16 If Walls Could Talk

In the late afternoon, our party parted ways. Petey and I stayed in Dubrovnik to walk the wall and dine inside the Old Town while our travel buddies returned to Cavtat with ample vacation days to visit again. National Geographic lists the Dubrovnik Wall in their top 10 city walls. No argument there. Steves told us the wall would cost 50 KN to walk but the ticket booth required 70 KN. We balked. Petey complained to the ticket booth man, “In May the ticket price was 50 KN and a few months later you are charging 70 KN?”
The ticket booth man returned, “We have a new mayor.”
Petey quipped, “Then we had better see the mayor passing out drinks on the wall.” She placed the appropriate bills on the counter. The man smiled and quickly swapped the bills for two tickets.

Stairs … lots of stairs, 80 stairs to start. We walked at dusk. The long shadows highlighted the bright red roofs and emphasized the contrast with the white facades. The buildings popped with clarity. Each roof invited you to imagine what life was like beneath. There are over 1500 residence currently living in the city apartments; rumor suggests one is owned by Oprah. Daniela, our Dubrovnik guide, told us that real estate inside the walled city is the most expensive in all of Croatia.

The wall stands 50 feet above the city. It’s shaped like a square with a round bottom, a perimeter of 6,000 feet, about 1.5 miles when you include the side trips in the lookout towers. Strategically placed notches in the wall allowed for rifle fire and every 100 yards or so a landing jet out to host a cannon. In its prime, the wall supported over 120 cannons, now there just a few show as props. Inside the city it was hot and humid but the air on top of the wall was much cooler, cleansed from the Adriatic. During our walk I got a few tourists to put me in their group photo. I even found the spot where the cover of Steves’ book was photographed. I snapped it so I could make a comparison. We passed a few make-shift refreshment stands, one equipped with a juicer for fresh-squeezed orange juice. We passed the maritime museum anchoring the east corner. It was closed. We passed the bell tower where copper-statues Maro and Baro hammered out the hours of the day. A gull was gracefully perched on top of its lightening rod. The Minčeta Tower at north corner of the wall was the zenith point, the best view, the orange top roofs, the expansive blue water channel beyond dotted with boats, and the island of Lokrum. We climbed up, then up again, and up again. "Feel the burn Baby!" Exhausted, we reach the top and leaned our backs against the wall to catch our breath only to notice a black lab pulling his master up the stairs.

During our mile walk we witnessed life inside the city. Down below we saw a boy playing soccer on a small outdoor red-top court, a mom helping her son cleanup in an outdoor shower, and a scrawled sign advertising fresh fruit and vegetables from the neighborhood garden below. A wall-traveler needed only to climb down the steps to make a purchase. We also saw several apartment windows anchoring laundry strings, private flower gardens with a female sego palm, and the top of a three-story school with the basketball/handball court against the based of the wall. We also saw cats … lots of cats. The sounds of the city below softly rose to the wall. It was filled with activity but is was soft and muffled.

During our mile walk we witnessed life outside the city. The deep blue ocean stretched until it touched the clear pale sky. The dark green forest of Lokrum island sat offshore within 1,000 yards of the wall; it drew the eye to a landing point on the east side and an interesting building sitting on the top of its mound. I imagined what it might be like to explore the island. Perhaps next time. Tall sails, big yachts, and small two-man kayaks below cut through the sea along invisible lanes. A parasailer passed high over head pulled by a high-speed boat, the sailor's feet dangling from the harness. As the sun inched closer to the horizon the wisping clouds began to color, a light orange at first then darker as our journey continued. At another spot, one section of the wall appeared to tumble into the Sea. A rocky landing made a prime location for an expensive restaurant and the perfect sunbathing spot. It was filled with diners and bathers. A few of the braver suits scaled the nearby rocky cliffs and egged each other to jump into the sea 30 feet below. First a man in a dark Speedo, then another, then a reluctant woman finally took the leap. A young child followed. Further on our wall-walk we turned a blind corner opened up the the harbor filled with different size yachts and a lot of milling about by yachters and their crews. It was an intriguing site to watch. I stayed there a bit to take it in. The wall framed the harbor. Centuries ago, a massive thick chain was used to connect the wall to the landing on the shore side. The chain served to block the harbor from unwanted ships. The large building on the far side served as a 10-day quarantine house to prevent any infestation of the Plague. A big cruise ship was parked in the channel waiting for their passengers who filled downtown Dubrovnik on an excursion to return to the mothership. Laughter, splashing, boat engines, the call of gulls, all filled the air.