“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” - Jawaharlal Nehru

We decided to do the "Three Island Fish Picnic" excursion on our first full day in Dubrovnik. After some confusion at the pick up ending with Whitney waiting by herself while I went to get my phone and an old guy in a white van asking her, "You want to get in my van?", we made it to the boat. The old guy ended up being our captain, skipper, driver, tour guide, and chef for the day, Marco.

 

We went to three islands (hence the name of the tour): Kolocep, Lopud, and Sipan. The ride to the first island was peaceful seas, and we enjoyed the view and finally not sweating. Whit and I debated the Amanda Knox trial, which ended up being awkward considering the couple sitting right next to us was from Italy, one being a law student. Then Marco brought out the grocery basket of unlimited wine, and we all introduced ourselves by nationality so that Marco could stereotype us all day. Wine and stereotypes before 10am, and we were off on our cruise.

On the first island we started our usual Croatia pattern: church then beach. God was smiling.

We made it to the second island, which is known for its olive oil, wine, and hard workers. Again, we churched, then beached. The beaches were mostly rocky, so we had to develop a very graceful "belly first" method of getting in and out of the water. Getting out proved to be a challenge when I literally got beached on the rocks and couldn't get up. Like a whale. Good thing I'm not looking for a husband or any social acceptance.

Chef Marco served us a delicious lunch of whole fish and salad. It actually was really good, and we were happy as soon as the grocery basket of wine came back out. The waters got really choppy, however, so we strongly considered that this might be our last meal ever. Whit and I ate with the Italian couple who ended up not hating us, at least not to our face, and the four of us finished up the fish and wine at island number three. We then did church and beach. We saw the signs indicating no exposed shoulders or legs... on our way out in our bikinis. God wasn't smiling so much.

The best beach was all the way on the other side of the island. You could take golf carts, but between the mob mentality and the wine, we decided to walk. There and back. The water was much calmer on the other side, and the beach was of course beautiful. Team Italy and Team USA even beat Team Ireland, who took the golf carts, back to the boat. International relations with Italy are now up, but Ireland could use some work considering all of the trash talking that went on. Apparently Marco's stereotypes were contagious. Croatians...

We took off for home port in the choppiest waters yet. We almost lost our Italian friends once, but then Marco popped us head up from behind the wheel with some red wine and righted the ship. We went to drinks with the group, sans Marco who I'm pretty sure didn't need more drinks, and then to dinner with the Italians.

On our way home from dinner we got stuck in a protest in front of city hall. Whit asked what the protest was about, and apparently the people were upset about the sale of land to develop a golf course nearby. We were confused because they were protesting in a circle, and in the middle if the circle there were a bunch of chairs and lamps set up. Whit tried to find a protester that wasn't too passionate to ask them what important part of the protest the chairs symbolized. She asked a woman what was going on who gave her the run down of the golf course debate, so she said, yes, but what about the chairs? The woman looked at Whit and said, "Oh! That's for a play about a party". The play was surrounded and totally unrelated, obviously. The show must go on.

The next day, as the romantic couple we are, we went to "Lovers Island", Lokrum. What is not romantic, however, is that no one in Croatia neuters their dogs. So between the dogs and the speedos, Whit and I just kept our heads down. Anyway, Lokrum is haunted, so it is illegal to spend the night on the island. It also boasts a botanical garden, beaches, a fort, a lake (called the Dead Sea), and a monastery. We took the little ferry over and went to the botanical garden first. I am pretty sure my little front yard has more vegetation than this botanical garden. We were underwhelmed.

We stopped at the little cave / sea / lake and then headed to the beach. The beach is made up of huge, flat, rocks to lay on and jump off of. The water was freezing, but we went in anyway... after I pushed Whitney in I thought I should go too.

Our hunt for the fortress took us the most time since it seemed all of the trails were closed, and we were so freaking hot. We finally walked to the other side of the island and past a barrier to get there. Rebels. It definitely felt haunted since there was no one else up there. We took some pictures from the watchtower at the top and then needed a beach break. Tough day.

After the ferry ride back to Dubrovnik we needed a gelato break (again, rough day), and then we went to find the famous Buza Bar that is just on the other side of the city wall with rocks to swim off of. The beer was way overpriced, but considering the show we got from the Brazilians that were there in their skimpy suits, it was a steal.

On our way home we picked up a bottle of wine to drink while getting ready for dinner. We found a cute place in the alley next to our hotel. They had the best pasta, and the owner decided that he liked us so we also had free wine all night. Of course we got free wine on the night we definitely only needed water. When in Rome, though, so then we went to another bar with the owner and his friend and girlfriend. And then really when in Rome, we went to a club with them IN the city wall. When in Dubrovnik.