We visited the old Albanian capital of Kruje. Our stop included a museum dedicated to Skanderbeg, a national hero from the 1400’s who held back the attempted invasion of Albania by the Ottomans and a delightful Ethnographic Museum that preserved an 18th century Ottoman house – yes, the Turks finally made it into Albania.

After a Sunday spent wandering the old capitol, On Monday we visited the UNESCO world heritage site of Burint. This archaeological site tells the history of the area from the Illyrians and Greeks on to the Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottoman Turks. There is still much to be excavated, so mysteries hidden for up to 2500 years remain. Sarande is attempting to become a tourist destination, however between the illegally built structures the government is attempting to tear down and the lack of foreign investment due to the recession, Sarande has a long way to go. There are dozens of buildings under construction, with no sign that progress has been made in months, if not years.

After their divorce, Marjorie painted the ship white and renamed it the Sea Cloud. Beginning with service with the US Navy in WW II (she was IX 99), she has been owned by a dictator, the Dominican Republic’s Trujillo, a floating brothel – his son kept her moored near Los Angeles and held orgies on her, abandoned in the mud near Colon Panama and then finally reoutfitted, 20 guest cabins added and reintroduced to the world as a glorious cruise ship. The original 10 cabins were also refurbished, so it is possible to stay in an owner’s cabin or be a butler for the cruise.

There are 52 guests on board as well as expedition staff and crew. The food is wonderful, the shore excursions well done, cabins comfortable and just a pleasant place to hang out and watch. The world go by. It will be an adjustment to go home and take care of ourselves as well as missing the wonderful warm Mediterranean weather.

The medieval aspects of the city are overshadowed by the disturbing remnants of the “recent” war. With the death of strongman Tito, a power vacuum resulted in the Balkans and Tito’s 25 year effort to create a Yugoslav identity faded into history. While few areas of Yugoslavia were in fact ethnically dominated by one group, the politicians and more vocal citizens acted as if there were more ethnically pure regions. The Serbs seem to have been the most outspoken about their needs to be recognized and honored. Time passed, demands increased and fighting began.

The scars of war are evident in Mostar with bombed out buildings throughout the city. Walls pockmarked with bullet holes are a reminder of the recent conflict. The emotional scars are also evident. Our local guide mentioned multiple times that the ethnic groups are getting along, divisions are forgotten, friendships are crossing the ethnic divide. Given how often we were reassured that all was well, I suspect there is still significant animosity between the different groups.

This is the last major stop before we head back to Dubrovnik and board the Sea Cloud for our cruise down the coast.

From Mostar, we spent the rest of Tuesday afternoon driving back to Dubrovnik to board our ship, the Sea Cloud. She is a 4 masted sailing ship, built in 1931 by EF Hutton for his bride Marjorie Merriweather Post. I will share more of her history in a future post.

We departed from Dubrovnik sailing North to the island of Hvar. Fair winds greeted us, so our first morning on board we were treated to the crew going aloft to loosen the gaskets and set the sails. It is quite a site to see at the 3 crews climb the rigging, at some points about 180 feet above the water. There are 19 hardy souls on the sail setting crew. I have no plans to volunteer to help.

We spent Wednesday afternoon wandering the medieval town of Hvar. The island is heavily agricultural and a major producer of lavender. The kiosks selling lavender sachets and oil were a delightful change from the usual junk.

Wednesday evening we cast off for an overnight sail to Korcula. The weather deteriorated and many of the passengers woke up about 4 am to a terrific downpour, lightening and deafening thunder. I missed the whole event, dreaming away under my feather comforter.

Within a few hours, the weather cleared and we continued on our way, docking by the city wall. Korcula is reputed to be the home of Marco Polo. The town was part of the Venetian Empire from the 14th to 18th centuries, leaving a major impact on the architecture. I will spare you the description of Venetians facades, churches and number of steps to get from one side of the city to the other. The walled part of Korcula is quite compact and easily navigable. Here we enjoyed our first local entertainment. There is a tradition of sword dancing or the Moreska. The dance is a combat dance telling the story of the Black king stealing the princess, the fiancée of the white king. The requires years of practice to become skillful with the swords. In the end the black king is defeated and the princess returns to her love. Most interesting to me was the casting. All the black army dancers are shorted and more slightly built than the white army. The king of the white army was the largest male on the stage.

After our evening in Korcula, we sailed south towards Dubrovnik, arriving in the old harbor early in the morning. Friday morning sunshine greeted us for our second visit to Dubrovnik. We repeated the walk on the city wall, enjoying the sunny skies and gentle breeze. At midnight we said goodby to Croatia and headed south to Montenegro.

Split is an ancient city. Nearby are the ruins of Salona, the Roman city believed to be the birthplace of Diocletian. After his years as emperor and harassing Christians, he stepped down (unusual in itself as most Roman emperors didn’t retire, they died) and headed for Split to build his retirement palace. At a mere 31,000 square meters, it is a charming place, now home to about 3,000 people, 220 buildings and at one time over 200 columns from Egypt brought in by ship 2 per ship. Imagine living in a walled city where the architectural code is overseen by UNESCO. Even changing the floor in your apartment must be overseen by an archeologist.

The Christians did get back at Diocletian – they threw his remains into the sea and turned his mausoleum into a cathedral.

We also visited the home of Ivan Mestrovic, a prolific and accomplished sculptor. There were many of his works on display representing different periods.

BTW, Split is short for the Croation word for Scotch Broom, the Croatioan national flower.

Time to pack. Will add photos next time I can get on line.