This morning, we woke up at 7:30AM with the plan of leaving the hotel at 8AM for the airport.  We had a continental breakfast provided by the hotel.

We boarded the 8AM shuttle to the airport and boarded the fight from Rome to Dubrovnik, arriving at Dubrovnik at about noon.  The Uber ride from the airport to old town was a very scenic drive on a windy road overlooking the ocean.

Mike and I left our suitcases at Mike’s hostel, Villa Angelina, and we went out for breakfast to a nice restaurant in Old.  Almost all of the restaurants in Old Town provide only outdoor seating, which provides for a pleasant atmosphere for pedestrians and diners.  We each ordered an omelette and split a cheese ravioli.

We spent the next couple of hours walking on/around the old walls in Dubrovnik.  The walls were built between the 12th and 15th century and are an impressive structure.  The circumference of the walls is about 2km, and the walls (and built-in forts) provide essential security/protection for the otherwise highly vulnerable coastal old city.  The views from the wall were wide open in all directions, except looking inland toward the mountain Fort Imperial.  Also, the red tile roofs together wth the limestone buildings made for beautiful, picturesque views.

After the walking tour, I chose to hike up to Fort Imperial, and Mike chose the buggy adventure.  Before heading up to Mt Imperial, I visited the cathedral inside the old city and also the fortress just outside of the Old City.

Next, I ventured out of the old city and started walking up toward the general direction of Fort Imperial.  With the help of a few locals, I located the Trailhead and started on the steep, constant switchbacks.  The lower part of the trail was shaded, but the upper 80% of the trail was fully exposed to the sun (apparently due to a wildfire a few years ago).  The surface of the trail consisted of rocks about 1-6 inches in diameter, which made the hike a bit more unstable and uncomfortable than a compacted dirt trail.  After about an hour hiking in the heat of the day, I arrived at Fort Imperial and enjoyed the panoramic view of coastal Dubrovnik.

After 15 minutes of relaxing at the peak, I descended on the trail back to Dubrovnik to meet up with Mike at the hostel for the sunset tour.  We lost the tour during a stop at a mini-market, but enjoyed the sunset at a nice viewpoint, and then ate a pizza dinner at a nice restaurant.

After eating dinner, we discussed transportation to Split, ultimately deciding on taking the Catamaran boat at 4PM, which would transport us to Split by 8PM.  We will then be able to make full use of Tuesday at Krka Park.

At this time, it was about 10:30PM and I needed to start heading toward Villa Divine to check in for the night.  I arrived there around 11, showered, and used my laptop in the common room.  During the night, I enjoyed meeting the two Indian/Kenyan guys from London (on a short weekend trip) and the “opposite of sober” girl from Australia who was sharing olives with everyone in the common room.