On to Mostar

Mostar Bridge. Mostar, Bosnia. A beautiful old (reconstructed) bridge that recently became another UNESCO World Heritage site. Mostar was the scene of heavy fighting during the recent unpleasantness. Ethnic and religious tensions still exist. You can see the minarets of the mosque in the foreground and the cross atop the far hill.

Looking for a place to stay the night we turned up a darkened alley. I was struck by the bullet holes on this wall. Clearly automatic fire. The gunman had sprayed the wall from left to right. The pattern rose in a slant as the kick from the weapon pulled the muzzle up.

We stayed at a quaint little hotel practically under the bridge. The owners could not have been more gracious. Breakfast was included, but we were heading out at six AM to catch our bus for the long slog back to Sofia. "No problem," the owner said. "I'll have the kitchen fix you a breakfast to take with you." Can you see that happen at a Holiday Express?

Leaving town we passed this field almost covered in discarded plastic bags. I see garbage like this all over the world. We are practically burying ourselves in crap. If there are still humans around a thousand years from now their archaeologists will be struck by how wasteful we were.

It began raining that night and continued on all the next day. Sort of an apt end to our travels. We still had a daylong (and night) bus and train ride to get back to Bulgaria and Miro (my friend in Sofia)wanted to show off his new condo in Nesebar on the Black Sea coast. that will be the next post. Unless I change my mind.