Day: June 9, 2024

Today we had an early departure from the hotel in Dubrovnik on our way to Split, Croatia.  I’m embarrassed to admit I had never heard of this city. 

Recently I was talking to a patient about our upcoming trip to Croatia. He asked me “Are you going to split”? I said “No, this is just a vacation. I love my work and plan to work it as long as I can”.  When he explained that Split was a city in Croatia and he wasn’t asking if I was planning to retire soon, I had to confess my ignorance.  
Prior to arriving at Split we stopped at a farm just outside of Dubrovnik where we saw a local olive farmer named Mato Dubelj.  Mr. Dubelj taught us how olive oil was made prior to the advent of high tech machinery.  In part this involved a horse pulling two huge stone wheels to crush the olives and express the oil. He was extremely affable but his command of English made understanding his presentation a bit challenging.  I think I understood most of what he said but some of the details might have been missed.  Here’s a picture of Mr. Dubelj with his work-horse Perla. 

We then got back on the bus and crossed the border to Bosnia Herzesgovina on our way to the town of Mostar. Unlike yesterday, this border crossing went very smoothly and shortly thereafter we arrived at our destination.  There we were given a tour of the market place and shown a museum dedicated to remembering the tragedy of the war that gripped this region in the early 90s. This is when Yugoslavia ceased to exist and the countries we are visiting on this trip came into existence. We saw pictures of the bombed buildings and the rubble left behind.

Then we heard a gentleman named Mustafa talk about life in Mostar during the war.  At times it was difficult to listen to what Mustafa was saying and I don’t mean because of his accent or the volume of his voice but rather because of the heartbreaking human tragedies he described.

It must seem like an odd segway but after this sobering talk, we then headed for lunch. I saw this sign on our way.

I warned Patrice not to kiss me since it would be breaking the rules. Hard to imagine she could go throughout our visit without a burning desire to kiss me a time or two. As difficult as this would be she will have to suffer since we are not rule breakers (Patrice here: Is this man deluded?)

After lunch we headed back to Croatia and to the city of Split. Today was another hot day so after arriving at the hotel I just wanted to chill (literally) in our room. Soon it was time for dinner. In case I hadn’t mention this before, we are on a Tauck tour. This is our first trip with this company but my mother used them extensively and always spoke highly of their trips. One thing I like about their trip style is the opportunity to meet some other travelers. Tonight we had dinner with Steve and his wife, Karen who are from Boston. Steve is a big Celtic fan so he was immediately put on “friend probation”. I am not sure I can be friends with a Celtic fan. After dinner I told Steve that I have been taking magic lessons and offered to show him a trick. I explained I am new at this. I had him tap a card from the deck but I never showed it to him making it impossible for him to know if I found the correct card. Like I said, I am just learning. So I tried it again and this time it worked perfectly. Steve seemed very impressed and wanted to see more tricks. Being a Celtic fan is no longer a problem.

Not sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow but I sure hope it is cooler.