Originally we planned to catch a bus from the port to the walled city but an entrepreneurial Croatian approach us with an offer to show us the sights of Dubrovnik from the top of the mountain - ie to give us a birds-eye view and an opportunity to see a bit of everyday life in Dubrovnik. We would then be dropped off at the entrance to the walled city so that we could spend the next 5 hours walking the wall and exploring the narrow streets, museums, churches and markets within. He then would return at 3.30pm to pick us up and return us to our ship. We accepted the offer because it was a good price and it meant we'd see more than we'd planned and we'd hear a little about the recent war between Serbia and Croatia, which occurred here in the 1991 and well into 1992. The map shows areas inside the walled city that were damaged by bombs. Code: Blue - buildings burnt to the ground, Orange - damaged roof & wall structure, Yellow - damaged roof or walls, Brown - no structural damage, Black dot - a direct hit. Our driver told us that nearly a third of the roofing had to be replaced due to the bombing - such an unnecessary and pointless war. Most of the repairs are now complete thanks to loyal locals who offered their skills and money to restore this beautiful ancient city to its former glory.
We set off and travelled over the impressively high bridge which spans the harbour - we' d seen this as we docked earlier in the morning and never imagined that we'd be driving across it. The views over the mountain backdrop and the city were amazing and from that great height we dropped down into a valley on the other side where we saw vineyards, farms and olive groves. As we passed one farm we saw the farmer and his sons going about their daily routine with their sheep and donkeys. Our driver told us that during the war all of the farms were deserted due the constant gunfire and mortar attacks. At one stage the whole mountain had been on fire from the mortar bombs. Even today he pointed out the blackened tree trunks, the deserted and damaged homes that some people chose not to reclaim. He said he admired the farmers who had returned and re-established the traditional way of farming in the area. Our next stop was at the shortest river (50 metres) we have ever seen. It flows through the mountain and comes out at the spot we visited, then promptly flows over a rock ledge, and then into the sea. This water once went through a water treatment works that was abandoned during the war because it lay beneath the firing line. Today it is an empty, bombed-out shell with broken rusty pipes and is not considered necessary because the water is so sweet and pure as the limestone mountain it travels through is natural filter. People from all over Dubrovnik cart litres of this water back to their homes every day, and it is free. 
Looking in the opposite direction we could see a beach area which already had crowds of people surfing or sun baking and it was only 9.15 am. The sun was quite warm for us too but a cool breeze was blowing in over the ocean do it wasn't unpleasant though with n clouds in the sky we knew we would need to use sun cream throughout the day.
As we headed back down the mountain we were so pleased that we'd seen the walled city from above as it gave us a better respective and appreciation of this UNESCO World Heritage site that we were about to explore.
Regards
Joy
