Travel to Dubrovnik - Day 11

Travel to Dubrovnik - Day 11
We piled onto the bus to begin our final leg of the trip. It is shorter to get to Dubrovnik by traveling the length of Hvar island and taking the ferry from there. We went over some more semi-treacherous mountains to Sucuraj and stopped for an early lunch. Sort of like the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. This was a teeny town. We got back on the bus and stayed on as we got onto the ferry for the 45 minute ride.
Once on the mainland, we turned southeast toward Dubrovnik. However, on the way, there is a little slip of Bosnia on the route, so we had to stop for two border crossings about 4 miles apart with a little town in between. Although Sandra, our tour guide, asked us to take out our passports at the border crossing into Bosnia, we were able to enter into Bosnia without having to actually show our passports to the border crossing patrol. A bit of a disappoint as we would have liked another stamp on our passports. Croatia and Bosnia have an agreement on border crossing so it was actually quite easy to pass through Bosnia. Does it count if you are only in a country for 20 minutes? At least we peed there, so we left our mark. And eating gelato which we have been trying at every opportunity. No, we're not in Italy, but the influence is there.
The name Dubrovnik comes from the Croatian work for oak, as there were once many oak trees here. It became a strong city-state and a trade powerhouse, flourishing in the 15th and 16th centuries. An earthquake in 1667 led to a swift demise, as Venice rose to power.
We checked in to the Imperial Hotel, which is a fancy upscale place. We took a quick walking tour into the old walled city. We found some pizza for dinner. Tomorrow, we take a more extensive tour. And then, on Sunday, our last day of the trip we are going to head to Montenegro for the day.