Via Dinarica VII, Crljenak Spring to Jablanica and Mostar

Thursday, June 20, 2024, Crljenak Spring to Jablanica.

Last night the air quality grew increasingly worse. We thought we could smell smoke and wanted to get out of here, the middle of nowhere.

We awoke at 4:15 and set off at 5:30 following the ridgeline to the east, the same direction the wind was blowing. Visibility had improved somewhat and, at least overhead, we could see blue sky.

We arrived at a hut, Planinarska dom Plasa, that was locked, as always. We sat outside, in the shade. It was getting hot already and we were descending into an even hotter inferno.

It was a little tricky to find the path but with the aid of the GPX track we stayed on route. All the water sources were dry. I called the 4* Park Hotel and Spa in Jablanica to make a reservation. Fortunately, they had a room for us at a cost of only €60, including breakfast.

The path led to a jeep road that wound down close to the biggest pile of trash I've ever seen, followed by smaller (but still large) piles of trash alongside the dirt road.

Patsy kept wanting to stop for water breaks in the shade whereas I wanted to get to the hotel ASAP. We compromised and arrived at the hotel at 14:40. It was as hot as blazes, well over 90°F.

We enjoyed multiple cold drinks and a lunch that consisted of Bey’s Soup (Begova Čorba, a chicken and okra soup), and Shopska Salad (tomato, cucumber, peppers, cheese), both Bosnian specialties. Our waiter said the haze was caused by dust blowing off the Sahara desert!

We showered and changed clothes. It felt so good to be clean again. We went back downstairs for dinner, sitting at a table next to the patio windows.

I had another Shopska Salad followed by "Stuffed Steak Prenj", a house specialty. Prenj is the mountain range on the next section of the Via Dinarica; it was beef cooked in a cream and cheese sauce with mushrooms and tomatoes. Patsy had "Herzegovanian Mahmudy" (veal medallions). We also had a basket of steak fries and I ordered cappuccinos.

We were about to go back to our room when Viktorka walked past the window. She came in and joined us, ordering only soup and salad. I don't know how she does it. I felt ravenous when I arrived at the hotel.

We spent at least an hour talking. Viktorka is a legend in the backpacking world. She said she started hiking at age 17 and is now 34. She backpacks almost full time, mostly in Eastern Europe, supporting herself by giving inspirational talks and writing, and has a YouTube channel,

   / ultraviktorka  

We retired to our room while Viktorka headed off to the woods to camp and get an early start for the 7,000' climb tomorrow. She's carrying 6 days' worth of food. Maybe it would take us 8 or 9 days. We're not up for this, not in the current heat and haze.

12 miles

Friday, June 21, 2024, Jablanica to Mostar

We were up at 6:45 after a great night's sleep. We sat outside under a shade umbrella enjoying the cool of the morning. Breakfast consisted of cappuccinos, juice, prosciutto, cheese, bread, ham cheese veggie omelets, and yogurt. The receptionist on duty, Maid (pronounced my'id), knew many of the places we'd visited; he's also a hiker.

We walked to the bus station, 5 minutes from the hotel to catch the 11:40 bus to Mostar, per Rome2Rio. The station attendant, however, told us the next bus wouldn't depart for Mostar until 13:00. We sat in the air-conditioned waiting room and spent the time working on our phones. Then the power went out, so no more A/C. The bus cost 10 BAM each for the 40+ minute journey to Mostar.

We checked into the apartment I'd booked, then went to a Super Konzum.

Saturday - Monday, June 22 - 23, 2024, Mostar

Mostar is an interesting city and like BiH itself, is divided almost equally between Christians (predominantly Orthodox Catholics) and Muslims. Mostar is physically divided by the Neretva river. The majority of the Christians live on the West side of the city, whereas the Muslims live on the East side. This segregation became even more marked by the end of the 1992-1994 war.

We returned to the cavernous (7-story) Mepas Mall which was reminiscent of a USA mall. We normally avoid malls like the plague but actually enjoyed being in this one.

Mostar, despite the old town, "Stari Grad", and its iconic bridge, "Stari Most", being designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, looks like a bit of a shambles. A lot of buildings were destroyed during the 1992-1994 Bosnian War, "The Siege of Mostar", after BiH declared independence from Yugoslavia.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege...

We walked the 10 minutes to Stari Grad. It was all tourists and tourist shops, just like Sarajevo Stari Grad. Tired of tourists we made our way to the highly-rated "National restaurant Tima-Irma" for an early dinner. I had "Punjena pljeskavica" and Patsy had "Pilici ražnjići".

We're at the start of a cooling trend now with afternoon thunderstorms predicted for every day next week. That should clear all the Saharan dust out of the air.