Exploring Another World 2004 -(Chapter 2)

... as we explore a newly restored mosque after the damage of the war. Pocetlje is about 25 km south of Mostar. Dating back to the early 1500s - the village retains its old turkish charm. It is now an artist colony.

... or stumble into the traditional lifestyle of the hills people - an experience to treasure. The sac - is also a verb as in ' a way of cooking'. Many urbanites own a 'sac', but few can cook it on an open hearth such as this. Inside the 'sac' is a tasty spinach pie. Outside this cozy warm hut is a biting cool mountain air - that defies the bright sunny day.

...and this yummy warm lunch is very welcome after the first half of our hike.

In the month of poppies - June - Ian (London), Ermin (Mostar) and I travelled north to Sarajevo

Spontaneity and a willingness to explore is second nature to Ermin and so we ended up in finding two restorans built into the landscape. This cavern forms part of the fish farm restoran in the following pictures. And SOooo inspired - Ian is conducting his perfect Symphony in E flat - OHM..... well one can imagine it....

Havent been able to find my way back since...

I wish you could have been here on this day in June when our team took an improvised exploration of nearby natural and man-made treasures. 

It was my first trip to Pocetlje. The fortress that once surrounded the turkish settlement is still explorable for those who don't mind heights and cramped, dark passages!

Domace wine - the best! opinion of some wine experts that the Herzegovinian grape vines were exported from this area to the Bordeaux area of France over a thousand years ago. This is the perfect end to an otherwise very perfect day.

Not Mr. Roger's neighbourhood... It is a human trait to try to imagine the unimaginable. The devastation in Mostar is extremely extensive and my camera cannot capture the visceral experience of walking through areas of total destruction. But it is a common enough scene - Mostar is gradually, refacing itself.

The once beautiful Naretva Hotel is now a bleak reminder of how things can go horribly wrong...





..a few days after the glamour of the Mostar bridge opening and the Prince of Wales visiting us, I was suddenly grounded - here near Pula - the stunning north coast of the Adriatic sea - for a music camp for special needs children.

Well then? What do you consider 'normal' ... ? you kinda had to be there... This is the isle of Brjuni -and we have special permission to be here to see The Marat de Sade - play of course. Aiden is a viola player in the orchestra.

The chldren are doing exercises led by the Kosovo team.
They are the reason for being here. That and some serious relaxation. Brian and Esther on the beach... talking.... talking.... talking......

Welcome to Another World - the best of 2004. (Chapter 1)

In the year of 2004 I had a remarkable opportunity to explore personal and professional challenges. At a time in my life when sanity may insist on pursuing traditional roles and comfortable experiences, I was launched into a new country, a new way to use my professional skills and a culture shock that didnt show itself until many months into this remarkable journey





Many events and adventures were not captured by camera - but they live as vibrantly in my mind as though they had been...

For me, pictures are a story in themselves - creating other possibilies in the viewers mind, or helping create a different perspective of events. These pictures remind me of the remarkable year of 2004, a year that is marked by a deep personal satisfaction for an optomistic soul like myself. So technically, they may or may not be the 'best' but the images touch me.

Beautiful landscapes exist within 20 K of Mostar. I joined a small hiking club when I first arrived.

This was the year that the stari most was reopened - and for many Mostarians it was met with mixed feelings...which a foreigner can only guess at.

The most extreme experience was an unprepared trek up Velez with Jeremy. The mountain climates are very harsh with sudden changes at all times of the year.Tarik, our guide insisted on this picture using Jeremy's towel like a flag.

And, I never get tired of this image of the Prenj mountain range seen on the highway from Sarajevo to

Mostar.  We were on the upper 3rd of the face when the storm hit.

The year was marked by my meeting extraordinary people - not just famous people...

...but Mostarians who not only carry the drama and tragedy of war and the seductive magnetism of this amazing place - but also bring gaiety, laughter and special spontaneous moments. How ironic it is to find honest humour in the middle of this environment - . I am very lucky to have met such people who find a ways to make life lighter. Vanessa and Lynne Redgrave and the Prince of Wales were probably the biggest VIP people I have actually ever met. But people are people. And friendship is the most valuable resource we have.

It was my first leap into a country where english is not spoken, and so also my need to pursue language lessons - which led to even more adventures... Adventures such as a magical hike into the ancient Bosnian kingdom last ruled by King Tvrtko in the 14th century,

... or river rafting on the emerald Naretva! 

...or finding hidden caves while exploring abandoned water mills....

... or hearing the sound of cuckoos in the distance.

....or simply looking for frogs in Hutovo Blato park.












August 19th brought Jeremy to Mostar. And this was the beginning of the best trimester of the year. For two weeks we explored many areas around BiH. Both our cameras were destroyed in the storm on Velez.





...To be continued...(Chapter 2)

Ancient relics and silent watchers...

One of the most poignant pictures I have. A friend - a young muslim woman- reflects on the what 'was' and has passed on. She stands beside an ancient cross (about 900 years old) where Christians, and maybe Bugomils, long, long ago habited the hilltop; and now her family's blown-up and abandoned village lies behind her. Time may help heal the memories, but scarred ruins and vacant villages throughout BiH still bear testimony to the recent vicious wars of 92 and 93.But it isnt just man who turns inward and attacks its own civilization. Time is an accomplice. There are many abandoned ruins around BiH that once stood for a high state of civilization or marked a unique expression of culture and spiritual beliefs. But for one reason or another, ruins of castles, fortresses, townships and other forms of civil societies have been left behind - to suffer the assault of time and nature. There are many stories to explain the gradual decline and decay of these ancient structures, but for now, they are accessible to anyone who takes the time to venture into the hills and backroads of BiH...avoiding the modern method of destruction - land mines.



















About 2300 years ago the Balkans were inhabited by tribes of resiliant people called the Illyrians. Here on this hilltop are two Illyrian burial mounds that we hiked up to one day. They watch over the modern village of Bugodo 20 minutes out of Mostar,



















The Illyrian legacy emerged centuries later in the stecci that can still be found throughout BiH.,,, The stecci are unique to this part of the world. The bugomils lived high up in the mountainous regions and practiced a pagan form of christianity leaving the stamp of their culture on these burial stones in sites found only in Bosnia and Hercegovina.



















The roman stadium in Pula in Croatia is an amazing structure - hulking over the west side city streets - and making the wanderer inside its walls feel very puny. The remains still command respect for the accomplishments of the engineers and architects of that time...



















I have not been able to figure out what this is for. It is about 1600 years old - just outside of Caplinja



















These ruins lie within walking distance of Caplinja which is a 30 minute drive from Mostar



















This is the ancient fortress of Herceg Stjepan who ruled the area of Hum which is Hercegovina today. It is built upon old Roman ruins which were also built upon the really old Illyrian ruins. The castle is reached by a windy path that zig zags its way up to the cliff top. In the summer it is a challenging climb because of the heat, but in the winter it takes only 20 minutes.



















A fabulous view of the Neretva valley can be seen from the middle of these ruins....



















...And just 50 metres away from the stecci, we too leave our contribution to the legacy of human kind ....

IMAGES FROM 2005

My comfort coffee cup... I use it all year when I am in Vancouver ...so it's first this time.

Bijelisnica - skiing with Juliane - the icy cold of winter in the last sun rays of the day.

Another place of constant comfort .... The peace of Podvelez - and the distant cuckoo bird ... May 1, 2005

Sitting in the hills beyond Sarajevo - just as the ancients did - but maybe not on their own burial stones (about 1200 AD) perhaps of the original Bosnian church, or the Bugomils.

June 2005 on my way back from Aarhus, Denmark. A park in Copenhagen close to where Helle lives.... a friend and colleague who was one of the first to welcome me to Mostar.  :-)









Our Lejla opening the Blues Festival in mostar in July 2005. She has a voice of an angel - and we love it.  So proud of her. 

Juliane and Tiffany taste the waters of the Buna River - mottled with the reflection of the cliffs above.  July 2005

A year to the day of the gala opening of Stari Most, a small band celebrates the opening of Lucki Most on Phil and Lei's first night in Mostar. July 26, 2005

Mostar is dotted with graveyards all over the place. This one is very old. Interesting that many people today dont think about their ancestors.... even though their families have lived here for hundreds of years. On the other side of the city there is one graveyard where the epitaphs are all the same date - 1992.

"I feel THIS big!" We are standing on ancient Illyrian mounds after climbing up through some confusing thickets. November 2005

... walking in the rain near Plymouth Rock in ... Plymouth in Devon. December 31, 2005.

Banjo Point in Cornwall - January 1, 2006.