Croatia, Bosnia, Croatia

The bus ride from Plitvice Park to Dubrovnik was long, very long… 11 hours to be exact. But the scenery was beautiful. We rode through rolling hills that soon changed to high granite mountains before reaching the coast and heading south. The coast was rocky and the water turquoise and crystal clear. It was 8:30pm when we got to Dubrovnik so all we had time to do was find a place to stay for the night. We were met at the bus station by a little old hunch-backed lady who took us up the hill to her home where she rents out rooms to travelers. For $30 a night we got a large room with a balcony and a view of the city.

The next day we walked to the old walled section of the city but the tour buses had already arrived and it was unbearably crowded. We walked around the rest of the town which was less crowded and then ran into the two guys from Colorado who we had shared a flat with in Zagreb. They told us that the old city was less busy in the afternoon and recommended a cheap restaurant to us. That afternoon we returned to the old city and wandered its narrow streets and alleyways. It is really a beautiful place – when the tour buses aren’t there! We had dinner on the waterfront – fresh seafood and red wine for less than $20.

The following day we hiked up the mountain behind Dubrovnik where there is an old fort and great views of the city. There used to be a chairlift to the top, but it was destroyed in the war and never rebuilt. We spent the afternoon on the beach. Kevin has discovered a Croatian delicacy: ham-flavoured crackers. Add a bit of cheese and you have a meal which is very inexpensive, if not nutritious and delicious! That, combined with walking everywhere and our relatively cheap accommodations now brings us down close to our target budget.

We were planning to catch an early bus the next so we knocked on our landlady’s door to settle our tab and her husband, who must be at least 80, speaks not a word of English, and seems to be a little out of his mind, opened the door in what looked to be a large, baggy pair of Underoos. He just grinned at us so we slowly backed away and decided to settle up in the morning.

We caught an 8am bus headed for Mostar, Bosnia. It only took a few hours to get there and again we were met at the bus station by a woman looking to rent us a room. She did not speak a lot of English but she told us that her house was destroyed in the war. She now lives in a small two bedroom apartment. She rents out one or both of the rooms to travelers. When they are both rented, she sleeps outside. She was very nice and made us cup of coffee that was really disgusting but that we drank anyways. After that we walked around town a bit. There is a small section that has been rebuilt after the war and there are quite a few tourists there. It is an old twisty stone road, reminiscent of Turkey, with merchants selling their wares on either side. There is a bridge over the river that was originally built in the 1500’s but was destroyed in the war and only replaced in 2004. However, the majority of the town is still devastated – many of the buildings have only the walls left standing. Metal braces have been installed so they don’t fall over, but that is about it. Trees and flowers grow up through the middle. Some buildings have had the lower floor reconstructed while upper floors remain without windows or roofs. We saw one mid-rise office building with all its windows gone, but still standing like the destruction happened only yesterday. Virtually all of the buildings show signs of gun fire or shelling. We walked through a small cemetery where almost everyone had died in 1993. It is sadly appropriate that the countryside here is covered with wild poppies.

After one night in Mostar we headed back to Croatia, this time by train. Once at the coast we caught a small car ferry to the tip of a peninsula where we then caught a bus to our final destination: Orebic, a small coastal town of about 1500 residents. We had no problem finding a one bedroom apartment to rent for only $30 a night. It is nice to have our own bathroom and kitchen. We bought some groceries and settled in. I have a bad cold and Kevin has been taking care of me. We have been doing nothing but relaxing – Kevin read “Crime and Punishment” in four days! The weather has been great so we have been spending a lot of time on the beach and on our small balcony. We are waiting for my health to return so that as there is lots of good hiking around here including a peak of about 1000 metres directly behind the town.

That’s all for now.

B.

Photos:
Kevin at market in Dubrovnik
Marble road in old town Dubrovnik
Kevin in Dubrovnik
Narrow alley in old town Dubrovnik
Old town Dubrovnik
View of Dubrovnik from the old fort
Destroyed chairlift tower
Old city from the fort
Ham flavoured crackers... mmmmm
Kevin in Mostar
River and old city Mostar
Shelled building - Mostar
Shelled office tower - Mostar

The first Funny F'n People photo was the one of Kevin's hair... here is the second one. You decide who looks funnier...
FFP #2