Exploring Dubrovnik, Croatia

Day three in Croatia was perhaps the hottest of them all, yet had some of the most spectacular views. I started the day off by venturing for the first time within the city walls. I have alluded to the Old City a few times in my blog already- it is the original town of Dubrovnik made of mostly marble. It is full of restaurants, shops and beautiful architecture and is surrounded by thick city walls near the edge of the sea. Kaitlin and Tori (the two fun girls from Oregon) had purchased candles the day before but were not allowed to bring them on the ship because they were technically flammable which was a shame because the candles looked like glass but were made completely out of wax. The girls tried to return them, but were not allowed, so they ended up shipping them home from a nearby post office, which was surprisingly cheap! I should have thought to do that because they would have been a creative addition to the Watson House next year.

Already in the Old City, we meandered through the streets looking for a way out to ride the gondola up to the mountain over looking the city and stopped by a coral jewelry workshop. Originally I was just intrigued by the bright red and blue colors of jewelry, but after talking to the owner for a while he took me down to where he makes the jewelry by hand. The coral comes special from the Adriatic Sea and is specifically protected as a natural ecosystem. Only eight divers in the world are allowed to dive for it, and they are specially trained to take the best care, specifically not to touch the pre-existing environment. The owner showed us how he sands the coral down, getting to the vibrant red color, and the process it takes to make one piece smooth, polished, and shiny looking. I asked for a sample piece, but quickly rescinded my request when I found out that a simple pair of earrings were upwards of 5,000 euro. Apparently the Adriatic coral is considered a gem and highly valuable and now I see why. Some pieces were even a whopping 350,000 euro!

The gondola ride up to the top of the mountain overlooking Dubrovnik was a welcomed change. It was a bit cooler than down in the city and the panoramic view was to die for. We sat and had lunch over looking the sea, and all I could think about was how lucky I was to be there. In the words of Don Gogniat again, “We are lucky little bunnies” Though my parents are on this voyage, I took a picture at the top thanking them for giving me the world, because without them, I would not be there at all, and truly a lucky little bunny.

By the end of our gondola ride back down we were all ready for a nice drink. We headed to a local bar called Buza tucked away in the Old City just behind the walls off the face of a cliff. There were no signs and it was considered a secret local treat where “cold drinks and the best view in town” was a sure bet. To get there, we found our way through the winding streets (even met a past SASer from Spring 2009- what a small world!), up a few flights of stone steps and finally crawled through a hole to where tables and umbrellas lined the cliffs. We ordered the local Croatian juice drinks- I had strawberry- and sat for a while, looking at what really was a wonderful view of the ocean.

Buza is also known for a place where patrons can go cliff diving. Cliff diving is pretty dangerous, so I refrained, but I did watch a few kids. One girl was so close I thought for sure she was going to hit her head… but she narrowly missed the bottom rocks by two feet. Cliff diving did not become a phenomenon until the past few years when Red Bull sponsored a Cliff Diving competition here and put Croatia on the map for extreme adrenaline sports. Last year, a girl from Semester at Sea went cliff diving and unfortunately had a spinal injury, and a few days before my arrival an Australian also had an unfortunate cliff diving accident. It was written up in the local newspaper questioning why tourists come to Croatia for such a dangerous activity when Croatians don’t even engage in it themselves in most areas… Needless to say I will be coming back unscathed and with each and every limb intact for my last year at UVA.