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Published: September 8th 2009
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After having such an amazing time in Croatia, we were so sad to leave but excited to be travelling to Bosnia and seeing something that wasn't actually on our original plan. Norm was still parked in Split eagerly awaiting our return. So up at 6.30am to catch the 8am bus to Mostar. Yuk! Over the 3 hour journey we had to stop 3 times for passport control - Kirra and Lauren left the day before us and said they were stopped 4 times.
As we were driving through the town to the bus stop all we could see around us were buildings bombed out and full of bullet holes. Even though the war ended here over 10 years ago, the evidence of violence is still everywhere. This was the most interesting thing about the trip as we'd become really interested in the war since visiting Dubrovnik and learning how it had been besieged and heavily bombed during the Fall of Yugoslavia. Unfortunately we couldn't find much information in Mostar as the focus of the town is on the beautiful Stari Most bridge in the centre of town which was destroyed by a direct hit in 1993 and then rebuilt.
Nowadays, local men jump off the 21m bridge into the 10 degree river below for money. We didn't see anyone jump while we were there but we did see a video of it in the museum and it's a hell of a long way!
The heat during the early afternoon was energy sapping so we lay low till it got a little cooler and we could safely take a self guided tour of the old town without feeling like we might pass out. When the girls came back from their day tour of Sarajevo we all went out for some drinks and some Shishah pipe (I have no idea how to spell that!) before heading to a cave bar in the old town. Being a Monday night it was virtually empty so we didn't stay long! The next day was our much anticipated tour - I didn't read up on the area because I knew we were doing a tour but I wish I had because the 'tour' was nothing more than a little yellow van with too many people in the backseat, an annoying chick in the middle who wouldn't shut up and a non-english speaking driver.
He didn't even tell us the name of the places we were stopping at, just pointed at something and made a shooing motion. So annoyed! So for the 20 euro we each spent on the 'tour' we could have hired our own car and bought our own guide.
Apart from the fact that it was the worst tour we'd ever taken, we did see some nice places in the area although I really don't know what or where they were. There was a Monastery at the source of the river which flows under the town's famous bridge, and then a little town with a big fort on the hill, and then another little town, a supermarket, a beautiful waterfall with a freeeeeezing swimming hole, and a town with a very modern looking church full of Italian pilgrims.
When he dropped us off at the town I'd had enough of not knowing where the hell I was so we went to the bookshop and read up on the town. Turns out we're at Medugorje where back in 1981, 6 children saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary up on the hill and many people still have visions
at this spot. Bretto observed the strangest thing - people lined up at a statue of Jesus buffing the statues knee, each time with a different cloth which they would take with them. After each rub they would peer into the shine of the bronze knee to see if there was an apparition! So we learned something new (well I did, Bretto apparently already knew) AND witnessed something spiritual.
Although it was an interesting place to see and we really enjoyed learning about the war that followed the fall of Yugoslavia, we didn't have a very good experience in Bosnia or find information about the war and the history of the country easily accessible. If we were to go back we would make sure it was on a tour so we could get the best out of the country and really learn something about its recent history.
So we weren't too sad to leave the next day for Split, especially as we would be reunited with Norm once again. We found our little friend all in one piece, although the cheese we left in the esky had definitely aged beyond its due date! Needless to say,
the whole esky had to go! We were once again travelling with Kirra and Lauren but this time Amy was joining us too and together we made a plan for the next few days. But as we've learned on this trip, plans never stick for very long! So we made our way to the Krka National Park 1 ½ hours north of Split. Our plan was to stay for 2 nights and then move on to Plitvice National Park in the north west of Croatia. But when we finally got to Krka, the walking path and the mandatory swim in the lake under the waterfall afterwards took less than 2 hours so we decided to make headway and find somewhere between Krka and Plitvice to camp for the night.
I don't know how we ended up where we were, but we camped in a nice old couple's backyard for 100 kuna (about 12 pounds) for the 5 of us. We were the only ones there, besides the turkeys, chickens and cats running around so we had our own bathrooms, our own handmade pergola and a big field full of almond, apple and peach trees! Best camping spot ever!
The next day was Plitvice and our plan was to do half the national park one day and half the next. In hindsight, we probably could have done it all in one day but you live and learn. The Park was beautiful - full of fish in crystal clear blue lagoons, hundreds of waterfalls and lush green forest. But it was so museum-like. You couldn't swim, canoe, kayak, camp, rock climb or anything of the sort. All you could do was walk around the lakes on flat wooden pathways. Very beautiful but I prefer my National Park's a bit more interactive. Such a shame because we were so looking forward to visiting but didn't feel like there was much to get out of the place. Definitely worth a stop over for its sheer beauty but don't stay for more than the day. So since we only stayed in each National Park for 1 night, we are 2 days ahead of schedule and are off to Bled in Slovenia tomorrow.
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Jeremy
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HAHAHA
Your looking a bit fat there sis. All the sleeping is not doing you much good. Hows the trip been so far, eventful?