We are now ensconced in Montenegro for a couple days, after spending the night the Herzegovina part of Bosnia. It was cool, but we were ready to get a move on. And boy did we move on! Our bus went from Mostar to Dubrovnik, Croatia before heading down the coast here to Montenegro. So there were passport stamps everywhere! Our evening felt very European, as we sat in a plaza drinking a beer and watching soccer while there were soccer chants and church bells in the background! :)
The people of Bosnia were interesting, because they were very blunt. If they didn't like something, they did not hold back. It was rather startling, but we kind of got used to it. What was really interesting though was the willingness of people to say what was wrong with the country and express their dissatisfaction with the way of life in Bosnia. Our hostel guy in Sarajevo told us about how the government couldn't care less about the people, and that he hadn't had a job since the war ended (15 years ago), so he started the hostel. It seems to be working well for him. Our second hostel guy told us how he couldn't wait to leave Bosnia for good and go get Dutch citizenship. It was interesting how one guy wanted to stay and help rebuild his country while the younger one wanted nothing more than to get out. It was also interesting that the older guy said that a lot of the rebuilding that has been done has been to religious structures. He said that it's time for people to stop praying to God for a job and money in a newly rebuild spiritual place, and time to start building factories and things that will be people work and reasons to go give thanks. I thought it was very practical of him,, and put the Bosnian mindset in perspective.
Anyways, the countyside here (as I've said), is just love lovey and the coastline especially is phenomenal. I can see why Croatia is quickly becoming a destination hotspot. I'm glad that we fled the tourists, though Kotor still has more than its fair share. The town is one of the few left in the area that still has the old wall/fortress compound intact, and it's a UNESCO world heritage site. We're off to the beach tomorrow!!
My abaya has been procured, and I am now outfitted and ready to go for Saudi. It's coming up quickly, but Lauren and I still have to see Macedonia, Albania and Greece before our time's up! Yay adventures!!
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