Very soon after crossing the border we started noticing buildings which had been damaged in a manner that looked like bomb damage to our TV-trained eyes. That caused us to wonder whether this northern part of Croatia had been involved in the war. Of course we all remember this war with its attrocities, rape-used-as-a-weapon of war, mass shootings etc. It ended in1992!
I immediately saw the men around us as possible (probable?) participants in that war. However common sense tells me that although they may have participated, only a very small minority of men would behave like that in normal circumstances.
We were headed to a wetland, bird sanctuary called Kopaćki Rit. Again we are here out of season, and it appears the migratory birds have not yet arrived. We saw some herons and swans before finding an inconspicuous place to park for the night.
Soon after dark there was a screeching, or wailing. Our first thought was wolves and then humans, but it really didn't sound like either and we concluded it must be some birds! I hope we survive the night! (Actually we now think they were foxes!).
21 March 2016
We survived! and we travelled on southwards. The next stop was Vukovar, the town that experienced all of the horrors of the split up of Jugoslavia. There was a three months seige during which many of the citizens hid in bunkers. They were horrified by what they saw when they emerged. The town was demolished.
We saw many buildings still showing bullet holes and bomb destruction.
I'm sure some of them have been left as momentous, and the water tower certainly has been left as a monument. It suffered over 600 explosive hits in the three months, partly because the Croation flag was kept flying at the top, in defiance, but infuriating the attackers. ( There will be more about Croatia later. We are going southwards as far as Montenegro, and will cross back into Croatia and follow the coastline northwards then ).
Bosnia Hertzogovina.
Another border crossing - this time out of the EU. We know we need our Carnet stamped at border crossings such as this. We tried at the Croatia side of the crossing, but an officious man waved us on saying "no problem" "just go". He would not hear our protestation that we needed a record of when we left the EU. OK so maybe we can get the stamp on the Bosnia Hertzogovena side.... Nope! waved on again. "It's not our problem" apparently, so we just have to hope the next border crossing is as relaxed about it!
The countryside here is wonderful! The people are obviously quite poor -not quite third world, but well below the EU countries such as Croatia. But the landscape is hilly and green.The farming is small scale with sheep, orchards and hay stacks.,
Srebonitce - the site of one of the worst massacres of the war - around eight thousand men and boys shot whilst under International protection. The vast majority of them were Muslims. Looking at the town today there are minarets everywhere, indicating that the Muslim population survived and has reestablished itself. But you must wonder what traumas they hold within themselves, and what bitterness.
And we were also left wondering what experiences the men of this local area (the ones who did the shootings) have hidden within themselves, and what effect it has on their lives.
And so we were not so willing to camp out in some hidden spot in the bush! We simply do not know whether the recent violent past here has had an appreciable effect on violent crime rates. A search of our mapping system revealed only 2 camping grounds within reach of where we were at nightfall, and luckily the first one was open! We are the only patrons tonight so we have an absolute waterfront spot. The place is fenced and there are two men in attendance, so we feel very safe here, not to mention the lovely view!
22 March 2016
The countryside south if Srebronice is very different. It is actually mountainous. We passed over a number of mountain passes above 1000m. It is very picturesque.
We arrived in Sarejavo around dusk, and headed for the campground on our map. This involved a steep climb to a mountain overlooking the city. But whe we got there the road was barred. We found a place to park near a restaurant and the owners agreed we could stay the night. So we had dinner within walking distance, and the chef produced a very nice vegan meal of grilled vegetables and rice. To top it off when we awoke we found ourselves surrounded by (most unseasonal) snow.
Sarejavo is a very surprising city (to me at least). We found our way to the Old City area. We find it easier to park the vehicle near a tram or train stop and go into cities by public transport rather than trying to park in the cities. That worked well in this case.
The Old City has a very distinct Middle Eastern influence (probably Turkish?). There are mosques, Turkish sweets, Turkish coffee, shisha cafes, and bazaar stalls. The vendors are not as pushy as they are in Dhubai though, so it is very pleasant to wander the bazaars.
These old ruins were a caravanserai built in the 1500s, and parts have been renovated and still function as cafes, guesthouse and bazaars.
I had expected the Sarejvo experience to be all about the war. in fact we did see signs of shooting and mortars on the buildings, but the experience was instead very pleasant. The experienced was topped off by snow -the largest snow flakes I have ever seen! (which is not actually saying much since snow is a relatively new experience for me, and I still find it exhilarating).
That sent us back to the car and on our way!
Winding through the mountains with snow everywhere, the scenery completed an interesting day.
23 March 2016
We spent last night in Foča, in the car park of an Aqua Park - naturally not open at this time of year. Not so the camp ground -also not open to our annoyance. The car park was quiet but we were discovered by a car-load of youths who thought it funny, or important to buzz us with multiple rapid approaches and then turning off and roaring away. We got some photos but not the full number plate, in some of their approximately 6 such passes.
We were debating whether to try a flash photo or to ignore them, when a police car turned up with three police officers. They very quickly declared that they understood we were sleeping and said "no problem" and left us alone.
Funnily enough the youths stopped their threatening behaviour at the same time - either because the saw the police were around, or because they had reported our presence to the police and were satisfied that we were no threat. (During the war The UN used white trucks, possibly similar to ours, so maybe the locals are suspicious of trucks like ours).
So after quite a good sleep we continued on. Our next experience restored our faith in today's young people. We stopped to check our maps and I saw a group of young men who were discussing our vehicle, and by their body language really wanted to come and talk with us. They took awhile to get up the courage, but finally one brave young fellow led the expedition and came over to say hello. He was followed by quite a crowd. With one young man speaking quite functional English we were able to have a conversation with them. It turned out they were students studying Mechanical Engineering. We hope they feel inspired to work hard so they can travel some day.
From Foča we tried to go to Tara Canyon (which we were told was the "second greatest canyon in the world, after The Grand Canyon". Unfortunately we are not able to confirm that with an unusable road from the Foča end and a road closed from the Montenegro end. But if the Piva canyon is anything to judge by that claim may have some merit.
The road along the Piva canyon between Foča and the Montenegro border was very poor. In fact it was quite hair raising, with land slides on the uphill side and subsiding road on the downhill side. Joe says it took years off his life.
But the countryside and the gorge were spectacular.
But we couldn't forget the past even here, with bullet damaged buildings and land mine warnings.
At the border they once again would not stamp our carnet, and we were into Montenegro!
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