6 of us on the boat so we could easily move around. Not only that, there was a glass viewing area in the middle of the boat and although we didn't see exotic fish, we all agreed the water here looks almost purified. Our boat driver never said a word, but that freed us up to explore on our own. The brochure for the cruise was amusing. It said, "Beautiful view of maritime soil."

Walking around after dark, Dubrovnik looks beautiful with the churches lit up, old fashioned lanterns on the streets, and candlit cafes. There's a crowd outside with the parrots and the girls from London are with the mother cat and her kittens. In the harbor there's a fancy sailing ship with tiny lights on the masts. When traveling on a budget, we won't be sailing on it, but traveling like this we are closer to the people. I think I like it this way best.