Emerging from the Chrysalis of winter... 2006

As better weather was more of a promise than a reality, we began emerging from our chrysalis state in preparation....

..for special occasions, special people and new energy. It felt like a rite of passage, and here Nigel Osborne, returns to Mostar after two years of absence, and we know for sure that things are only going to get better..

How inspiring is it to see someone truly at peace in the sun... Meet Tina from Dorset.

A party mood these two were in....

A patch of river in front of the home where we were having a barbeque is swollen way above normal. Next door to is 'my' potato patch riverfront property at 18Km for 1000sq metres...

This day in late March was the perfect day to climb to Hercog's castle and take in the view of the Blagaj - where soon we would be descending to a barbeque - some pictures of which are above.

What a treat - Teo and Nigel lead the Sevda singing at my place.... love the way people just sing - because they love to sing and because Sevda is in their soul.  You can feel the heaviness, and yet, in a moment of strange spontaneity, there is suddenly music, laughter and all the clouds simply vanish. I love this combustible, uncomplicated joy that bubbles every ready beneath the surface.

Always a happening when Tina or Ian arrive into town.  Here we are set up in the PMC with a lot of food - and wine  - of course.

I love the Adriatic - who can help it - but this was a spontaneous dash (in a Lancia) to the coast on the last Sunday in March - the day after the barbeque.  Geert-Jan, Alma and Michael  zenning on the rocks.  Nice - very, very nice.

Living in the Chrysalis of winter... 2006

January, February and March 2006 were cold and long months ... for the next few pictures you will see how the staff and friends coped (or didnt) with the cruel grip of grey, blah winter... (for Jan inspiration see "The Dragon Sleeps forever...")

I walk this lovely cobblestone street everyday to work. Its lovely - but very difficult to walk on -- even in sensible shoes. Every morning street vendors are busy and the market is alive as farmers set out their produce. Older folks are out - catching up on the business of everyone, and this vitality reminds me how privileged I am to have such a walk every day. The morning is the best time for Mostar. The night belongs to the youth and coffee bars.

Peaking through the damage from 10 years ago. Spanish square is a large open area pretty much in the centre of the city. While most areas of the city are rebuilding slowly, the Square is still a reminder of what can go horribly wrong. On a sunny day though, it becomes a surreal artform.

We sometimes get a little nutty in the office. I still cant believe that you can take pictures with your mobile phone. Andrew is checking his TB shot - and so is everyone else.

Maybe the winter was a tad too long....

The grip of winter was broken by a few parties .... here the staff, volunteers and Board members 'let their hair' down - those that have some - and socialize away from the office routine...






Maya and Daniel are still discovering new ways to use the mobile...

It is good there is no sound. Country and Western music doesnt fit in the Balkans...but it was fun anyway. Watch for the next post for March!.. more parties.

One Day in the Summer of 2004 -

Velez - It is now the season of potent fragrances - and the compelling lure of the aromatic wild sage and rosemary along the roadsides and hills - the fragrances are potent.  We found edible berries along the way.  On one very hot day in late August we had a very strange hiking experience. Our trek started late, our guide got lost, and a horrendous storm gathered furious momentum while we were approaching the first summit on Velez - a nearby desert-like mountain terrain. But before that drama started, we innocently took time to rest while our guide hacked his way through the bracken looking for the path...

The goal was to reach the face and come down by the light of the moon.








But later - only Jeremy seemed to be concerned about the signs in the sky.

It took a few worried calls from Tarik's father, before we turned back in the face of the storm coming in far too quickly.  We are already well on our way back down a windy impassable road, but are a long way from shelter. Our clothes are hopelessly insufficient for what is to follow. I wrap Tarik's extra T-shirt on my head to help keep my body heat in.  We were seriously underprepared.  This was the last picture that my camera took - ever. The static - or the heavy rain cut through the camera bag and destroyed it.

The ominous weight of air about to burst with hail - impressed us into hurling downhill through sheep pastures, forgetting about possible landmines -- with 6 kilometers still to go. Thanks to the intervention of our guide's father, a van picked us up at the last drivable point on the road. Afterwards we were left with strong memories and pockets full of wild berries to dry for tea....and a legacy of stories to tell for a while.

The most amazing preserved town in europe is Dubrovnik

I have returned here many times.

It is quite a hike around the top of old Dubrovnik. Fanciful imaginings of how it used to be .... a romaticized version of course.











Jeremy carrying my guitar while I am working... first days in Mostar.