October 2023. Waterfalls, somewhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A reminder of the route for our day trip from Sarajevo.
Seven of us; Mrs RM and me, a couple from Marseille, and three ladies from Haifa, Seattle and Cambridge (wherever that is) travelling alone. Quite a mixed crowd, and we got to learn quite a bit about each other during the numerous bridge/loo/fag stops.
The centrepiece of the day was the Kravica waterfalls (Press PLAY),
where I somehow failed to have a beer but DID roll up my trousers and dip my toes, while Mrs RM bravely did an actual swim.
It was at this juncture, over some great sandwiches that somehow failed to meet the differing dietary and allergy intolerance requirements, that the differing priorities of our little group emerged.
Some wanted time to eat kebabs in Mostar, some wanted an hour to stare at waterfalls, one was keen to explore every room in a medieval mosque, and one had a bus to Belgrade to catch at 9pm.
I was Team Haley from Seattle, whose 15 month exploration of the world is captured on her Instagram site, and who quite reasonably assumed a 10 hour trip that started at 8am would be done and dusted well before 8.
But as we lingered in Pocitelj to sample the natural tea,
pomegranate juice,
and take in the astonishing views from the citadel,
(health and safety a secondary consideration)
it struck us we were cutting it a bit fine.
Not to say that all these stops weren’t stunning,
and I couldn’t help thinking this house would make a great Sam Smiths,
but as we entered a second hour of presentations on the Dervish monastery at Blagaj tekija I could see Haley’s ambition to get back for Belgrade going down the (medieval) toilet.
So it’s just possible that last stop in Mostar was a bit more focused,
and equally possible that the 2:15 drive back to Sarajevo was one of the great drives in history and took 1:50, and I didn’t distract the driver with questions about U2 and craft beer.
And Haley did make it to Belgrade. By a whisker.
retiredmartin 
I’m reminded of the occasional tedious evening watching someone’s holiday slides years ago and they never had one tenth of the interest of yours.
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It’s always tricky writing about “holidays”, Paul, but the blog is a chronological diary and saves keeping loads of photos !
These posts are the most time-consuming because while you take a thousand photos, ten is plenty (sounds like handpumps).
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Well you’ve got good judgement in deciding not to show us all one thousand photographs.
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I know what you mean Martin, especially as it’s nigh on impossible to post in real time. ( You also run the risk of missing what’s happening in the moment, if you do so.)
We’re currently waiting to disembark from the ship, at Southampton.
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These posts really make the area and city look beautiful.
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Tsk. You can’t walk behind it, like you can at Ystradfellte
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Am I right you could not get the Sarajevo Mostar train as the driver was tired?.
On mu bucket list to do that and carry on to the Croatian coast and travel down to the 8 mile stretch of Bosnian Adriatic coast that separates most of Croatia from the Dubrovnik exclave
I like to tick Enclaves Exclaves and corridors
When and if ever possible i want to visit Kaliningrad
When I first saw the Neum corridor on the map i assumed it arose from the post Yugoslav war peace settlement in 1995 but have since learnt it dates from a 1699 treaty between the Ottoman and Venetian states
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Your trip sounds brilliant, Alan.
Kaliningrad on our list, but not for a while !
There was a train to Mostar, but only one out and one back, and wouldn’t have seen as much as on the tour.
Cheers
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Alan,
You need to travel to the India / Bangladesh border. For a while there existed a 3rd Order Enclave. A tiny bit of India, surrounded by a Bangladesh village which in turn was surrounded by India. I think this has now been resolved to a first order enclave.
Cheers
Robin
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Closer to home, The Pride’s Travelling Well – seen in the Old White Beare near Halifax. How it was drinking after its travels I couldn’t say, having stuck to the Leeds Pale, which had skipped and pranced a mere thirteen miles.
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That’s a good line-up, though I’m unconvinced by the Leeds Pale these days despite it’s locality. And those test tubes are completely pointless aren’t they !
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Completely, Martin, however, the test tubes – or mini Kilner jars – don’t invade one’s personal space, and stick their snouts in one’s gusset, so they’re low on my list of pub annoyances.
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Kilner jars ? Good to put a name to a face.
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All that said, Mrs. E and I were asked to leave that pub.
A dog owner brought his wet, smelly animal over to “investigate” us. I told him to take it away, and we were then both subjected to a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse and menacing gestures from him, after which the acting “manageress” asked us to leave for “starting trouble for no reason”
Sigh…
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But would the Pride travel well through an Autovac ?
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Fortunately that pub doesn’t use them, Paul, unlike many others in the area.
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Don’t be rude to autovacs !
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