Fall break cruise day 1
I had been up for 48 hours and it felt good to
sleep. I always get inside cabin rooms
on cruises – they are cheaper, but also they are pitch black which means I can
get some great sleep.
We had the morning free
since we weren’t docking into Dubrovnik until 2pm. The cafeteria is always crowded and hard to
find a seat. I always ask if I can sit
next to someone – sometimes we eat in silence, sometimes we have a great
chat. I sat next to a couple and they
didn’t say much. They got up to leave
while I finished my breakfast. Another
couple asked if they could sit with me and they were delightful! Joe and Emily from Montreal. We chatted about a lot of things and it was
nice to have company. I walked around
the ship 8 times which is 3 miles. The
weather is so nice! This is my fourth
cruise – 2 in Alaska and one in the Mediterranean Sea at Christmas so this is
my first cruise that isn’t cold! It is
nice to be on the deck whenever I want without having to bundle up. After my walk, I went to my room to read then
had lunch. Then I walked on the deck
some more to see Dubrovnik as we pulled in to port. The coast is beautiful and the Adriatic Sea
is so blue! Much different than the
Arabian Sea which is what I live on.
My excursion was to drive to
a tourist town, Cavtat, and walk around there, travel along a river to have a
snack, then have a tour of the old city in Dubrovnik. Our
guide, Marina, told us a lot about the 1991 war and the history of former
Yugoslavia. Croatia became independent
after that. I have always heard how
beautiful it was and that is true. 66%
of their income is tourism. The people
are poor because they can only work for 6 months (the tourist season). 90% of the people in Dubrovnik are Catholic
and 82% of the country is Catholic. Everywhere I travel, I get a magnet and a
Christmas ornament (and usually ornaments for my nieces), but I didn’t manage
to find one which strange in such a Catholic country. Maybe I will have better luck in Split, or
when I come back to Dubrovnik in March.
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| cavtat |
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| Cavtat |
The countryside was gorgeous
and we drove up high so we could get a good view of Dubrovnik. We drove to Cavtat, which is a suburb of
Dubrovnik, and many townspeople go there on weekends (I was there on Sunday) Dubrovnik
only has 45,000 people in it, but I guess they still like to get away to
smaller towns.
It was very warm – probably in the 80s even
though it was Sept 28th. We
stopped at this restaurant on the river – where it was much cooler - they served homemade cheese and prosciutto on
bread – delicious. They also served
wine - I didn’t have any but the guide
had warned how strong it was and the people around me kind of choked on it J
We drove into the old city
of Dubrovnik and looked around. We got
there kind of late and things were closing, but I know I will be there again
for a math conference in March. The Old city is a small area, but very
interesting. I look forward to exploring
it more.
Day two at sea
I like having “at sea” days
between busy port excursions. I slept
until I woke up – no alarm!, ate breakfast, then walked 3 miles around the
deck. The weather is gorgeous, not
chilly at all, but not too warm either.
I passed a lot of older couples walking and groups playing
shuffleboard. The other cruises I have
got on have been in the summer or at Christmas and there were lots of
families. This one seems to mostly be
older couples, which is great because they are usually chatty and have been to
lots of places.
I took a nap then went to
the big dining room to eat lunch. I
asked them to sit me with someone (which they didn’t yesterday, but today I hit
the jackpot!) They led me to a table with a couple that had also asked to sit
with someone else. The man was older and
had a big white beard like Santa Clause.
The woman introduced herself as Betty Ann and the guy said “my given
name is Lesley, but you can call me Santa” I am not kidding!! We had a lovely lunch and unlike the couple I
met yesterday who were on their first cruise, this couple was on their 24th
cruise. They told me all about how this ship
compares to other ships etc. They are
retired and can go on last minute cruises and recently went for a week in
Alaska for under $100 each!!! They are
my travel heroes. I had noticed the “Santa”
had a red shirt on, but it wasn’t until we got up to leave that I saw he had
green pants on and whole Santa type get up.
Awesome. I do love Christmas!
I spent the rest of the
afternoon and evening reading and walking around the deck. Heaven.
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