- Will this wind ever go away? (Eventually)
- Is it going to snow? (Definitely)
- Are there any vegetarian options? (The best!)
- How’s the coffee? (Incredible)
- Why does it feel so different from where we’ve been?
- How should we think about the recent history?
- What does Herzegovina mean? (Herzegovina is the historic name for the southeastern part of the country, where we actually spent a good amount of our time. While there are no formal or administrative borders, it gets this name from the time when Ottomans ruled the region and took up the habit of naming areas they controlled by their previous ruler’s title. “Herceg” means duke. )
We’ve only spent five days here as we’re biking through the skinny end of the country and we had to shorten the route due to wind. In these five days it’s felt like we learned and experienced much more Bosnian culture and history than in Slovenia and Croatia combined.
Partially this was due to circumstance. The pesky bora winds (for more reading on bora see the Croatia blog) had us bus to Mostar and hunker down there for a day. This gave us a bit of time to explore, try Bosnian coffee, and learn some of the complex and violent history of this place. Mostar felt so materially different than other cities and towns we’d been to. We could find ample vegetarian options, for one, and there was much more religious diversity – mosques alongside churches. Despite our lack of Bosnian language skills and the less English spoken here, it also felt much more welcoming. Bosnian seemed like a place to listen to and our ears were open.
What wasn’t exciting is the weather that lay ahead. Our plan was to climb into the mountains but the forecast had some possible snow, definite rain, and general humid frigidness. We knew we would find warm housing every night, however, and were so pleased that the wind was finally calming, that we plowed on.
The first climb was a pleasant grade and gorgeous. The drivers were nice, the cement trucks not going that much faster than us, and it was a generally dead road. We stoped at a mountain hotel for lunch and then had a delightful gravel descent into Boracko lake. The following day’s climb felt never ending. And just when you thought you could see the peak, we were just about enveloped in whiteout conditions and trudging our bikes through slushy snow patches. When we arrived at the mountain hut of our dreams, there was only one other guest: a fellow bikepacker from France named Layla. Everyone else from around here saw the forecast and wisely decided to stay home.
Two more days of lovely gravel, kind smiles, and big friendly dogs and we were in Montenegro. Over in the blink of an eye! -M
Evie’s version:
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been my favorite country thus far. Absolutely gorgeous, diverse landscapes, friendly people, good food, affordable prices, and abundant water fountains. Can’t wait to come back on another trip and spend time in Saravejo and explore more via biking or hiking. Maybe in warmer weather – it’s been unseasonably cold.-E
Thank you. Fascinating journey you are on. Here’s to continuing yourB