Camere d'aria 2019: 5th stage, Dubrovnik-Bay of Kotor (Montenegro)

plavarda · February 10, 2021, 2:34pm

Photo 1 -The walls of Dubrovnik seen from the D8 State Road

The route of the stage

This morning we left the beautiful Adria hotel in Dubrovnik. Indeed it is a gorgeous hotel with a location that completely dominates the city. Clearly it was fine for us, because we were passing through but, if we had wanted to visit the city, being by bicycle, it would have been rather complicated. In fact, from the hotel, to get to the sea level, there is a staircase with over 600 steps that are not so much a problem going down but clearly a problem going up. Therefore, we didn’t feel like visiting the city knowing that tomorrow, on our return, we will be staying in a hotel near the old city, or so we believe. However we left and took the D8 state road, always very busy and problematic to manage, we stopped at a panoramic point from which to photograph the Walls of Dubrovnik. Thus, from above you can better understand the might and beauty of the city. The road climbs the hillside of the cliff with a truly impressive overhang of about 150-200 m below. falling directly into the sea. The road, in addition to being extremely busy, has a tiny guardrail on the right with the jump immediately. Clearly, if you are uphill, with loaded bags, at max 8 km per hour, the danger of a skid with its double somersault, in every sense, down the escarpment, was not an absolutely remote possibility. Finally we reached quieter places and passed the Dubrovnik airport, the traffic also decreased and everything was easier and more pleasant. We stopped a few kilometers from the border for lunch and found, in a small village, a really nice place, absolutely new and the dishes served were not bad at all. In fact, I took, among other things, a tomato soup in which the chef had made some really beautiful drawings with cream and it was almost a shame to have to break them to eat the soup. At the border, with a bit of a tail, we passed and went down at breakneck speed to the sea in the Gulf of Kotor in Montenegro. The coast is very beautiful with gravel and beautiful turquoise and emerald water. Continuing along the coast we arrived at our Kredo boutique hotel in Castelnuovo. The Gulf of Kotor was one of the main bases of the Austro-Hungarian fleet but, in the First World War, it was so well protected that it was also deleterious. In fact, from the outside, the allied fleets managed to block the exit of the largest ships, keeping the Austro-Hungarian naval potential in check. Only submarines and small boats passed. In addition, the most famous episode is certainly the mutiny of several ships in 1918, due to the uprisings that are recorded throughout Austria due to the shortage of food, both among civilians and among the military. Revolt repressed by naval forces still loyal to Franz Joseph. In total we did 53 km and a 750 m difference in altitude. Tomorrow we will return to Dubrovnik trying, if possible, to take another road, a little more external towards the sea, instead of the internal one to Dubrovnik airport. Happy Easter everyone.