Taking the high road from Split to Dubrovnik.

The coastal road from Split to Dubrovnik was slow going, high up on the cliff side, with all sorts of twists, turns and many exasperatingly slow traffic patches. But it was never boring, with absolutely stunning scenery and a view of the Adriatic all the way. I enjoyed this drive far more than the boring highway drive we had made from Opatija to Split.

The 220km (135 miles) took an astounding 4-1/2 hours, and at the end we gratefully landed in our new home in Cavtat. Cavtat is just down the coast from Dubrovnik, and we are in a quiet neighborhood above the beach. We will stay here for seven nights total... a nice long rest. I had a hard time making the booking, as most places were full up, and finally had to settle for a small apartment with no view and a kitchen that basically amounts to a hot plate with a sink. To put a positive spin on things … it’s VERY “cozy!” And it will be a fine base for explorations of nearby Dubrovnik, Montenegro, and maybe even Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We got settled in a bit, and Steve left the room for a long time to work out the Internet Situation (there is none in our room). They left Steve unattended for a moment and he somehow highjacked their router and now we have a wireless signal in the room. I don’t know how these things work, but am happy to be with someone who does!

We then drove down to the beach area to check things out. Craziness! Cars lined every available inch that wasn’t covered by Speedo-clad bodies. We picked our way through the melee, trying to avert our eyes from the abundance of cellulite and man-boobs. We finally made it to our destination: a dive shop located in one of the beach hotels. There are some interesting-sounding wreck dives in the area, and we plan to partake in one or two of them.

Having that settled, we then stocked our wee kitchen with supplies from the wee grocer across the street from our apartment. We spent the evening as homebodies, cooking up spaghetti, surfing the web, marveling at Michael Phelps, and watching some bad TV.  I read an entire novel that I found in the reception area, and there are more where that came from, to be read later. All is well -- and “cozy” -- here in Cavtat.