Mostar, BiH

A farmer watching his one cow. Can't let it get away.

Madre Mirjana

Driving from Sarajevo to Mostar

Thomas the class mascot hanging out on the rocks in Neum.

The bridge at Mostar. The original bridge was bombed to pieces during the war.

Mosque in Mostar

Hoping to enjoy the last weekend of summer before school started, we headed to Mostar and the 13 KM of Bosnian coastline known as Neum. In Mostar we met Mirjana who owns the apartment we stayed in. Slightly crazy, but mostly starved for someone to talk to (her husband is deaf), she stayed up late "talking" to us in 4 different languages and imbibing us with rakja, a very strong grape liquor. None of us spoke a common language, but we were able to communicate enough to learn about her family, her mother's death and their move from Croatia. By the end of the evening Mirjana had professed herself our "madre" and asked us to come back to stay, eat and drink with her anytime. She fizzed up some vitamins for us and sent us to bed. In the morning, Mirjana greeted us with cappuccinos and then hopped in the buba to help us get a new headlight for the car. The last we saw of her, we dropped her off into 4 lanes of traffic near her house. She refused to get out anywhere else. Did I mention she did all of this in her nightgown? We will definitely rendezvous with madre Mirjana and beautiful Mostar again.

The second leg of our weekend was a little bit of a letdown. Not having the right papers to drive the car into Croatia, we opted for Neum. Neum is a tiny, sad little bay town sandwiched between the gorgeous Croatia coastline. It could be incredible and lively, however the guests don't seem to respect it the way we should treat our seas. James watched a guy finish a beer and throw his bottle directly into the water. I tried to find a comfy spot on the rocks next to the water, but gave up because of human excrement. I'm not sure on that one...