Monday was our last day at Camping Belvedere, so we made the most of it doing our last minute chores and then spending the morning on the ‘beach’ (concrete and gravel really) and swimming in the surprisingly warm Adriatic.
We spent the evening having a drink with our new friends from Rotterdam, Onno and Marjolein Slinger, at their caravan. We’ve been exchanging pleasantries with them the whole time we’ve been at the site, but this was the first time we have spent the evening together. It was very entertaining, as they both speak excellent English, and we got a good insight into what the Dutch think of us Brits, and recent events surrounding Brexit. Not much it seems, as they can’t understand us wanting to leave the EU!
Tuesday we were away from the site by just after ten, having said goodbye to all our friends on site – Dutch, German and Austrian, and drove to Dubrovnik. It took us just under 5 hours, as whilst half was a very good motorway, the rest was on the single carriageway coast road, which twists and turns its way alongside the Adriatic – great views though! You also pass through a tiny bit of Bosnia, which involves a customs post in and then out again. We were in Bosnia for less than 10 minutes!
However we had started to notice a strange creaking noise which seemed to be coming from the tow hitch, but fortunately it didn’t seem to be causing any problems. Something for us to investigate though.
We arrived at the site in Dubrovnik – named Solitudo – mid afternoon in 30 degree heat, and chose our pitch. Things then started to go downhill. Firstly, the motor movers (the motors which allow us to move the caravan with a remote control) simply didn’t work. We’d had to replace the battery in the handset that morning as it had run down, but in the afternoon – nothing! We then discovered one of the unwritten rules of caravanning; when someone is pushing their caravan into position as we were now obliged to do, all the men in the surrounding area descend and help out. It took us just a couple of minutes to get the van into position, with lots of ‘thank you’s’ and handshakes all round afterwards. Then, when we’d got everything levelled, water butt filled, waste connected, legs down – the electricity tripped. I tried another socket on the supply box – still tripped. Then one of the neighbours shouted to me; ‘Hey English, this box is kaput!’ Needless to say my lead was too short to reach the next one.
I trudged to reception, where they helpfully suggested that I move, as they were unlikely to get the offending boxes fixed for a couple of days. I explained why I was reluctant (motor movers not working, very hot, long day etc.), so instead they lent me a long lead, which allowed us to connect to a box further afield – all good, albeit it’s still 30 degrees!
Things improved after that, and we were able to explore the area on foot (there’s a beach with stunning views, and a large hotel wth an amazing swimming pool which we have the use of), cook some tea, and sit outside as the evening cooled.
The next day I spent the first hour on the phone to the motor mover supplier, who I have to say were very helpful. We’ve managed to establish the problem is the communication between the handset and the unit itself, as it works when you connect the two with a lead. Geoff is bringing out a long lead and a new handset, so we’ll see if we can get it to work again. We then erected the canopy to give us a bit more shade and extra living space for when Karen and Geoff join us at the weekend, found the local big supermarket and did a bit of a shop, and then caught the bus into Dubrovnik.
Wow! What a fabulous city! The old walled part is traffic free, and only just bigger than Knaresborough town centre, but it is so picturesque! We just wandered around admiring the beautiful buildings, and taking in the atmosphere. We ended up stopping for a drink at a cliffside bar (Buza 2) overlooking the Adriatic, followed by dinner and then the bus back. We’re saving ‘doing’ Dubrovnik until Karen and Geoff arrive on Sunday.
Thursday we awoke to find the canopy had blown down! There was a stiff breeze, but nothing that should have caused a problem. Unfortunately the pitch we’ve chosen is loose shale, so the pegs aren’t biting enough to hold. So we will have to move after all! Unable to face moving just yet we packed the canopy away and went out for the day.
We set off to explore the coast road back towards Split, and on to Orebic, which is at the end of a 50 km peninsula off the coast road. The reason for the trip was twofold – one, to see the beautiful scenery, and two, to check out some other campsites for when we want to move on. What struck us was how quiet the peninsula camp sites were compared to those in Split and Dubrovnik. And the scenery was breathtaking! The pictures we took frankly don’t do it justice.
However, the downside is that the road is very narrow and winding and very steep in places. It is possible to take the caravan, but you’d need to stay for a week to recover from the journey! Another consideration is Croatian van drivers, who travel within inches of your rear bumper, and overtake on blind bends, ignoring unbroken white lines! They are very intimidating, but I guess if I couldn’t see them with the caravan behind me…..No, we’re not going to chance it but I’m glad we visited to get a taste of the place.
We keep bumping into people we’ve met before. When we checked into Solitudo the French guy in front of us had been at Belvedere and had pulled out of the site in front of us. Also whilst looking for somewhere to eat in Orebic we heard a shout ‘Hey!” – it was the Austrian couple who’d been almost opposite us also at Belvedere – and we thought we were being original our trip!
Orebic is a big wine making area, and the road is dotted with signs offering wine tasting and sales. Some are quite professional, but many appear home made – nothing like the manicured offerings in Cape Town. We stopped at a home made sign, and immediately the lady of the house popped out and ushered us into their cellar which was more like a large garage. She poured us some wine straight from the barrel – we tasted three, and bought a couple of litres of red, and one of white. You paid less if it was in plastic bottles, which is great for us in the caravan anyway, so we got the lot for less than a tenner! It’s also some of the better wine we’ve had in Croatia!
We’ve made some more friends – this time a German couple – Willi and Elke Seidel from Stuttgart who seem fascinated in our trip, and are clearly envious! They too gave us some insight into what the Germans make of Brexit – their view is that Europe needs to remain together more than ever in the light of growth in terrorism, and to avoid the nationalist rhetoric which is more prevalent now than at anytime in the last 60 years. They seem very aware of where this sort of nationalism left them last time round. Maybe we should take more note?
We swapped pitches on Friday and are now ‘across the road’ on firmer ground. Once more the other campers rallied round to help us push the caravan into position. We then spent a quiet day by the pool, and doing a few chores when it was too hot in the middle of the day. We then walked into town – about 20 minutes away, and found a vibrant precinct full of restaurants and bars, with lots of people out for dinner, drinks or just an evening stroll. We stopped for a quick pasta dinner and then returned to the site. When we’d checked in, the receptionist told us that the site was hosting a Craft Beer Festival on Friday and Saturday. When we returned it was in full swing with bands playing (very loud) and lots of people about. We gave it a miss and armed with earplugs retired to bed! Maybe tomorrow evening!