Today we woke up a bit a bit earlier than usual, to the beautiful site of Dubrovnik and its picturesque orange tiled roofs peeking out over thick limestone walls. We wanted to get a head start on the other tourists and the hot summer sun which tends to radiate off the smooth white stones that make up the city. We took two tenders into the bustling pier where we met our local Croatian guides, Christine and Petra. We strolled behind them through the narrow streets, taking in the ancient history. We visited one of the oldest orphanages, which had a very interesting system of operation. Petra told us how children would be dropped off on a wheel which would spin into the building. The baby and its biological parents would each get half coin, and if you wanted to recollect your child, you could if you had the matching coin. If the children were not adopted by the age of 6, they were sent into the country side to work on the farm. We also visited the oldest operating pharmacy in all of Europe!
We got to learn much more than ancient history from our guides. While we rambled down the city streets, our guides pointed out evidence and scars on the rocks from the mortar shells which pummeled the city in December of 1991. We could also see a few holes left in the walls in the Franciscan Monastery where the Serbian missals had struck as Yugoslavia fell apart. When we went up to walk the perimeter of the rebuilt walls, we could see the difference between the new and old roofs. However, thanks to very good restoration funds and efforts, could barely be seen without an expert eye pointing them out to us. From the walls we could see the entire interior of the city as we walked past people’s gardens and verandas. On the other side we looked down a sheer drop into the crystal clear sea below.
By the end of the walk it was hot and crowded so most of us opted to go back to the ship for a little lunch and an afternoon siesta. We were delighted to find out that we had been approved by the port authority to swim, so we put on our suits and jumped into the 72 degree water to cool off under the midday sun. Afterwards we listened to Historian Robyn Woodward’s fascinating lecture about Venetians before we went back to town and were treated to the magical Klapa performance in the Dominican monastery. Some of us decided to have dinner in town, which was must less congested after the other tourists had left. The evening was topped off with a night photography workshop led by Jonathan Aguas.
After another full yet magical day, we went back to our home, the historical Sea Cloud and crashed into our cozy beds, ready for the next adventure-filled day ahead.
