July 5 - Mostar to Dubrovnik

The Old Bridge in Mostar

We had some free time this morning. Some went into town after breakfast while others, including me, stayed at the hotel to catch up on things. Ann went to the museum primarily to watch a film about the destruction of the Old Bridge during the war in 1993 and rebuilding it after the war. The bridge was built in the 16th century as a link between the east and the west. It stood until the Croats decided to destroy it to cut off the Bosniak controlled strip on the west bank from Bosniak forces on the east. The reconstruction of the bridge symbolized reconciliation of the opposing forces during the war. In Mostar, we had a sense that life had settled down and that ethnic conflicts had stopped.

On the other hand, we sensed that ethnic struggles were still happening in the rural areas of Bosnia although not to the extent that armed conflicts were going to occur. This was evident in Stolac where we made our first stop on our daily bus ride. We had a very young and very idealistic local guide in Stolac. As we walked through his town, he pointed out several wLocations where many buildings were damaged or destroyed. He and his friends are trying to rebuild some of the buildings and the town's clock tower. They have raised private funds to do so. The building pictured in the photo on the left was rebuilt by them. It is complete except for electrical service. The mayor who is of a different ethnic group will not allow electricity to be connected. There are other examples of similar obstructions in Stolac. The group doing the recontruction are undaunted, though. They hope that they will defeat the mayor in the next election.

We had a good buffet lunch in Stolac. There were several local dishes including excellent soup. (It was surprisingly refreshing in close to 100 degree temperature). The meal was topped off by home made baclava.

Back on the bus, we had a short nap and then stopped at the Tvrdos Monastery. A modern-dressed monk lead us inside its orthodox church and told us the history of it and the monastery.

Stopping at the Bosnia/Croatia border, the Bosnian border guards were very happy to get some beer to drink with their lunch. The Croat guards were not as lucky.

We finally arrived in Dubrovnik, unloaded all of our bags and said good-bye to Alesh, our bus driver. After cleaning up and taking some personal time, we met Saso and Amir at 7:15 for an orientation tour. Saso passed out 24-hour bus passes and led us into the old town of Dubrovnik on the #6 bus. (Our hotel is a couple of miles from the old town). The bus was packed as was the old town. Forget the Ottoman Empire, the tourists have invaded and conquered Dubrovnik. We occupied a bar on the rocks overlooking the Adriatic for a drink and then went to a terrace restaurant for dinner. Ann and I both had fish fillet with spinach and potatoes. It was prepared perfectly.

The bus ride back to our hotel was much less crowded. We got in after 10:00.