The brevity of our time on earth....

For some strange quirk of fate or destiny, we get to visit earth for a brief while, and it seems a pity that we are here for such a short time, while all the interesting bits carry on, evolve and change long before and after our tour. But in the Balkans, one becomes aware of time in a different way - as a manufactured measurement that means nothing. All is possible in any moment.

Stecci...ancient burial cairns from a mysterious period














following along a small stream, we approach an ancient cavern...

This limestone cavern lies beyond the casual observer and provides a path for water that ran the mills here in years gone by.

Pools of limestone water emerging from the mountain.

Within a 30 minute drive we find another pool of water... The colour of this lake gives it its name... Blue Lake. A long descent down to the rocky shore is rewarded by crackling cold water - for those of us who dared to swim - bathing suit or no.  

A modern plaque on the descent to Blue Lake, I dont know what this says, but maybe future generations will read it too.

Velez - another time, different people and another place.... We are listening to coocoo birds and the distant ring of sheep bells on pod velez. For eons man has tended his sheep in high remote hills and valleys such as this. Time stands still in these hills, and we returned to our normal reality 3 hours later...quite bemused by our escape into a time warp.







Hiking on Velez was one of my favourite things to do.  The ground felt sacred to me - but it was some kind of frequency or vibration in the are that made it special.  

The Balkans are dotted with decaying ancient castles, fortresses, and more recent structures that mark man's historic use of this fascinating area

... but the land is timeless.