Crumbling walls

I've been thinking about walls lately, no doubt influenced by my impending trip to China and the greatest Wall of all. But here we are in the former Yugoslavia, enjoying a stay in Dubrovnik, an ancient  city that’s defined by its walls. I'm with Suzanne, who joined us in Zurich for this trip to Croatia.

Laundry lines, Split

In the mid-eighties, our Kombi van trundled down the Yugoslav coast, having recovered from an engine transplant in Munich. My memories of that drive are vague but I do recall being dazzled by the beauty of Split and Dubrovnik and the coastline in between.

Oh wait. Back home, Bruce has found our old travel journal and sent me a photo of the relevant pages. It seems we were also preoccupied by bathroom facilities and house-building styles. Really? And my final comment - "The Yugoslav red wine slips down smoothly but what will we feel like in the morning?" Sadly, the next day's entry failed to answer this burning question.

So much has happened in the world since. Only five years later, cracks began to appear in the Wall dividing west from east. As the Soviet Union crumbled, Dalmatians broke away from Yugoslavia, which led to civil war and then, in the aftermath, redefined borders. From socialist state to tourist mecca, Croatia has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Back to the future. It was a shortish Saturday morning flight from Zurich to Croatia on the delightfully named Edelweiss Air service, though sadly there was no sign of a husky-voiced Captain von Trapp and his beloved guitar on board.

Our destination was the port of Trogir where we were met by an array of handsome looking boats. Ours was the San Snova, a gleaming 30 metre wooden motor launch, which, once we three were on board (apparently, we were the last to make it to the ship), upped anchor and headed out to sea.

The San Snova, berthed at Stari Grad

You may be wondering how in the world I had managed to entice Biker Boy offshore. Well, it turns out that it’s possible to cruise and cycle in Croatia. Island hopping it’s called, and just about every boat on the Trogir wharf that afternoon was loading bikes as well as passengers.

The San Snova had a point of difference though, in that it offered both mountain biking and touring options on the same cruise. Some months ago when booking the tour, I had been forced to choose between spouse and sister-in-law.  Would I sedately ride the tarseal with Suzanne, or take up my accustomed place behind Tour Leader on the more challenging rocky trails?

Opting for off-road excitement, I was rewarded with a pretty blue bike, with all the bells and whistles. Well, no actual bell, because mountain bikers don't do frills, but there was full suspension, along with a dropper post and reassuringly knobbly tyres.

Of the 30 passengers aboard the San Snova, we mountain bikers (five Swiss, two Kiwis) were a tight group of seven, led by the irrepressibly cheerful and fearless Marko. On Day 1 he challenged each of us to ride down a flight of stone steps. I chickened out. On our last day of riding, another set of steps presented itself. Marko saw that I needed to do this, gave me some technical advice (“No brakes!”) and sent me down. Legend.

Another hill climb done and dusted

There are 1,200 islands off the Croatian coast. We ticked off only a few on our seven-day biking cruise but each village we cycled through turned out to be another colourful jewel set against the deep blue Adriatic sea.

The week was a blur of dusty trails, steep (“undulating”) hills, beautiful villages and timely beer and coffee stops. And, on board, good company and hearty (read, meat at every meal) Croatian food.

Here's a video created by a talented couple onboard the San Snova, Wilma and Chris. It captures our week beautifully: Southern Dalmatia Tour 2019

When our floating hotel berthed a week later, Suzanne and I saw Bruce off to the bus station – the first stage of his long journey back to New Zealand. For we girls though, still on a post-cycling high, there was fun to be had in Split. Our bijou apartment – aka a tiny room with kitchen – was nestled right into the walls of Diocletian’s Palace.

Diocletian, a Roman emperor who built the palace as his grandiose retirement villa in 300 AD, surely loved his walls. The old town is a delightful labyrinth of narrow alleyways, each with their own enticing waiters and cajoling retailers. We enjoyed an afternoon and evening strolling through the old town's pedestrian streets, honing bargaining skills and gate-crashing wedding parties.

Split nuptials

A day later, we took to the water again, catching a fast cat ferry to Dubrovnik. It was a challenge to discover that our apartment was at the top of the old town, almost right on the city wall. To be precise, we were 122 ancient stone steps above the main street. But we were in training for our Great Wall trek and were not to be deterred.

Dubrovnik has been around in some  form since at least the 8th century and is no stranger to conflict. At various times, it has had Byzantine, Venetian, Serbian and Ottoman rulers. In 1991,  the collapse of Yugoslavia saw the emergence of the new nation of Croatia. In the ensuing conflict,  the city was besieged for seven months by the Jugoslav National Army with the loss of many lives.

Marking a life lost during the siege of Dubrovnik 

Today, though, the invaders are tourists. Ironically, Dubrovnik's walls, which were built as a defence against invaders, now attract an annual invasion of hundreds of thousands of visitors, most of them from the 500-plus cruise ships that berth here each year. It's a city under siege once again.

Old port

We did our best to avoid the waves of humanity flooding through Pile Gate each morning, by kayaking around the perimeter  of the walls one day and climbing 500 metres up to Napoleon Bonaparte's fortress the next.


My lasting memory of this beautiful World Heritage-listed city is of the pre-dawn limestone-paved Stradun (main street). Deserted but for two Kiwis towing suitcases – on our way to catch an early flight. Before the hordes of visitors breach the gates.

Early morning Dubrovnik