We booked a coach tour to Bosnia and set off from the hotel at 7.00am. The sky was very overcast and within an hour it started to rain.......... the only rain we had in the whole fortnight!
By the time we reached the Croatia/Bosnia border it was like a deluge, such a shame as the mountain scenery would have looked spectacular in sunshine.
It took us about 3 hours+ to reach Bosnia and we were certainly made aware of the destruction that had been caused by the war of '92/'95. There was such a huge loss of lives during the war that there wasn't enough space to bury all the bodies. Other than mass graves, sometimes people were forced to dig graves in their own gardens and bury members of their own family, it was a very sobering thought as we drove through Bosnia and saw the gravestones in gardens and on the roadside.
We were booked to take a 1 1\2 hour guided tour around Mostar but by the time we reached there, the rain was coming down in sheets and we were literally paddling in water so the tour was cancelled and we had to make our own way around if we wished.
Mostar Bridge
This bridge was a famous and historical bridge before its destruction in 1993. It spanned the River Nevetva. It also became a World Heritage site in the twentieth century.
The reconstruction of the bridge was completed in 2004 and was opened by Prince Charles in the same year.
The bridge used to be used for diving competitions and is still used by young men today who will jump from the top if they receive enough "tips" from tourists to make it worthwhile. The bridge is about 21 metres high.
There was a young man stripped off in the pouring rain waiting to make the jump/dive but unfortunately his 'assistant' wasn't able to collect enough money to make it worth his while ........... I expect his rates went sky-high in such atrocious weather!!!
Finally, the remains of the war damage are clear to see everywhere .......
