Middle-aged flash packers

After much bumbling about this morning we eventually set off around 9.30am.

I was sorry to be leaving Slovenia. It has grown on me. We went for a little wander after dinner last night around the streets near us and it was so tranquil and quiet. People have space in this part of the world – it really brings it home how crowded The South of England is.

Even the motorway was quiet – where is everybody?!

That changed when we crossed into Croatia. I obviously wasn’t quick enough pulling the ticket out of the machine at the motorway toll, hence the tooting from the car behind. Welcome to Croatia – not.

Time to get back on our guard and watch out for cars up our exhaust pipe, pulling out without any warning and generally driving like morons. Actually it wasn’t that bad, but after the discipline and order of Northern Europe it came as an unsettling surprise.

Not too long after, we arrived in Bosnia.

 First impressions were of a poorer country. Ancient tractors, road signs warning us of horse and carts, people toiling in fields. But what a scenic place! Mountains covered in greenery and crystal clear rivers. It looks untouched. 

However, driving through tiny villages there are still signs of the horrors that blighted Bosnia in the 1990’s. Bullet riddled facades on houses are still evident although many people have taken off the render from their houses or recovered them. There are lots of graves – too many for such a small village. It wasn’t just the 1990 war, in the Second World War many Muslims were murdered here. The mosque in the town has been destroyed three times. 

Kulen kaluf has a feeling of being a beaten down place but there is optimism here now. The surrounding area has been designated a national park and steps are being taken to introduce tourism. The accommodation We are staying in is run by a couple who have spoilt us with their typical Bosnian hospitality. We were given an afternoon itinerary and ideas for tomorrow’s exploring plus a fabulous, home cooked three course dinner. Fantastic.

We are very definitely “off the beaten track” in every sense of the word. 

We set off to find the waterfalls in Martin Brod, 8 km up the road. After much faffing, we decided it must be up the track marked “tunnels” so headed off up there. It was a fabulous walk, high up looking down on a fast-flowing river. We walked through a tunnel which was a bit scary, and saw some Rapids in the river which we assumed were part of the waterfall. There was another tunnel but it was full of bats and I couldn’t see any light so being a bit of a ninny I refused to walk through it. It was spooky too – not one other person about. We retraced our steps. Later we found we had taken the wrong route and completely missed the waterfall. Oh well there’s always tomorrow.

Next we went to climb up to the castle. There was no route marked so Steve followed Mr Google and eventually we arrived at the castle. Again, absolutely no one about. 

Tomorrow we are going to find 2 different sets of waterfalls, follow the medicinal herb trail and visit a Bosnian traditional farm (our host is very keen for us to see this so I think they’re probably mates!)