6/6/24 Dubrovnik , Fort Lovrijenac , to Tucepi

 

     Time to pack and head into Dubrovnik , 2 nights here is just not enough . We found a parking station out of the busy section of town , then walked down towards Fort Lovrijenac . The walk took us down backstreets & alleyways that you wouldn't know existed . Walking past this mansion & it's carpark spaces, we spotted a grape vine over the top verandah - we followed the trunk of it down past the next floor , then the next , it was growing in the ground below - a 3 storey grape vine !!

    Further down and we were getting closer to the coast - google maps was showing us - down these steps & across the road .

     And this was the view , we were on the cliff edge .

    Wandering down this road we went by lots of old houses , then the university , then off on another road.

    This restaurant was on a multi level terrace and steps , we had lunch here on the way back to the car .

    Coming to a carpark as instructed by google , we ended up overlooking a bay and the fort - just had to find a way down . Some steps appeared on the left , so we headed on down . 

    Another little nondescript entrance led us down to the bay we had just seen . There were strange entrances on the walls , with very strange spiral steps up to the door . Washing was out drying in the breeze - hope the pegs are good - it's a 5 storey climb down if they fall off !!

   A rather palatial building appeared on our left - Grand Hotel Imperial .

    This fort is at the top of the mountain beside the Gondola , and is a military museum that we didn't know about - lots to do here , maybe if we come back again later .

   We turned up a set of steps that looked for all money to go to someones front door . AS you got higher you could then see a path to the right , and more steps to climb . Reaching a spot where you could get views over to the old town , we stopped for a minute or 2 to let some of the crowds of people dissipate . Below us was a small jetty and a few small boats , assorted cafes & bars and a swimming beach further over .

    Upwards further and we passed 6 men having a rest - they had an upright piano !! They were bringing it down from the fort , now that was hard work , how it made it down in one piece we're not sure . We started to get a view into the orange terracotta roofed old town now . Nearly in the entry door now .

    AS with nearly everything here , you pay , this one was 15 Euro each , but we could use it with a bit extra to get into the old town as well . Apparently this fort was used in the Game of Thrones movies , that would probably be exciting if we'd have watched it before 😆

     Certainly would have been hard work building this fort here , but the views we are getting are pretty good .

    This is looking over to one of the towers in the wall that surrounds the old town . You can see people over there doing the Wall Walking tour . That needs to be an early morning thing when it's cooler - 29 degrees today and it'd be a big walk with no shade - nearly 2 kms !!

    Meanwhile back up on the fort , we checked out a few of the cannons - that sailing boat might be getting in range soon .

    Another cannon on the next level up - this one a bit more ornate than the others .

    We wandered around for a while , enjoying the light sea breeze we were getting . Heading back down was far easier , and we decided to go down to the street with the jetty . The water crystal clear , people were in swimming , jumping off the rocks out in the water , others were sitting enjoying a cold drink and watching the world go by .

   After having lunch , we got back to the car and headed out of town . Our destination wasn't clear yet , we didn't know where we were going to get to !! 

   Here's a photo of us going across the bridge just out of town .

    Overawed by this drive , this is one of the best coastline drives we've done . We came to a tunnel next , and found ourselves going through another mountain when we missed the turnoff ( ever-present in our minds was the little run in we had with border control yesterday ) we turned around and got back onto the right road  .

      Hard to concentrate on driving when this is right beside you .

    Further up the road we deviated out to a peninsular to avoid the only part of Bosnia that has a coastline - it's probably only about 10klms long , but the road to stay in Croatia has to go round it . But !! they do have a spectacular bridge over from the peninsular back to the mainland . There's a lookout , so you can stop and check it out .

     Lurking just over the water is the border control point again .

    The road left the coast for a while and crossed over / through the mountains and into farming country - mainly citrus at the moment . We passed one fruit stall , then pulled over to the 2nd one , she was selling oranges , mandarins , olive oils & lots more . We bought a bag of mandarins and some dehydrated orange peel after trying a few samples . We thought we may have missed out if we didn't stop , but as it turned out there were another 30 or 40 stalls along the roadside 😂

   We then drove through a small town , one of many , and found the Bacinska Lakes .

    Back to the coast again , what views we've got ! A timely thank you to our friends John & Leonie for telling us about this drive , one we'll remember forever .

    During one of our stops we booked a room at a small apartment block near the sea at Tucepi . The owners met us and assisted with parking , helped bring our bags up to the room which was on the 3rd floor, then brought us a cold beer and a juice , as well as a bottle of water - how nice is that !! We enjoyed the beer and juice on our verandah overlooking the sea .

    Time to walk down to the water and check out sunset , apart from the pebbly beach , it was excellent .

 

    Another excellent day in our life , here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=11h5r8qIPBDH3bM6mXoALh-pQP4SOe8I&usp=sharing