Welcome To Cavtat
Since we're now cooped up indoors for the foreseeable future while this pandemic plays out, I've found the time and motivation to pull my holiday photos out of the archives, prepare a photo story, and enjoy the feeling of reliving my week in Croatia.
Last July I hopped on a plane to Dubrovnik Airport with my boyfriend Michael. We'd decided to spend a week in the quaint, coastal town of Cavtat.
Cavtat was comprised of a mix of charming buildings and old fishing boats by the harbour, as well as luxury yachts anchored on the promenade. It was the middle of the summer, so the sun was high in the sky and it was a toasty 30℃ most days. The sparkling, clear blue sea looked very inviting.
Wandering around Cavtat, taking in its picturesque views, and stopping for cocktails or calamari became our favourite past time.
Croatia & Its Cats
One of the first things I noticed about Croatia was the sheer amount of cats you'll spot strolling about or soaking up the sun on any day. Later I learned from a local that there's a feeling of respect that Croatian people have for cats since the time the Black Plague swept across the country and much of Europe in the 1300s. It was spread by fleas living on rats, so cats were the at the frontline of attack in curbing the spread of the disease.
This little kitten was impossibly cute with those gorgeous, two-toned eyes.
Lokrum Island
On our second day of our trip we travelled to Lokrum Island on a leisurely, 45 minute boat ride from Cavtat harbour. The island is home to a monastery, beautiful botanical gardens, and later we realised (after stumbling upon it), a nudist beach.
However the reason we were so keen to visit Lokrum was because we read that it was also home to very tame rabbits and peacocks roaming the island. I have photographic proof that this was indeed the case!
Dubrovnik
Early in the week we hopped on the bus and travelled up to Dubrovnik where we met with a group of people to go kayaking around the historic city walls and snorkelling in nearby caves. Our tour guide, Mitar, shared stories of the city's history and culture during our breaks between kayaking across the sea, and we even paddled beside the world's first quarantine zone that was built as a response to the Black Plague. I suppose the self-quarantining we're doing now in the comfort of our own home doesn't seem so bad in comparison after all.
Later in the week we returned to Dubrovnik to step inside the medieval, walled city.
We grabbed a couple of tickets to walk the ancient walls that encompass the hundreds of orange roofs nestled in The Old Town. It provided spectacular views over the city, the cliffs the city was built on, and Lokrum Island across the bay.
