Dubrovnik, Sunday, December 5, 2010.

We arrived in Dubrovnik at 7 PM and are going on a tour tonight. They have the best preserved Medieval wall in Europe, which is 1940 meters long, and they also are credited with having the oldest hospital in the world. it was started in the 1400s because they needed a quarantine section during the Black Plaque. The ST. Lawrence Fortress was built to the west to protect them from the Venetians from the 12 th - 18th centuries. They would do anything to be free. They are known for their quote " We will not sell our freedom for all the gold of this world". This was a very rich area from the 15th to 16th centuries because they were in the middle of the trade routes. They had the third strongest fleet in the world,; Spain- 1st and Venice- 2nd. They exported Adriatic salt which is the best salt found in the world. At that time salt was needed to preserve meat. One kg of salt equaled one kg of gold then. There are 2 entrances inside the walled city: the east gate which is called Bloche and the west gate which is called Pella. Inside these walls is a Franciscan Monastery that was built in 1370 and has a Rector's Palace. We will visit that tomorrow as it is Sunday and they are closed. This area of Croatia is very narrow and Bosnia is just a few miles across the hills from here. The old town inside the walls is built 2 miles above the port so they could readily see anyone coming to attack them by sea. We must go by bus from the boat to the walled city because it is so far and so steep a walk.