There was a gaggle of locals waiting at the bus stop and we were singled out by a small old woman who offered us a room for cheap right next to the bus station. Having been burnt by not accepting the proposition in Croatia, we decided that this time we should accept. There was another guy charging double to a family near us and maybe that's what I meant by double charged. Our old lady didn't undercut him and we had a place within easy walking distance for the bus the next day. We decided to stay for just the one night, because it didn't look that great. Mostar ended up being really pretty. We had taken an afternoon kip because we were dead from the night before. When we headed into the town, it was obvious that the facade from the bus window was not representative of the picturesque centre of the town. It was small, but it was very cosy. We noticed the price difference immediately. We would finally be able to stay on budget and enjoy ourselves a little. The famous bridge is excellent, arching over the river like a curving back, gently tumbling over the river. Its also very serene. You feel strangely relaxed, when normally next to a famour landmark you feel harangued from all sides by the hustle and bustle of the tourists and vendors. This was in the height of summer as well. The cobbled streets leading to and from the bridge were also nice with the small vendors. Not much pushing here and the locals seemed a lot more accommodating than the Croats before. We went on a walk around the suburbs to see some of the bombed out buildings from the war. The contrast between the new and old was marked. Cannelle thought one place I told her was bombed out was in fact just a new housing estate. It's got a nice blend of ghost town and vibrant pulsating little community. It's one of those places you could just chill out in for ages. Shame we only had the one night as we'd already booked tickets to Jajce. I believe this diary entry sums up the finances. 'Can eat again.' Yes we could. No more bread and chicken sausage. Well not much anyway. We could eat in restaurants and still be on budget. We could get giant portions of meat with some pita bread thingy. It was so cheap. Lots of weddings in town, though not of Kiev dimensions. No bridge divers sadly. It didn't mater. The bridge was better than the divers would have been. We hung out in some cool bars, Cannelle picked up an awesome crepe for almost nothing and then we went home because we were knackered. Nice place. It was also monumental here, because it was where Cannelle's hair straighteners blew up and gave up the ghost. Since this day she has not used them anymore. Going from the woman who could never do without them, to finally having her wonderful natural hair all the time.
We left the key on the table in the morning and headed for Jajce. We got there and there appeared to be no budget accommodation in town. Bus times were bad as well. We opted for a two night stay and a hike down to Pliva lakes. Or maybe we decided on two nights after we saw Pliva. I can't remember. It was a long walk. Very long. All the way down the main highway. Wow it was pretty. We had come for the town, but we would stay for the lakes. Cannelle didn't want to see the waterfalls for the town, but that was ruined by the Croatian disease of sticking up a giant billboard with the location plasted all over it. It was a mini Plitvice. Only you could swim in this one. The campsite was 5 euros each for the night. I love Bosnia. Or maybe it was 5 euros each for 2 nights. It was cheap anyway. We went down to the lake and got a huge burger thing that we couldn't even finish. Mountains of meat. We walked around the lake, past the second upper lake with mini mill things. Not sure what their purpose is but it looked pretty. We went for a swim. Well I did as it was ice cold. Shit like Russia. Still it was nice and invigorating. It's true that cold water fires up the blood. We grabbed some supplies and headed back to the tent. It was still a shitty tent, but it was hanging in there. Not sure if it was going to make the whole trip. It was a nice relaxing couple of days off here. No rush. Just chilling. I told Cannelle that South East Asia would be a more similar pace to now.
In the morning we went for another walk around the lakes. We got super cheap ice cream. 20p or something like that. We went to visit the catacombs and the castle. Both crappy but cheap. Everyone was super helpful. The Bosnians just seemed really nice. Cannelle has a veggie stew for lunch and I had another Cevapi. The food down here in the Balkans was really good. The more you spend here, the more you realise why Yugoslavia was such a popular destination for the Germans before the war. We even got a great hot chocolate that I spilt everywhere from a little house in front of some impossibly beautiful mini cascades. I have no idea why more people don't visit here. Even Lonely Planet glosses over it, but I think they always slide past National Parks. A place in Thailand that looks jaw droppingly beautiful only got a small mention in the Thailand section, yet some bullshit beach resort will get three pages. Oh well. Shows the focus of most tourists. Ah mini pooh. Its Cannelle's new name. Never stuck though. We bought the Sarajevo tickets for the next day, electing to avoid the weird pyramid thing they have unearthed. Then we saved the best until last. The double drop waterfall underneath the city. It looked picture perfect on the photos, but when we got to the vantage point it was clear that one of the waterfalls had dried up and they had built some sort of weird bridge. Bugger. It ruined it but it was still pretty and Pliva had been worth it as well. The waiters in the evening thought we were Bosnian. We went back to the lake and chilled out reading and watching a crazy dog who was running around for no reason at the barbecue. It was a really pleasant two days here and Bosnia was fast joining Slovenia as a favourite country.
In the morning we set off for Sarajevo and had just left the campsite when a car pulled up alongside us for the third time this holiday. A crazy local farmer offered us a lift. He couldn't speak a word of English but showed us photos of his family and him with a scythe. He was a bit mental, talked at us in Bosnian, was happy with our countries and gave me a thumbs up because he thought Cannelle was beautiful. He drove us into town (kind of like a crazy Bob from Twin Peaks) and saved us a hike. So we could chill out waiting for the bus. A woman moved for us on the bus so we could sit together. The Bosnians were so nice to us. We arrived in Sarajevo and had a double problem. No buses to Montenegro. Only one night bus from a bus station in the middle of nowhere that was expensive and there was also limited accommodation due to the film festival. This was badly planned. After our own 'no room at the inn' wanderings around Sarajevo we eventually found somewhere not too expensive with our own room. We figured we had saved enough elsewhere in Bosnia to take a hit here. It seemed a nice place, despite the number of Bosnian women dressed like putas. In the evening we even sat in the square spotting who had the shittest dress and who was the biggest puta we could see. While it was nice, I fail to see how this city is ever like a mini Istanbul. Everyone says it. I can only assume that A) They have never been to Istanbul, B) They have never been to Sarajevo or C) They are really stupid. I don't see any similarities. We went off to a museum that was supposed to be free, only to be greeted with the statement 'this is a museum, you must pay.' Fuck off then. We walked up to the hill cemetary. I took us the long way round, which Cannelle loved. She got hit on by some guys when we made the top, because she was slightly ahead of me and they didn't realise I was with her. We sat and chilled up there with a good view over the city. One of the kids followed us away from the fort and I was worried we were about to be attacked, until he stopped, removed a rock and took out a bottle of alcohol that he'd obviously stashed there sometime before. We went to see the film Hanna in the evening and then adopted a dog. He followed us around and barked at all the other dogs to keep them away from us. It was a little heartless when we had to ditch him, but we ended up slinking into a Chinese restaurant to buy a few things for the evening. We were able to chill in the evening.
DISASTER. That's what I wrote and what this day was. One of the worst of the trip. The hotel would only hold our bags for an hour or so despite telling us it was ok the day before. Miscommunication. We did however get free crepes in a local restaurant when the waiter found out I was a Spurs fan. Turns out he loves Spurs, even though we have Croatian players (they don't like Croats here) and he was so excited to have a Spurs fan in his restaurant that it made his day and we ate partially for free. Nice people these Bosnians. We saw the famous bridge where World War I started and then took a bus out to get tickets for Montenegro. The bus would arrive in Herceg Novi at 4am. Ah perfect. We tried to walk to the Tunnel Museum, got lost twice, realised it was miles away and gave up. Now we were stuck. Hours to go and nowhere to go. We killed time in a restaurant with super expensive ice creams. Pointless waste of a day, aside from the crepes. Anyway the sunset was pretty and we were off to Montenegro. We would miss Bosnia. Great country.
