Crossroads of Adriatic Day 7

May 06, 2007 - Sunday - Discover Mostar-Arrive in Dubrovnik

Our wake up call came at 6:30. We had heavy rain during the night and it was so dark and cloudy we could not see much of the city nor the mountains. We finished packing, had our luggage out at 7:15, and went up to breakfast at 7:30. The panoramic view from our high rise hotel was depressing, but the spirit of the friendly people we have met here was very rewarding!

We greeted Nik at 8:30 and we were off to Dubrovnik and another great adventure! Again, everyone was on time - how refreshing! Tammy told us about the agenda for the day and we had a chance to ask more questions about the people and social/political situations in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

We entered the Herzegovina region and passed through forested hills to a very small town called Konjic and then followed the Neretva River until we came to the village of Jablanica. At the river we stopped for a brief photo opportunity at the famous collapsed bridge where Tito and his Yugoslavian patriots fought a pivotal battle against the Germans in WWII.

We continued to wind through the green hills along the river and the steep limestone cliffs. The road cut through rock tunnels and there were many trout farms along the banks. Leaving the canyon, we began to see more bombed and bullet ridden buildings.

At 11:30, we left the bus to begin our walking tour of the principal city in Herzegovina, the ancient town of Mostar, which was named for the former watchtower keepers (mostari in Bosnian) of its historic bridge-a masterpiece of Ottoman Turkish architecture. This graceful 16th-century bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that spans the Neretva River, whose emerald waters divided the town into Muslim and Croat sections.

Established by the Ottoman Turks in the late 15th century, Mostar became a place where the cultures of the Middle East and Western Europe mingled, blending influences from the mainland and the Adriatic Sea. Though destroyed in 1993 during the conflicts that occurred during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, the bridge and Mostar's historic city center have been beautifully restored during the last ten years.

We had about an hour on our own in the city so we wandered over the cobblestone streets, taking many photographs and then finding an exhibit of pictures portraying the war years. We met our group at 12:45 at the Sadrvan restaurant, where we had a wonderful lunch of typical foods from the region, salad, cheeses, smoked meats were the starters and then beef and chicken kabobs grilled on a stick served with potatoes and carrots with a sweet Turkish cake for dessert.

We met at 2:00 and hiked back to meet Nik and the bus, heading south again. We passed through vineyards, small farms, tiny villages, and beautiful wild red poppies that we grew to love while we were in Tuscany!

At the small village of Poĉitelj we were able to get out of the bus again and take some photos of the stone castle on top of the hill. The women and children of the village were selling fresh strawberries and cherries along with nuts, dried apricots, figs and prunes.

We crossed the border back into Croatia leaving the mosques and Bosnia & Herzegovina behind us. We waited in the bus while Tammy and Nik took care of the paper work at the crossing. It only took about 15 minutes and no one checked our passports.

Back on the road, we drove a few more miles to the city of Metkovic. This was one of the most important towns as a port in the Roman Empire. Our first view of the Adriatic Sea was at 3:45 when we came to the delta of the Neretva River.

At Neum we crossed back into Bosnia, their only access to the sea. We made a very brief wave and smile stop at the border. We had our afternoon comfort stop at a wonderful little café with a grocery store, coffee shop, and very clean western style bathrooms.

We were back on the road at 4:20 and drove along the southern Adriatic coastal highway, a very narrow and winding road. We had fantastic views of the sea, the outer islands, and shell fish farms in the clear blue water.

It was only a few more miles and we re-crossed the border into Croatia. We began to see the sprawling city of Dubrovnik, hugging the coast. The red tiled roofs are very distinctive against the green hills and blue seas. Our hotel is right beside the Old Town; a beautiful new Hilton built on the site of the famous Imperial Hotel located at the entrance to the Old City Walls.

We had an optional orientation walking tour with Tammy at 7:15. We were able to go into the Old City and she pointed out several restaurants that are reasonably priced. Dubrovnik is a very busy tourist center and a popular port of call for many cruise lines. We are very lucky to be here in the early Spring before many "tourists" arrive!

We chose a delightful outdoor Italian restaurant on one of the back streets and share a Mixed Salad and a Pizza. We sauntered back to the hotel taking pictures of the night time lifestyle of the city. Temperature here is in the mid 70s, humidity is in the 60% and we walked 9.35 miles today.

Hilton Imperial Hotel - - - Meals: B, L,

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

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