Up at 06:00, out into the cold, on the tram, another day, another bus.
Got to the bus station early, sat in the waiting room and ate some of the food we bought yesterday.
Got on the bus, driven by the most unfriendly man in the world. Showed him we had bags – ‘moment’. Stood waiting for 5 minutes. Showed him again – ‘moment’. After a couple of minutes he went to the great effort of pressing a button to open the compartment. I put the bags in next to two others , then he got off the bus, tutted, and stood the bags up. On their wheels. I asked him what time we get to Mostar and he just ignored me. I shall write a strongly worded letter to their head office.
We liked Sarajevo. The old town was very pleasant, lots of people around, nice shops and historic buildings. The place had a nice vibe, we enjoyed wandering around. The city is surrounded by hills with houses all around. Plus the free public transport was a bonus.
The bus was half full, so we spaced out. Had a snooze, and woke up as we were climbing through mountains, snow on the peaks in the distance. The bus made several stops and it was soon full.
Pretty soon we encountered some of the most stunning scenery – steep granite hills covered in trees, a river running alongside the road. This went on for about an hour, we just sat there taking it all in (Song took photos).
Arrived in Mostar, bought the tickets to Dubrovnik then we had just over an hour to visit the old bridge. Dropped off the luggage, took a brisk walk into the old town, along a cobbled narrow street lined with shops selling souvenirs. Lots of quaint buildings, and turned a corner to see the bridge. It’s really pretty – although not original since it was destroyed during the war in the 90’s, but still looked amazing with old buildings either side, which Song told me were also rebuilt.
Hustled back to the bus station, stopping to buy some cheesy things and a bottle of water, took a wrong turn but back with plenty of time to spare. Then realised we’d spent all our local currency and they charge to put the luggage on the bus (which is a con if you ask me). Luckily they accepted euro. The bus was full – there’s only one a day at this time of year.
Drove for about an hour till the border, about 40 minutes to get through and we were in Croatia. We worked out yesterday that Bosnia and Herzegovina was the 50th different country I’ve been to.
As soon as we got into Croatia it seemed greener and cleaner. Passed through more granite hills then ahead of us we saw the coast. And what a coast. Absolutely beautiful. Blue sea, tree-covered hills meeting the water, small villages nestled in the bays. It is easily the equal to the French and Italian coastlines in my opinion.
Stopped again at border control – back into Bosnia because they own land that extends to the sea, effectively cutting Croatia in two. In about 10 minutes we were at border control again to get back into Croatia.
Back on the coast road and past more stunning scenery. I really think this is the best coast drive, if you ever get the chance, take the bus from Dubrovnik to Split or the other way. Truly spectacular.
Hopped on the bus to our hotel which was inside the old city walls, paid for the bus this time.
The hotel was just around the corner from the main gate. The room was small, which is to be expected because the old town is tightly packed. The sun was shining, plenty of tourists around but not too bad. We came here 5 years ago and it was very windy and raining.
Wandered around as we do, then found a restaurant – every restaurant inside the old city walls is a bit pricey but we didn’t fancy hopping on another bus. I had salmon on a bed of corn with salsa, Song had calamari. I’m starting to go off seafood, suspect a burger is on the horizon. The meal was OK, cost about $62, over priced really. We’ll try to avoid the main tourist areas from now on.
Walked around a bit more, then back to the hotel.
We’d been to Dubrovnik 5 years before, so didn’t need to stay. Tomorrow is another bus, another country.
