This is a story of two parts…and two false starts. Firstly on Monday, I was all prepared for my tour to Montenegro, but was left abandoned by my tour company. When my tour bus did not arrive at the designated arrival point and the operators telephone number being constantly engaged it quickly emerged that this tour operator had shut up shop for the off-season. Fortunately for me I had not paid for this tour so at least I was not out of pocket. The awesome staff at my hotel (Berkeley Hotel) arranged for another tour group to facilitate my journeys to both Montenegro and Mostar, Bosnia the following days.
So a quick itinerary flip was required – where I brought forward my day of relaxation on Lokrum Island off of Dubrovnik’s Old City. Grabbing the 10am ferry I was sunning myself on a rocky beach by 10:30am. I even braved the water at one point, leaping from the rocks into the crystal clear yet bracing Adriatic water for the briefest of swims. With peacocks milling around the beach in search of food scraps the day disappeared.
So…my 2nd attempt to visit Mostar, Bosnia started the same as the day prior where I repeated the ritual from the following morning. I rose early and descended to breakfast (first like yesterday) hoping to ensure that I was at the designated pick-up point well ahead of time. And that I was. But as time ticked by and no hint of a tour bus could be seen I realised that this was my 2nd false start. Calling and calling the tour company only to be greeted with the fax machine I got to a point where I thought “Oh Well – this is not supposed to happen”. But finally at 9am (arranged pick-up was 8:30am) the phone was answered by the tour company but the response was less than stellar…”you were not confirmed as a pick up today”. Mmmm – I’m confident my Hotel had confirmed my place twice the day prior. So, back I trudge to my Hotel where I was greeted by 4 Hotel staff waving their hands in the air in disbelief. It was then that something amazing happened. Sometimes, when you’re travelling you have some ordinary and even awful experiences – where you’re ripped off, harassed or fall ill. However, other moments sometimes come along where you receive unexpected kindness. Nic, the Hotel Proprieter Katrina’s, Father announced confidently that he would drive me to the bus (now at least an hour away). And before I knew it, after several quick and very assertive phone calls, I was in the passenger seat of Nic’s Skoda and on my way to Bosnia.
The tour company had reached a small coastal town call Neum, I’d passed through here on the bus on the way through so knew roughly where it was, and the tour was going to wait for me to arrive before departing on to Mostar. What followed was 20 minutes of the most hair-raising fast driving I have ever been involved in. 130kmph the Skoda went around the coastal cliffs of Croatia…at one point I actually thought that “this is it…this is where I die”. But no, Nic gets me to Neum and the bus is waiting for me. All aboard to Mostar. Thanks to Nic , a super fast Skoda and some awesome Hotel staff.
This tour primarily took me into the Herzegovian section of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopting the main road to Sarajevo but stopping only as far as Mostar, the economic heart of Herzegovina. The first stop for me on this tour (not for everyone else) was the small stone town of Pocitelj located on the banks of the river Neretva. This town has records that date back to 1444 and the main tower Gavrankapetanovic Tower, which I was the only one of our group to climb, is a striking and ominous fortress post that looks across the town and surrounding valleys. The town itself was bombed during the conflict of the early Nineties but now somewhat restored. Women sell funnels of dried apricots, figs and pomegranate stalks at the entry to the town desperate for any Euro they can get a small indication of the desperation to come.
I’m struck by the fact that the recent War has left only recently healed wounds. All the town signs, which also feature the Cyrillic spellings, have the Cyrillic spellings blanked out; a silent statement to Serbia that all is not forgotten.
When we hit the outskirts of Mostar it becomes very evident that this is a region still in crisis. Garbage and ruins litter the outskirts of this economic hub highlighting that struggle is an everyday realism for most Bosnians. Once in Mostar’s Old Town you cannot help but be moved, particularly at the photographic exhibition that chronicles the devastation this city experienced in the conflict for Independence 20+ years ago. One of the most poignant photographs is a stark black and white depiction of the destruction of the Old Bridge (standing since the 16th Century); a pointless example of the ridiculous nature of war. Re-opened in 2004 the bridge was rebuilt in the same style using a combination of blocks from the river below and others mined from the original source of the bricks from the Herzegovian hills. The former Ottoman Empire old city is now UNESCO heritage listed.
I leave Mostar profoundly moved by a people still suffering from a war that ended 20 years ago.
Eurovision Rating: Passionate 5 person group singing an anthem-like entry in their local language. A splattering of colour and some interesting choreography see this entry making the final but finishing outside the Top 15.
Tomorrow: Montenegro
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