Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina
I'm currently in Mostar, Bosnia-Hercegovina. I arrived last night (Sunday)
by bus from Split, Croatia. In the last "The Nomad Speaks" I was just
finishing up my tour of Slovenia visiting a few towns on the Adriatic coast.
Everyone I spoke to, locals, other travellers, guide books reported that
Croatians weren't as friendly as the Slovenians. My first visit to Croatia
was to the port city of Rijeka. If all I knew of Croatia was Rijeka, I
would never go back. It's a large, dirty, smelly town -- very run down and
not cheap. The people are rude and seem too busy in their own world to
even exchange a smile. It reminds me of the stereotypical "east-coast"
personality. I only spent one night in Rijeka before heading down the
coast to Zadar.
Zadar was a bit touristy, but I expected it being a coastal town and still
in the waning days of summer tourism. Large Roman ruins still stand at the
town center with a large stone "gate" still protecting the city.
From Zadar I went to Split for a night, took a ferry to the island of Hvar
and the following day a nine hour ferry through the islands down to the old
Roman town of Dubrovnik on the southern tip of Croatia. Lots of old
architecture.
Sailing is something I've always thought would be an exciting thing to
learn how to do. Being on the Croatian coast with crystal clear blue water
and many islands seemed like the perfect place. I found a sailing school
on Murter Island just north of Sibenik. For $500 USD, I spent one week (10
hours/day, 150 nautical miles) learning to sail. Breakfast, lunch and
dinner included with housing. I calculated the cost vs. what I would
probably spend on food/housing and it came out to about $250 over.
It was well worth the price. Not only did I learn how to sail on a 10m
boat, but I also learned 10-15 words in Croatian simply by being exposed to
it so many hours everyday. By the end of the week, I could recognize all
commands that were issued on the boat (tighten the jib, mainsail, change
positions, etc.) and being able to count 1-5 to represent the different
positions.
On the last day we had a regatta. This was an exciting race even though we
lost. The final race was a navigation regatta and we were racing close-
hauling, into the wind, with ~3ft waves/white caps crashing into (and on
top of) the boat every second. For this race, I was the helmsman. What an
adrenaline rush. It feels like the boat is going to capsize. It's on
edge, the sails fully trimmed, waves crashing over the bow on the deck, the
boat pitching in all directions and it feels like your going 100 knots.
The first instructor I had competed in the Whitbread Cup and finished 8th
in 1995. The second instructor was just 22 years old, but very
experienced. I learned a great deal from both of them. Now I'm hooked on
sailing... I just need to practice.
The Croatians are proud people that enjoy conversation and social
interaction. The people I met at the sailing course are the nicest I've
met on my journey. I had good food and good wine mixed with the warm
personalities of my fellow students. Not only did I learn how to sail, but
I learned a lot about Croatia (history, culture, etc.).
On Saturday, I left the Croatian coast and I'm now in Mostar. An
interesting town, divided by the Neretva River. On the east are the Muslim
Bosnians (Bosniaks) on the west are the Croats. Stari Most is being
rebuilt, but recently they completed the "skeleton" of the bridge. I think
they'll have it completely rebuilt by 2004. Tensions seem a bit high here
(no surprise). Military-type presence is high as well (SFOR and ICTY).
Many of the buildings are destroyed from years of bombing and are barely
standing, but it's still a beautiful city surrounded by mountains.
After Mostar I plan on spending a few days in Sarajevo before moving into
Yugoslavia.
by bus from Split, Croatia. In the last "The Nomad Speaks" I was just
finishing up my tour of Slovenia visiting a few towns on the Adriatic coast.
Everyone I spoke to, locals, other travellers, guide books reported that
Croatians weren't as friendly as the Slovenians. My first visit to Croatia
was to the port city of Rijeka. If all I knew of Croatia was Rijeka, I
would never go back. It's a large, dirty, smelly town -- very run down and
not cheap. The people are rude and seem too busy in their own world to
even exchange a smile. It reminds me of the stereotypical "east-coast"
personality. I only spent one night in Rijeka before heading down the
coast to Zadar.
Zadar was a bit touristy, but I expected it being a coastal town and still
in the waning days of summer tourism. Large Roman ruins still stand at the
town center with a large stone "gate" still protecting the city.
From Zadar I went to Split for a night, took a ferry to the island of Hvar
and the following day a nine hour ferry through the islands down to the old
Roman town of Dubrovnik on the southern tip of Croatia. Lots of old
architecture.
Sailing is something I've always thought would be an exciting thing to
learn how to do. Being on the Croatian coast with crystal clear blue water
and many islands seemed like the perfect place. I found a sailing school
on Murter Island just north of Sibenik. For $500 USD, I spent one week (10
hours/day, 150 nautical miles) learning to sail. Breakfast, lunch and
dinner included with housing. I calculated the cost vs. what I would
probably spend on food/housing and it came out to about $250 over.
It was well worth the price. Not only did I learn how to sail on a 10m
boat, but I also learned 10-15 words in Croatian simply by being exposed to
it so many hours everyday. By the end of the week, I could recognize all
commands that were issued on the boat (tighten the jib, mainsail, change
positions, etc.) and being able to count 1-5 to represent the different
positions.
On the last day we had a regatta. This was an exciting race even though we
lost. The final race was a navigation regatta and we were racing close-
hauling, into the wind, with ~3ft waves/white caps crashing into (and on
top of) the boat every second. For this race, I was the helmsman. What an
adrenaline rush. It feels like the boat is going to capsize. It's on
edge, the sails fully trimmed, waves crashing over the bow on the deck, the
boat pitching in all directions and it feels like your going 100 knots.
The first instructor I had competed in the Whitbread Cup and finished 8th
in 1995. The second instructor was just 22 years old, but very
experienced. I learned a great deal from both of them. Now I'm hooked on
sailing... I just need to practice.
The Croatians are proud people that enjoy conversation and social
interaction. The people I met at the sailing course are the nicest I've
met on my journey. I had good food and good wine mixed with the warm
personalities of my fellow students. Not only did I learn how to sail, but
I learned a lot about Croatia (history, culture, etc.).
On Saturday, I left the Croatian coast and I'm now in Mostar. An
interesting town, divided by the Neretva River. On the east are the Muslim
Bosnians (Bosniaks) on the west are the Croats. Stari Most is being
rebuilt, but recently they completed the "skeleton" of the bridge. I think
they'll have it completely rebuilt by 2004. Tensions seem a bit high here
(no surprise). Military-type presence is high as well (SFOR and ICTY).
Many of the buildings are destroyed from years of bombing and are barely
standing, but it's still a beautiful city surrounded by mountains.
After Mostar I plan on spending a few days in Sarajevo before moving into
Yugoslavia.