You can take a taxi to the top!Mountain Srdj
Croatia
Dubrovnik (Croatia)
This morning, there were two king-size cruise ships anchored in the front of the harbor. Garth was talking about nothing but hiking to Mount Srdj all Thursday long, so I agreed to do it. Dubrovnik is hemmed in on one side by the mountain and on the other by the sea. We could not find the ascent to the path and kept asking locals for directions. They only would say that it is a long hike up there and we should go by car. They were right.
In total, it was a 2-hour climb up a steep mountain. It was kind of crowded on the trail – about 7 people passed us – all were Western tourists. There were more of them on the top of the Mount Srdj.
They took taxis to the top and missed the unforgettable view of the town of Dubrovnik and its harbors. The attraction of this mountain is also the remains of a bombed chair lift that was used until the 1991 siege and the ruins of a fort Napoleon had atop the mountain when they annexed the republic in the early 1800s. It was kind of a creepy site that gave me goose bumps. However, the view and the Mediterranean vegetation (wild rosemary bushes, old pine trees, huge cedars, and dry flowers) and the fauna (cows and donkeys) were more than spectacular. This arid place was a mixture of dry breeze, amazing views and evidence of war. We decided to take a different way down by way of the nearby village Bosanka. It still showed many remnants of the recent Balkan Wars of the early 1990s (ruins of salient, bunkers, and homes were lined up along the main path). We peeled off to find our track back down to Dubrovnik and then quickly hurried back to the path, fearing leftover and forgotten land mines. We found the right path and descended the mountain.
We enjoyed the light feeling of the gorgeous view and flora on the mountainside, picking marvelous bouquet of dry flowers, pomegranate, figs, kiwi, and rosemary. The bouquet made it safely home and is sitting in a vase on top of our fridge. The hillside was like a dream between the Earth and the sky. The rocky path made out of while limestone and marble quarried from the mountain zigzagged like a stairway to the town, which stretched along the hillside to the bay.
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Here is a VIDEO of the drive to the top--fast forward to the end--take a Dramamine first!
But looks really good to me puddin!