Mostar and Herzegovina

Alison and I arrived in Mostar around 10pm on Friday after 6+ hours of bus travel from Tuzla. They really don't have any straight roads in this country to make traveling easy. Miran, the hostel owner, was waiting for us at the bus station upon our arrival. After a short ride to the hostel, we were settled in our room. Miran's girlfriend mentioned to us that the beginning of the Bridge Jumping Festival started that night at 11 or 12. Alison and I quickly made our way to the Stari Most to a glimpse of the festivities.

There was definitely a street party going on in Mostar. There were a group of drummers playing Latin dance beats. Further down the street there was a brass band playing in the street. After watching the people dancing in the street for a bit we headed down to the river where there was a large stage set up. We arrived just in time.

Above, on the bridge, were many men holding torches and flares. At the pinnacle was one man in his speedo preparing for his decent into the water below. Soon before he was to jump, someone gave him a pair of flares. The large crowd below anxiously anticipated his next action.



In one smooth movement, the diver brought the flares together above his head from the swan position and jumped from the reconstructed stone bridge. During his 80ft decent the crowd cheered rowdily. As he splashed into the waters of the Neretva River, the fire raged above on the bridge. Then the fireworks began. During the 10 minute firwork show, the house beats began pumping, much to the delight of the young revelers. For the rest of the night, a dance party raged on on the bank of the river directly below the Stari Most.



I'm not sure the Ottoman Turks, who began this festival 441 years prior, would have ever expected the changes that have transpired. Alison and I left while the party was still alive and well sometime after 3am.

The next morning we began looking for a rental car to visit some near by wineries. No cars were to be found. Instead, we boarded city bus #48 headed for Međugorje with the intention of getting off in the village of Čitluk. The wine route map showed many wineries with in walking distance of the town center. As we approached the village, our feelings soured somewhat. The sign for the village was many kilometers before the town center. When we did get to the town center, we were leary of not finding any nearby vineyards. As soon as the bus left the town bus stop, we passed 3 more vineyards. Oh well. We had then decided to explore the wine situation of Međugorje.

We found one tasting room a 15 minute walk from the central Church. The winery was called Stankela. The white wine was good but different from many American whites with mineral flavors rather than fruit and flower flavors. The "crno vino" (black wine) was the same, a lot of earthy and mineral notes. I really enjoy it a lot. The varietal was called "Blatina", which has been under cultivation in the area for over 2,000 years. This particular family has been opperating their vineyard for over 400 years.

I noticed that the region of Southern Herzegovina strongly identifies to their Croatian Heritage, with evidence of Croatian flags flying over the streets in the villages and fairly strong nationalistic over tones in conversations with those we encountered. This was a striking change from the interactions both Alison and I have had in areas of Muslim majority.

Following the wine tasting we wanted to visit the waterfall of Kravice. When asking people how to get there, people suggested flagging down a taxi rather than finding one at the taxi stand. There was a posted price of 40 euro for the round trip price to the falls. That was too much for our budget. We found a taxi driver who was next to his car at the end of the line of 15 cabs who had not moved all day. After trying to negotiate the price lower, the driver suggested that try the post office since some times they have lower prices. I was about to suggest that he continue to sit there all day an not earn any money when he said, "35 euro in 5 minutes" in Bosnian.

Understanding now that he wanted to drop the price but not wanting to upset the other drivers by cutting in line, I said "60 KM", which is a little less that 30 euro, and he agreed. When we arrived at the post office Jure, the taxi driver, was waiting for us.

The 20 minute drive to the falls was fairly barren, but then we began to descend into a canyon. There it was, Kravice Falls. The water fall was like a scene out of a fantasy movie. Falling over 100ft and more than 400 ft. wide, the falls were breath taking. The water temperature was a little cool, which made for a refreshing swim over to the base of the falls. Amongst the pools, where the water thunderously crashed, were grass and fig trees. This is absolutely paradise. The beauty and solitude of swimming in these small pools under the falls is un matched.



Alison didn't bring a bathing suit so we enjoyed a coffee and people watching from the cafe at the pools edge. Our taxi was waiting for us at our pre arranged time and we had a quick ride back to town. I spent a little time in the church, but it is difficult to visit a religious pilgrimage site without being mental prepared. And I certainly was not since I had wound up there by happenstance.

Later that evening, after dinner, we took the city bus back to Mostar. After retiring to the hostel early because of our event filled day, we were up early raring to go. Because the bridge jumping and swims were going on later in the day, we decided it was best to head back towards Sarajevo where I would begin the next leg of my adventure for the week.

Here is the link to my gallery of photos

More to come about my time in the mountains shortly.