A new adventure

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For the last year i have had such itchy feet to go traveling again. for this trip i and going to try and hitchhike around the Balkans without a set route, meeting new people and exploring different cultures on the way.

I started with a one way flight to Split, Croatia - a beautiful medieval looking town with marble streets and quaint cafes and pizzerias. i also went to Hvar island to see the old fishing village and the rugged coastline which adjoins the crystal clear sea.

i felt Croatia was quite expensive and touristy, so i soon got a bus to the small village of Jajce in Bosnia (i chickened out of hitchhiking this time). The beautiful ottoman style town hugs an impressive looking castle which overlooks a gigantic waterfall. here i stayed with a local Bosnian family who, although spoke no English, were extremely hospitable. i think i must have been the only tourist for miles - it was so peaceful!

From Jajce i hitchhiked to Sarajevo via the small town of Travnik which had another huge castle. despite being in fierce conflict only18 years ago, Sarajevo is an incredible city. in the early 1990s the city was completely surrounded and under siege by the Serbians for nearly 4 years, who deliberately shelled and sniped civilians. everywhere you look there are bullet holes and empty shells of buildings - a constant reminder of their troubled past.

Getting to Mostar was interesting as Tino, a Bosnian dog show judge who gave me a lift, turned out to be a mental driver - trying to negotiate winding mountain roads with his knees on the wheel whilst looking in the back for things to show me. he soon ran out of petrol in the middle of nowhere, and ironically had to hitchhike to a petrol station whilst leaving me in his car with all his stuff.

Mostar is another incredible medieval town which was almost annihilated during the war and meticulously rebuilt. From Mostar i went to another fortress town of Ston, but i have no photos as my camera ran out of battery and not only have i lost my spare (along with a lot of my clothes somehow), i couldn't charge mine as the plug adapter i bought in India for 20p doesn't work here for some reason. I then hitchhiked into Dubrovnik with some friendly German hippies and there not so friendly dog who i think wanted to eat me.

So far i have met so many interesting people and had an incredible adventure - im sure i am going to bore everyone stiff with my stories when i get home!

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Comments

[David]

Sounds like your having an awesome time! Im jelous - makes me want to go away again! Hope you sort your camera out, keep safe look forward to reading more