Memo to Council - Use these things More Often

Dubrovnik is a gem... spoiled by tourists. We were walking around the fort walls this afternoon when we saw a cannon pointed at an approaching cruise ship. (You can see the photo below.)

When climbing onto the fort wall, we passed a council ticket collector. We pointed to the cruise ship and commented that he must feel positive in seeing so many more tourists approaching his ancient city.

"No", he said. "Cruise ship tourists arrive in town... walk the fort wall, buy a souvenir and a cup of coffee... then leave." "Well, that can't be too bad", we said in a positive tone. "It would be, except they chase away other tourists who support the local economy much more", was his reply. His words rang true for us. We had just battled the crowds in the old city and decided to cut our stay in Dubrovnik to just one night. The sense of discovery is difficult to feel if you are being bumped and jostled by a tour leader with 50 followers... all wired up with their radio receivers... all pushing to take the same photo at the same time... all talking too loudly... all stopping to have a chat in the middle of a bottleneck in the pathway. Their only saving grace is that Joye and I know that we will be one of them in another 10 years. When climbing down from the wall of the fort, we reminded the ticket collector that the cannon is in the right position... if he wanted fewer cruise ships, the solution to his problem was readily at hand.

Dubrovnik was shelled extensively in the 1990's Balkan war. It has been quickly restored... and the job has been done very well. I guess if you lay marble footpaths between sandstone buildings of uniform colour with deep red tiled roofs... it's pretty hard to go wrong. The place looks light... bright... ancient but alive. The history is similar to many of the city states of the Balkans... familiar players... familiar destructions... familiar sad stories of individuals.

One of our tour travellers made an interesting point... we are told that unless we remember our history, we are bound to repeat it. However, some Balkan citizens seen to remember their history so vividly... you have to ask if remembering history binds some of them to repeating it.