In the hills above Bogodo - and other spring adventures...

Spring has brought some wonderful presents. The past few months have been full, busy, dynamic and very, very special. Mostar has shed its winter grey and temperatures are reaching summer numbers. Our team finished a team building day at the Horse Ranch and I managed to get in some marvelous hikes - four altogether - and spend time with some special visitors. I dont take my camera everywhere, so if you do not see yourself in these pictures, know that you are captured in my memory bank in other ways.











Bogodo - a quiet valley 13 winding kilometres above Mostar...





In the spring leprachauns are everywhere - in all shapes and sizes - playing in flower beds...













This leprachaun is called Melissa and ZAMM! - she just appeared suddenly in the forest...











a trek up to the castle is very special each time.









The road is VERY narrow here the wall gives us millimetres to spare and the branches scrape the car... but we wind our way into a dry river bed and find the trail head to the mountain.







This hike gave us an altitude gain of 600 metres - not bad in 2 hours for cranky bones and sleep-challenged souls. But the lush canyon vegetation creates an amazing vibrancy that followed us all the way.












New growth emerges quickly in the mediterranean forest on Diva Grabovica on this hike in May. Bird song is sweet as we hike along this path.










... another hundred metres up the trail we cross over to the continental climate and the darkness of a heavier forest. Ancient kings hunted here - and even Tito who enjoyed riding up the steep trail after it became a national hunting reserve. There are no animals now... just the distant cuckoo at this altitude.











After a long hike,
we head for Jablonica - the best place to have roast lamb
.....above the amazing Naretva.






The above hike was Diva Grabovica this past month. Some pictures here are of the ever-wonderful climb to Herzog's ancient castle. (Other hikes to the Bjelisnica mountains were not captured on camera - but the climb was challenged by the presence of snow and a very tiresome road that required me to keep my car in first gear for a 9 kilometre stretch)

SPECIAL PLACES ...fall 2006

One learns the value of spontaneity - putting aside agendas, things you think you have to do, the idea that it might be a lot of bother - to be rewarded by the amazing potential and offerings the environment offers. This is especially so, when you have great people with whom to share it. It was a cloudy day in October -and my birthday when I decided to join some friends on a drive to the island of Hvar. We ended up with three people just before take-off - 30 minute's notice only requires a toothbrush. I had no camera to record this remarkable trip ... but here are Andrew's pictures.



The ferry ride to Hvar is only 40 minutes. The scary drive from one end of the island to the other requires you to ignore the bits of road that have nothing under them to support the asphalt - at horrific heights I might add. With me is Toni - fellow music therapist from Canada, and we were often caught (unaware) on camera by Andrew ...also from Canada .... who quietly lurked everywhere with his telescopic lens. That is why there are more pictures of me than usual...










HVAR

















pictures by andrew








This is the town of Hvar - very charming and relaxing, especially in October with few tourists.












Passages can be metaphoric, poetic - or just plain awesome.













Looking for interesting places to eat was one of our more arduous chores....


















Andrew captures the essence of Hvar - which is typical of many coastal towns.











Cirkka from Finland, a teacher of modern history at the United World College, and Toni at ancient fort overlooking Hvar and the Adriatic.









Andrew ...finding space.











It was my birthday - totally, coincidental - the day we arrived and so I was serenaded by Peter, Alison, Cirkka, Andrew, and Toni - and yes! there was cake - and so much more!







At the end of our journey... 3 of us have to head back a day earlier than the others.




.... we are trying to leave Hvar - resistance is futile.

It was like I owned the world...!

.... you know that feeling when you feel so FREE ..... !










It was a fantastic day in January when I headed down the Adriatic coast to find a quiet retreat to focus on my writing! The sun was shining off the Adriatic water... nary a car on the highway with me - But on the way my car decided to go on its own retreat...coughed and stalled in Neum. So once it started again, I gambled that I would make it safely to Cavtat (instead of Orebic which required a long lonely stretch of road along the coast peninsula) The moment I stopped in Cavtat my car really took a vacation and enforced me to stay a few extra days in paradise....



I could have been on Vancouver Island...it was a surreal experience finding these trees in the Mediterranean...so much like the gnarled arbutus trees on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

























The coast mountains are not as high as the peaks we have in Canada or the Alps, for instance - but they are very dramatic and imposing in their dominance along the Adriatic coastline.




The town of Cavtat has 2000 inhabitants in the winter...






I was the only tourist wandering around the sea wall....
I passed a man quietly fixing the front step of his restaurant - others watching his progress or quietly going about their own business...no picture of course - that would be an intrusion.


















.... lazily serene, peaceful in this idyllic setting.












...the lighting of the Adriatic is, as always, interesting...






That be Dubrovnik over there - but it doesnt really matter when you are in Cavtat.




I hear that my car is now fixed (I eventually took a bus back to Mostar) and I can retrieve it for very a reasonable tourist price. But if it had not been for my very gracious hosts at the Vila Markoc, I might still be pushing my car along the highway. They helped me in every possible way. I highly recommend their pansion - its wonderfully clean, well equipped and has a stunning view overlooking the city. (the first picture is the one from my balcony!)

Ah me... I will return to Cilipi for my errant car sometime... maybe soon...

Sretan Bozic.

A most joyous season to you whether or not you celebrate the tradition of Christmas, Ramedan, Hannekah or other spiritual traditions. It is a time of year when many of us are celebrating something - for me it is honoring the winter solstice. Today the tilt of the earths axis away from the sun reaches its furthest point. But in the short, cold windy days ahead, the earth continues in its swing around the sun and the days get longer.

Whatever your tradition is - or isnt - enjoy this season. It brings us an opportunity to reflect, regroup and rebuild while waiting for the warmth of spring.

TRAIN TO SARAJEVO ...

The train trip to Sarajevo is a quietly beautiful one.The train is utilitarian but the views captivate the imagination, and the dark, grey scenes with mist settling around the valleys and lakes offer mystery and richness to inspire the most reluctant writer.














between long dark tunnels,the scenes change from grey misty vistas to high risky plateaus in mountain tops...









...but very quickly the scenery and weather changes as we leave herceogovina, eventually emerging into lush pastoral hills ... land that seems ageless with people doing what they have done for centuries here; and the sun reflecting off the wet grasslands and fence posts through the mist adds the eloquent mystery that shrouds the Balkans...




Old graveyard markers reflect the sun ....







New graveyard markers do the same... these are all dated 92 and 93.









Approaching the centar of Sarajevo...and the remarkable hills that surround it.









cheerfully snuggling houses everywhere...









and its almost time to disembark into the crowded streets.

What IS Behind the cross?

On a quiet November day, my colleague and I walked up the backside of Hum to the Cross that watches over Mostar.

















Leaving the busy Bosnian roads behind...we see a side of the mountain usually hidden from view.





















But as the urban thrash became less part of the landscape, we realized you are never really alone! The goat in the middle came out to challenge us... and we thought land mines were our only problem!















There were the usual cross markers along the road to show us the safe way ...
















... other markers to show the treacherous way...














.. a beautiful sky to add a surreal touch to the journey.










...until the cross comes into view!











but we decide to continue further because there are a few extra metres to the top.










...but all we find is a large pit, more crosses and head stones.

















So now we are behind the cross..


















...and under it.




Antonietta stays to take pictures and I follow a road that leads to the backside of Hum....





I tread carefully ....




These land mine signs fortify the need for treading with care on this back road and unexploded mines can be washed down with the heavy rains. This hilltop with the bunker in the background, provided a steep cliff for bombs, grenades and other weaponry to be hurled down onto the Blv. below the front line. (In 2004, I lived directly under this bunker)

















Here you can see two more bunkers. The road goes further, but my curiosity will have to wait for another day - my boots arent made for walking.










Amazing luck! A civilian plane bound from Zagreb beads in on a landing at the Mostar airport. It is rare to see a civilian plane in this area because the air space over Mostar is heavily regulated by NATO.







We saved the spectular view for last.













For a few moments, contemplation comes easily because we are alone at the top of this particular world. The huge price the Balkan citizens pay for this 'innocent' unexploited playground, is having not having a society that understands the concept of service to others as well as themselves. I bless this and curse it at times, but for now - no cursing. The scene is sublime and without neon signs to spell everything out - or noise to clutter my senses - the imagination can play...or rest, as it needs. Sushi, hamburgers and fries belong to another time and place. And for now, a spiritual stake - albeit a decidely catholic one - claims the purpose of this hilltop, as it did 11 years ago when armies with terrifying weaponry ruled Mostar.




Our walk was not interrupted by another soul until we started down in the late afternoon. Surprisingly two women wandered up as though they were going shopping - absorbed in their conversation and barely noticing the vista around them. Coming back to traffic, coffee bars and a different Mostar than the one we left in the sunny morning light - we review the dynamic day over a well deserved dinner and a glass of wine!