Back in the UK

We're back!

We actually feel quite lucky to have arrived back in the UK yesterday, as a severe storm blew over the Dubrovnik area Thursday night. Howling winds kept me from any form of sleep, and our 5:30am ferry from the island of Sipan was canceled (we later found out this only happens two or three times a year). We were able to hire a private boat to take us across the Kolocepski Channel to the small port of Slano, and there the hotel had arranged for a car to take us to the airport. The 44 kilometers was the most harrowing auto journey that I've ever experienced—we had to travel through the storm bombarding Dubrovnik. The two lane road snakes along the coastal cliffs high above the seaside towns, and it can be an adventure in the best of weather. On Friday, rain and mud were pouring down the mountain side onto the road—stranding some cars and requiring mini bulldozers to clear the route of stones washed onto the road. Since a portion of the mountains around Dubrovni were devoid of vegetation due to recent fires, fears of being pushed over the cliffs by a mudslide certainly crossed my mind. Our 22-year-old driver commented that he's never seen such weather before, but that didn't stop him from talking on his mobile. Still, he got us to the airport in one piece, and I tipped him heartily for it.

Anyway, here's a picture of M* and me high above the Old City of Dubrovnik taken by our taxi driver on the day we arrived. The weather was much better that day.