Days 53 and 54

(Rhia’s comments are italicized)

• Bus to Split

We returned to old town early the next morning to walk the perimeter of the city on the wall. Thank goodness we got there early as we beat both the crowds and the heat! And I was able to get some photos devoid of the crowds!

We were there before the walls opened so I queued while Rhia sat by the beautiful fountain.

But boy, was I at the wrong place at the wrong time!

Because the queue extended into the street, a local resident who was out walking his dog became angry and (loudly and very rudely) he demanded that everyone move to the side, “NOW!!!”. I could not because he and his dog were in my way, so I waited for him to get out of the way. Undeterred, he singled me out and said “Move to the side, NOW!!!”. But he was still in my way…so I waited. Then he hit my side with his umbrella and said “NOW! MOVE!” At this point, I was offended and was not going to move, no matter what! So I stood there…silently…staring. I didn’t know his circumstances, or where he thought his authority came from. He may have been a former police officer or communist state official and expected people to obey his orders. But, by then, that didn’t matter to me because I was not going to be bullied. I didn’t want to escalate matters, so I just silently stood my ground and stared at him neutrally. When he realized the bullying tactics weren’t working, he went on his way and (after he left), I moved 😂. To be fair, it must be difficult for locals to deal with the waves of tourists every day, so I understood the frustration. But I didn’t like being singled out and the encounter played on my mind throughout the walk as I wondered if I should have reacted differently.

While the encounter was happening, I was busy trying to catch a bird flying through the (almost) empty main street. I finally got one I was happy with!

So my wall experience was different to Dan’s as I was thoroughly enjoying the views. As you can imagine, I had great fun with my camera!

The wall also offered some great opportunities to view the city through the framing of crenels and windows.

By the time we had finished the wall walk, the heatwave had swung into effect so we SLOWLY walked around the city (for me to find more angles I like 😂)

Then it was time to say goodbye to old Dubrovnik and to walk by the ocean one more time before leaving in the morning.

Goodbye Dubrovnik.

And hello to yet-another-bus! Today’s scenery was a combination of the Pacific Coast Highway, Lake Tahoe, and the Rocky Mountains. I’m fascinated that cameras (or phones, to be more precise) have improved so much that I can get these photos from a moving bus! Of course, you don’t see the scores I delete because a house or tree or post or dilapidated building got in the way 😂

Despite the beauty, we were so glad that this was our last official long distance bus ride as we’ll be back on the trains from hereonin. The sitting time is just too long, and we (read Rhia and her arthritis) need recovery time after getting off. Long distance buses also seemed to operate as local buses so that adds to the journey time. The seating arrangements confound us with seats seemingly being kept for people favored by the ticket collector (usually pretty young girls) to the detriment of others (a mother and her child in this instance). The ticket person seemed to be bullying the mother but, because we don’t know the language or culture, we’re uncertain as to what was going on.

Getting off in Split, we were happy that the walk to our place was only 700 meters away (I am getting much better at thinking of distance in metric, now). And 400 meters from there is … Old Town Split (another town that’s been added to since Roman times).

We just briefly walked in to get our bearings and are excited about going there tomorrow.

This old town is very different to Dubrovnik but is just as compelling and has fewer tourists 😁