Anne and I are doing well. You might think there aren't many tourists from the USA, but we hear American English in most every city we go to. Here's what we've been doing:
Friday 9/24: Today we took a car ferry from Split to Hvar, Croatia, for an enjoyable day with beautiful weather. There's a high fortress with rounded walls. We visit two quiet seaside villages before returning to Split. Croatia is predominantly Catholic, so we don't see mosques.
9/25: On our way to Dubrovnik, we pass the town of Medugorje where in 1981 a handful of kids claim the Virgin Mary appeared to them. We didn't stop by. Along the roadside are numerous sellers of mandarins, fruit jellies, honey, candied nuts, watermelons. Before we reach Dubrovnik, we have to re-enter Bosnia and Herzegovina and travel their coastline for about 20 km before we re-enter Croatia. Croatia is building a bridge to one of their peninsulas in order to avoid having to cross borders for that short stretch of coastal road. B & H isn't happy because they'll lose revenue when/if tourists and others bypass their country. We arrive in Dubrovnik, formerly known as Ragusa from probably the 7th C. It is so crowded with tourists. The fortified walls are spectacular; we learn that they have never been breached. It seems hard to believe the city was beseiged for 8 months in 1991 during the Croatian Independence War. Our hotel is located outside the town on a little bay of the Adriatic. This place had a system of elevators to different levels between 2 buildings. Nice hotel, unpleasant trying to navigate through, though.
9/26: We are going to enjoy the warm sunshine, so Branko gets the day off. Anne went swimming in the Adriatic. My bathing suit was in Branko's trunk, so I sunbathed on our terrace. We had told the front desk we'd like to take a boat ride to see the iconic fortress/castle from the water. They found a boat available to take us. Joseph was cute, proud of his boat, but his English was limited. We told him we wanted to see the fortress and some islands. We went north and west, stopped for lunch, drove by our hotel, then told him we should go south to the fortress. It was getting late and he was a bit surprised by our request. He hadn't understood. Not enough daylight to go see it. Disappointing, but we had a nice lunch and lovely boat ride. Croatia is beautiful, much more than I ever imagined.
9/27: We crossed into Montenegro again. There was a little rain and wind, so we didn't visit Perast. But we did enjoy the drive around Kotor's Bay and our walk in the Old town. One merchant calls to us from about 15' away "Definitely 100% American". We aren't sure just what made him so sure. We continued on to Budva and dined on sole.
9/28: We have left the Dinaric Alps behind; we climb up into the Orion and Lovcen mountains to Cetinje, the former capital, and walk the town. Anne and Branko climb 461 steps to see Njegosh Peter Mausoleum while I exercise my brain and do sudokus on the ground level during their absence. This area is known for its prosciutto and cheese, but curiously we don't see any pigs in the fields. We sample the specialties for lunch along with olives and yummy bread. Branko orders a grilled hot pepper and can manage about a third of it.
9/29: We see more of the Montenegro coastline as we head south and then leave the sea coast for a couple days, crossing into Albania again. This is a wonderful time of the year; we see trees heavy with apples and pomegranates. In Kruja we walk to the castle and museum of Skanderbeg's rebellion against Ottoman rule in 1443. In a small cafe we enjoy a coffee and a mystery dessert that Branko has been hinting about. Kabuni is a specialty here; it looks like a plate of rice with honey, but it traditionally is made with wheat berries that are caramelized along with small raisins, maybe some nuts. And the secret ingredient is a small portion of the meat from a Ram's neck. You would probably never know it. It was tasty, but we both got heart burn later. In 2007, George W. Bush was the first American president to visit post-Communist Albania. Branko told us that during his visit, he was shaking hands with the crowds of people -- and somehow his watch was taken off his wrist. This was a huge embarrassment for the country. But 24 hours later, the watch was returned to the president. And there's a statue in Fushe Kruja of 'W' in short sleeves, his left arm up in the arm waving, without a wristwatch! We arrive in Tirana, the capital city. Our hotel is located in the Blloku neighborhood, a hip and trendy area now; during Communist rule the area was restricted to the party elite.
9/30: This morning there's 100% chance of rain. Branko is going to 'the office' today to take care of some paperwork. Spiekermann Travel contracted with Albtus Travel here in Tirana, who hired Branko to guide us for 40 days. The weather clears for a while, and we take a walk around town. Tomorrow we go back into North Macedonia for a couple days.
