Croatia and Montenegro, October 2005

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All photographs and text © Copyright 2000-2005 by Jessica and/or Sharon Bussert.



Villa Marin

We booked our trip to Dubrovnik as a “last minute” bargain deal and really had no idea what we were getting into. What a pleasant surprise to arrive at this villa where the owner greeted us with cherry brandy. We had a lovely apartment and a huge balcony which looked out over this bay.










Butterfly

We stayed in the sleepy village of Molunat, where the main entertainment was watching the waves gently lap the shore. In between wave watching we found the opportunity to take a walk and photograph the local beauties.












Fisherman

Croatia’s coastline is very rocky. This is a mountainous country! Hoping to catch some dinner this man fishes from the huge rocks that line the coast.



























Molunat Bay

Our main evening activity, after watching the fishing boats come in was to open a bottle of wine and sit and enjoy the view from our balcony. Very peaceful. Molunat is a bit busier during the summer season, but when we arrived the first week in October we found a sleepy little town.










Fishing boat

Having seen better days, this fishing boat awaiting repairs caught our eye.















Sharon Swimming

It was a little bit chilly, but you can’t go to the Adriatic and NOT swim! The water here is absolutely beautiful. It’s crystal clear and very inviting. Jess joined me in the sea later in the week.











Sailing Ship

We saw this ship in Dubrovnik one day and the next day caught sight of it passing Molunat. Maybe they were following us?














Flowers

Even in October Croatia was filled with blooms, just waiting for us to photograph them. We definately class Croatia as one of the most beautiful places we’ve been! Everywhere you turn there’s another lovely view.












Fisherman coming home

A short walk up the road from our villa there was another bay. When we got tired of watching our fisherman we could walk down the road to see the other half of the town come home.












Another Butterfly

Ohh!















Yet Another!

Ahh!















Sheep

This guy was quite happy to be turned loose on the rocky hillside so he could find some choice weeds. It’s always very exciting to me when I see sheep leaping over the rocks. I guess it’s just because we don’t see them in Indiana very often.











Sally and Colin

Only one other couple were staying at Villa Marin while we were there and we thoroughly enjoyed their company. Here they enjoy a tour of the bay in a local fishing boat which the four of us hired one afternoon.











Fishing Boat in Cavtat

Another one in need of repairs. There’s just something about the worn wood and fading paint that catches our eye and demands we photograph it. This one was spotted while we toured the town of Cavtat.












Sharon

Cavtat is a rather exciting 30 minute bus ride from where we were staying. Here Sharon relaxes in the park, thankful to have arrived in one piece! Croatia’s roads are narrow and winding. Thank heavens we didn’t rent a car!













Jess and Sharon

Here we are enjoying a nice sea-side promenade in Cavtat. The rocky landscape behind us is very typical of Croatia. The trees seem to grow straight from the rock.













Cavtat

After a wonderful lunch sitting on the seaside promenade we left Cavtat by boat, headed for Dubrovnik. Here we have a view of the bay as we head out to sea.














Sharon

Sharon on the boat to Dubrovnik. We managed the whole journey without turning green and I think we only ate 7 bags of pretzels! Actually it was a very calm journey. The sea was smooth and our captain was a good driver.












Dinner

Croatian food is delicious and the waiters are all flirts! Jess really enjoyed all the sea creatures that they serve there and had fresh seafood nearly every night. Here we enjoy the last of our wine in a Cavtat restaurant.












Sea Creatures

Just what Jess was looking for! These fellows were set in front of the restaurant to um, entice us in I guess. Ugh. Didn’t work for Sharon who spent the week enjoying chicken and pork.













Walls of Dubrovnik

As we approached Dubrovnik from the sea we got a great view of the ancient city walls. This city was badly damaged during the war here in the early 1990’s but the city walls were spared, and the buildings have been repaired, making this once again a lovely medieveal city.











Church in Dubrovnik

Croatia is a mostly Catholic country and the cities and towns are full of small churches. On Sunday morning all the bells ring out, inviting people to Mass and echoing through the valleys.


























Bell

We decided to take the hike around the city walls and were rewarded with lovely views and interesting little architectural details such as these bells.












Church

By now we’d huffed and puffed our way to the highest point on the walls and had a lovely view of the city with the sea in the background. It was quite a hike, but well worth it. About now Jess was really wishing she’d worn her “sensible shoes” though.











Sea Gull

We were on our way down from the city walls when we saw this guy pausing for a rest. The red roofs in the background are what all the building looked like before the war, but nearly 2/3’s of the tile roofs were destroyed by bombing and some had to be replaced with a variety of yellow and brown tiles.










Sweet Little Kitten

This guy has got it made! He lives inside the walls of Dubrovnik where there are no cars to run him down and he’s made friends with the matre di, so he’s allowed to have his mid-afternoon nap on the plushy chairs. Nearby were the leftovers from his chicken dinner. He’s doing okay!










Dubrovnik Church

Dubrovnik is a wonderful, old city. The streets are made of cobblestone and are narrow and twisting. I was first in Dubrovnik 18 years ago when it was just a sleepy little place. Since the war ended it’s been “discovered” and the streets were teeming with people. This is a detail from one of the old churches in the center of town.
























Cross on the Hill

We weren’t sure of the significance of this cross, but both of us are drawn to images like this. We were waiting in Dubrovnik for a bus that never came, but that’s another story! We had a lovely time there and were lucky to get home for the evening.










Kotor Bay, Montenegro

We spent a day touring the nearby country of Montenegro. Here is a picture of an old monastery, built on an island in Kotor Bay.













Kotor Church

We stopped in a city called Kotor. It’s a medieval city with streets so narrow you can almost touch the buildings on each side. Montenegro is mostly Eastern Othodox in religion, and seeing their priests coming through the narrow streets in their black robes made me feel like I was in another era.











Window and Shutter

Montenegro is a very poor country as is partly evident in this detail of a window frame in someone’s home. According to our guide as much as 60% of the adult population is unemployed and Montenegro is struggling with the challenge of converting to a democratic government.










Church on the Hill

Someone hiked up Kotor’s city walls to this church, but it wasn’t us! More than 1600 steps are involved to reach the top. As you can see, Montenegro is a very mountainous country.













Fisherman

Just outside the city walls this man fishes for his lunch.














View from Mount Lovcen

Or at least I think it’s Mount Lovcen. The place names here are hard to pronounce and even harder to commit to memory! Anyway, it was a lovely view and I’ll never forget the hair raising ride to the top in our huge tour bus. We came around 25 switchback turns, one after another, and all the while we were only inches from the cliff’s edge.









Sally and Colin

Our travel companions for the day smile with relief after surviving the ride to the top! You enjoy the view all the more after the experience of getting there. Whatever you do, don’t lean backward!













Jess and Sharon

Looking a bit wild and slightly green after the ride up, we’re looking forward to our lunch break where we’re having sandwiches of home made bread with local cheese and ham.












Rural Montenegro

Safely on the inside of the mountains and completely surrounded by them we stopped in this small town for our lunch. This was a lovely rural farming community where donkeys still hauled things around and the farmers were out with their pitchforks and hoes.










Church Detail 1

We stopped in the city of Budva which is another medieval city. It’s located near some lovely beaches and appears to benefit from the tourism the beaches bring in. It’s clean and in good repair and we had a lovely afternoon visit. These detail shots are from one of the local churches and were seen above many doors and city gates.









Church Detail 2

















Jess

Here Jess enjoys the view of the Montenegro countryside and the sea. Montenegro seems to have larger mountains than Croatia, but Croatia had more sun. Maybe it was just the day we were there though.











Church Detail 3

Well, I guess we have lots of shots of churches because there are lots of churches and they’re mostly really old and interesting looking! This one has a nice stripy look to it, built in red and white stone.


























Good-byes

From left to right: Andre (the owner of our villa), Sharon, Jess, Sally and Colin. Here we are on the community terrace of the villa waiting for our ride to the airport.