Rain in Mostar, Bosnia

OCTOBER 12, 2012

As proof that last night was not a dream, I woke up at seven this morning to the sound of the rain that I watched roll in from the west a few hours prior.  In an odd way is was refreshing.  Twenty nine out of thirty travel days in the sun isn’t exactly a bad streak, eh?

The eight am bus from Dubrovnik put me in Mostar, Bosnia-Hercegovinia by noon.  If ever there was a perfect day for a nap, this was it.  Cold.  Rainy.  Quiet guest house. And nap I did.

The weather situation was not improving outside.  After wrapping myself is several pieces of Gore-Tex like the American I am,  I headed out and watched the city of Mostar unfolded rather quietly before me.  If the sun in Dubrovnik drew out the tourists, the rain in Mostar scarred them away. 

The city of Mostar was shelled heavily during the 1990’s and the effects of the fighting are still apparent in the street.  One of the landmark sights of the city is the old bridge.  Build in the 15^th century as part of Ottoman rule, the bridge stood the test of time until 1993 (1994?)  when it collapsed during the war.  Rebuilt with help from UNESCO a year later, it stands as the most visited spot in the city today.

During better weather, locals will hang out on the bridge collecting money from tourists to jump in the icy fast-moving waters below.  Apparently there weren’t enough of us fudgies out there today to make it worth their while and my mostar experience included no high divers.

Meet Ibrahim.  He's been traveling for 30 years and seems to cross my path every other country.