Plitvice to Dubrovnik...hitch hikers, too, April 30

Today, we said goodbye to our wonderful Croat hosts, Ana and her daughter Daniela and her little boy, Vito.  We had a great breakfast first.  Five young people had checked in and, during the breakfast conversation, we found that one of the women, Julie, went to school with Jasper Young, one of our former students and a Drama Club member.  In the wilds of Croatia in a little five-room bed and breakfast!  What are the odds?

We drove to Dubrovnik, first on a secondary road, then to a motorway.  We stopped at a rest stop and were persuaded to pick up two young Polish hit hikers.  They were among 1000 Polish kids in two-person teams hitching the whole way in a contest.  "Auto Stop Race".  We ended up taking them the whole way to their campsite, a few miles past Dubrovnik.  Pavel and Yacov.  It made our little car crowded. But they were pretty interesting.

We crossed briefly into Bosnia Herzegovina for about 30 kilometers, but did have to wait a bit at the border.  We were on twisty mountainous roads for the last 90 kilometers, then dropped into a big, fertile delta.

We had to wait for two hours to get into our flat as the owner, Refika, was at work.  We drove down to a nearby beach to where the Poles are camping and came across a shocking, depressing and surprising sight - a whole area of bombed resorts and apartments.  So close to Dubrovnik.  We did not expect this at all, always thinking do it as such a famous resort.  Anyhow, to waste time, we got pizza and some groceries.  Then, we met Refika and she showed us how to back down in a zig zag in four switchbacks to the parking spot way above the old town of Dubrovnik.  We have never seen anything like the access!  Bravo to Mark!
 
But, what a view we have....on a wonderful terrace.  The lights of the walled city are wonderful and bells  toll.