Week 6: Improvisation
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| Dubrovnik |
So this week has found me in two separate countries, Croatia in Dubrovnik where I last wrote from and Mostar in Bosnia. Both have been hits for me and I’ve had a really great time, though Dubrovnik itself did not live up to my, perhaps ludicrously high, expectations. That said I found other things to find.
Dubrovnik was very beautiful, but smaller than I expected and also a lot more expensive than I expected. All told in my 5 day stay I only spent two days in the city itself, but I did discover some lovely hiking on the coast of Dubrovnik. A hike I ended up doing twice, with some different paths of exploration each time.
On Monday I went into Dubrovnik and wandered the city for a few hours in the still blistering September sun. It hasn’t seemed to start getting cooler with temperatures still hitting the mid thirties in the afternoon. Dubrovnik is lovely but it does suffer from too many tourists in too small a space, especially because of Game of Thrones, and constant cruise ship traffic. It is still beautiful but some of the charm fades from it when almost every street is packed with tourists. I wandered outside the walls for some pictures then back into the old town proper. Sometime around then I found a bench out on the harbour boardwalk and spent a few hours pounding out some writing. The bench was the only one free as it was covered in bird shit, but low and behold, luck was with me and no pigeons hated me today. As of the end of this week I have about 5 scenes left to write, and the book has ballooned to somewhere between 110 and 120 thousand words, still a very workable length though, considering the 1st book of my other trilogy was 320 thousand, making it difficult to get published to say the least.
After the writing was done I had a delicious but expensive diner sitting over the sea and looking out. Some delicious squid, a a nice pizza and a beautiful view, a good way to cap the day.
The next day I woke up from a good dream repeatedly for about an hour and sadly it was one of those good dreams that you really do believe in for a few moments after you wake up, only for the reality to melt into your mind and remove the bliss from your soul. It began with melancholy but somehow energized me and I decided to try to just go out for a hike, having no idea if paths even existed.
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| They did exist! |
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| The picture does not do this place justice. |
They did, though sometimes they were more just sparser sections of forest, but still I spent the better part of 10 hours outside, hiking for about 4 hours along rocks, coastal cliffs, stunning pine forest, eventually happening upon a cove below the cliffs. I saw a pebbled beach and headed down, absolutely amazed to find myself completely alone in this paradise. It made all the sweat and little scratched from thorns worth it and I spent maybe an hour doing some snorkelling and relaxing on the beach, then, just as I was heading off to find better shade for some writing, more lucky travellers discovered this stunning oasis. I helped them with the best path down and then headed off. I ended up just writing a quick rap song before realizing I’d forgotten my flashlight and if I didn’t hurry home I’d lose the light and that would have been quite a mess.
The next day I went back into Dubrovnik, felt ready to write and took a seat on a different bench, this one not covered in shit. I got some good writing done for about an hour, when suddenly I felt a sudden burst of hot wetness, too huge for the sweat to explain, and realized some sort of bird has shit all over me and my open laptop. Luckily some lovely Croatians came rushing over with disinfectant soaked wet wipes and I was able to get cleaned up and resume writing, my precious macbook air actually cleaner than it had been before the shit. I was just glad I’d been wearing my hat.
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| My writing bench, post bird shit. |
So…. Turns out lightning does strike the same place twice. Maybe 45 minutes later the same hot mess covered my neck and shoulder and I just sighed, relieved I’d kept some leftover towels. I cleaned off, packed up and figured why fight the birds, they clearly didn’t want me sitting there.
I wandered through the city and out of the old town and climbed up to an ancient fort where I found a lovely bench overlooking both the sea and Dubrovnik and had a very inspired writing session, and felt immensely joyful by the end of the day.
The next day, Thursday, and my last day near Dubrovnik, I packed a picnic and did a similar hike to before, though I pushed it past the cove. That was perhaps a mistake as the paths vanished pretty quickly and I was just forcing my way through thick backcountry. Eventually I reached the next coastal village and turned back, finding my oasis again unmanned and relaxing in that private little cove for an hour or so before heading up to a tiny and isolated church and taking a seat to do some more writing. This time I had my flashlight and made it back to the hostel just shortly after the sun disappeared from the sky. The views from this hike, the climbing itself, the freshness of the air. It really was amazing both times, and since were nearing the end of high season, I barely saw anyone on either day once I got past the first bit of the hike which is a boardwalk through town.
That night I met or rather re-met four very nice French nurses who were staying at my hostel. It was great to get to practice French and chat with more travellers, the one thing this hotel/hostel had not had a lot of was social interaction this fixed it and I caught my bus to Mostar early next morning feeling very content, if a little tired. We all stayed up too late chatting and dancing to Shakira, a tinny version, escaping the minuscule speakers of a smartphone.
Now Friday, Saturday and Sunday have been lovely. I have fallen in love with Mostar. I arrived in the mid afternoon exhausted but was welcomed warmly to my hostel after a little bus station mix up and then set out to see the town.
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| View from the old bridge in Mostar |
Mostar to me is a town of contradictions. There is rich history from ancient times here, and incredible beauty in the people, the food, and the city itself, but then you round a corner and see a shelled out building covered in graffiti and think of it being used as a sniper nest to shoot across the street. One of the main streets here was actually a front line during the war and on either side you can see sniper nests, and buildings still all but entirely destroyed. Of course beside some of the best examples of this, is a beautiful new school full of students playing, laughing and smiling. The city has already been rebuilt in spirit and while some signs of the horrors of war remain, they are not defining the city anymore, at least not to me. It is a terrifically beautiful, and inspiring thing to see a city recovering so fully and thriving once more. That said, I’m sure my eyes only take in a small fraction of it all, and there is much more under the surface of it. I intend to learn more in the coming few days.
While entering one of the biggest sniper nests I met a man from Sarajevo who had fought in the war and showed me his scars while telling me all about it. Being in a shelled out bank alone with this strange man you naturally felt a little nervous, but we talked for a while, I shared some of my coke with him, and we embraced at the end. It was interesting and terrifying all at once and really left a somber if fascinated mood on the day.
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| Me atop the ruins of an Ottoman Castle |
The next day I met up with two very nice girls from Belgium, and our mutual father figure from Ireland, and we embarked on a day long tour with our own personal Bosnian driver and drove to the source of a river, then to an old Turkish medieval town where we got to climb to the top of an awesome lookout tour, and then, to perhaps the highlight of my travels so far, and a place I did not know existed when I first decided I was coming to Bosnia. Kravice Falls.
Places like this are why I’m so excited to see south America. This place was amazing in and of itself, but maybe more amazing was the limited tourism there. Few tour buses stop there, there are no hotels super close to the falls and just a few little cafes right under them. There’s also no entrance fee. We all saw up to the falls themselves and explored underneath them. I spotted a couple of small water snakes but had luckily read that they were harmless online.
We all took turns swimming and jumping under some of the bigger cascades and letting them force us down under the ice cold water. Whoops of Joy we’re shared by all and it really felt like being a kid again. I was reminded of being in Costa Rica at the waterfall in Montezuma, one of my favourite places in the whole world. Kravice falls joins Montezuma on that list and I’m thrilled that I’ll be going back on Tuesday (On what is commonly shared as the most amazing tour in all of Bosnia)
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| Above the falls. (Not Pictured: A bunch of snakes) |
After exploring under the falls I headed up alone to try to find the top. I had to cut through a farmers field and I managed to harvest some delicious blackberries, but I had limited time and while I found the rivers an abundance of small water snakes kept me mostly out of the water, and as I tried to force my way through the undergrowth I saw a very different and much larger snake slithering away and decided it would be beast to just leave it Still the streams I found there were very beautiful and I felt very alone and happy I’d chosen to explore.
Today was a relaxing day of heading down into the old town and writing in sight of Stari Most, the old town bridge which was bombed to oblivion during the war but rebuilt now, using most of the same stone salvaged from the river. The locals collect money and then jump from the 0 foot high bridge into the freezing water and whirling currents of the scenic river which runs though town. To me, they seem crazy, but hey they make decent money.
My writing was interrupted by a few young Bosnian children who found my little oasis out on the rocks and came over asking me to smoke marijuana and same other choice phrases. They couldn’t have been more than ten but underneath their bravado they seemed nice enough.
My writing flow disturbed I headed off to lunch at an incredible restaurant with an insane meat grill. Bosnian cuisine is something I’m quickly loving and having to work hard to maintain decent eating habits. So much good meat, and sour cream. I couldn’t help but think of how much my mother would love this place with all the intricately woven table clothes and carpets for sale, and the sour cream alone would have brought a smile to her face.
I’m planning to spend two more days at this lovely hostel Madjas hostel. It is a home away from home in all the best ways, caring staff, amazing homemade breakfasts and a great social atmosphere. I wish I could stay longer, but Montenegro, another improvisational stop, beckons.
I spent the evening watching my Vikings lose, but oh well you can’t win them all and I’m still living a life filled with new and different wonders each and every day. Still loving travelling, writing, making new friends, and life in general.
This song holds a special place in my heart. It is for me a song about travelling. My ex girlfriend Maria first introduced it to me and since then I often find myself singing excerpts from it. A happy, carefree island melody and inspired lyrics. The music video also suits the song perfectly and portrays in some ways the life I’m currently living and loving.
One more photo for you, Mostar at sunset:
Until next week,
Luke
