Day 8 - Jajce (BIH) to Foca (BIH)
 

Our day starts pretty overcast and we don't see an obvious breakfast option near the camp site so we hit the road. The riding is pretty nice and we make good progress, but we are getting hungry as well. We find a bar at a truck stop around 10AM and gladly follow the bar tenders suggestion of "sendviche", although we're not entirely sure what the toppings will be. Turns out he was talking about large fresh baguettes with cheese and tomato, accompanied with a large cup of coffee. I love it how just going with the flow usually turns out this nice.

Now that it's pretty clear we'll easily make it to the HUBB meeting in Kolasin we decide to take some time for sightseeing. Mostar isn't that far of a detour from our originally planned route, so why not?

We're on bigger roads than the past few days and especially the built-up and busy section between Donji Vakuf and Gornji Vakuf is a bit boring. It sort of reminds us of home: houses and industrial buildings lining the road for miles on end, blocking the views of the undoubtedly nice countryside behind them. Speed traps and pot holes galore.

Fortunately it gets a lot better the closer we get to Mostar.
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We ride into Mostar around noon, with the sun burning strong by now. The city is clearly still being rebuilt, with clearly brand new buildings alternating with shot up ruins and construction sites. Finding the historic city centre is pretty easy, just follow the omnipresent signs. Although for a minute we are a bit confused as the signs led us into a dead end street. But it turns out to be correct, from here on is pedestrian only.

And while we're looking around for some place to park the bikes, this guy comes rushing towards us. He claims to be a parking attendant who will help us out. The cheap homemade plastic name tag pinned to his t-shirt doesn't look very official, but let's roll with it. He let's us park up along the sidewalk and promptly pulls out a big sunshade to protect the bikes from the evil rays from the sun. :Beach: Not sure where he got that from, it just suddenly seemed to appear from thin air. This is looking more official by the minute. Then he asks us for 2 EUR to look after the bikes while we're away. After he throws in keeping our jackets and helmets safe for us behind the counter of a bar next door we decide he's tried hard enough to put some food on the family table and leave our stuff in his care.
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Finding the landmark attraction that draws so many other tourists to Mostar is easy. Just follow the overweight Germans and the Asians with the cameras glued to their faces.

The historic city centre is actually pretty nice, but it is also a big tourist trap. If you're able to ignore that it is nice to hang out and look around.
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Another one of the tourist traps. Will he or won't he?
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This is as good a place as any to grab some lunch so we start shopping around with the many "proppers" trying to lure you into the restaurant that pays them most. We go with a guy that promises a table next to the river with a view on the bridge.

The guy wasn't lying and the food was good and cheaper than one would expect in such a touristy environment.
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Whenwe get back to the bikes after lunch, these beauties are parked next to them. They're owned by 2 Brits that are riding them from the UK to Greece. Brilliant!
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Once the road takes us out of the valley that Mostar is located in, we're all alone on the road again, surrounded by some amazing landscapes. A big sign surrounded with flags welcomes us to the 'Republic of Srpska'. We follow the flow of the Zalomska river and are suddenly surprised with the view in front of us. We're closing in on Gacko, which looks like a huge industrial complex with loads of smoking chimneys and cooling towers. The entire mountainside across the valley has been dug up. Not sure whether it was for just sand or rocks, or for more precious minerals.
What is clear though is that they don't really like people nosing around. A big sign at the entrance of the town forbids taking pictures. So we don't... well at least not until we've passed the city limits.
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A bit further down the road is the Sutjeska national park and this big memorial in the "valley of the heroes" that commemorates the battke for Sutjeska in WW2.
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It's almost 6PM when we arrive in Foca ans start looking around for a place to put up our tent. A guy at a local petrol station points us towards Autokamp Drina, a couple of miles down river.
The camp site is pretty expensive for BIH, but the reception is exceptionally friendly and by the time we get out of the shower we're told our dinner is waiting for us.

It turns out dinner was still swimming in the river next to the camp site only hours earlier. We are served 4 huge trouts a plate full of tomatoes, some spuds and a delicious smoked paprika tapenade. It is too much for the both of us to finish it all, but it is totally delicious.
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Day 9: Foca (BIH) to Kolasin (MNE)
 

It's about time I finish this report.:oops2:

After a delicious and extensive breakfast on the camp site we set off a little after 9 to leave Bosnia (well, technically Foca is situated in the Republika Srpska) and check out Montenegro. The camp site turned out to be pretty expensive for Bosnian standards, but the warm welcome and absolutely gorgeous food make up for it.
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The road out of Bosnia is in pretty bad shape. It is full of potholes and big rips in the tarmac. Kind of reminds us of good ol' Belgium. But that just makes the crossing into Montenegro all the more pleasant, as the road on the other side of the border is in a lot better shape.

This bridge is somewhere in no man's land between the 2 border posts.
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And this is the road on the other side.
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First impressions of the country are pretty good. Shortly after the border post we are treated to the magnificent Piva Canyon.
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Immediately after the bridge in the above picture we need to make a sharp left turn into a black hole. And you can take that pretty literally. Montenegrins do like their little tunnels, but don't really bother with setting them up with lights. Moreover, they enjoy the odd hairpin corner inside those black as night tunnels. Keeps it all interesting.

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We'll hear later on that those tunnels sometimes have even more interesting surprises in store. When it gets really warm in summer, the cows come chill out in the tunnels.

We ride out of the canyon and start a nice climb on a pass towards Trsa and across Durmitor national park. The views are nothing short of breathtaking . We just can't get the pace up above 30km/h because we are constantly looking around, trying to keep are jaws from dropping tool ow. The landscape is totally deserted and pretty rough, the overcast skies make it even more impressive. Hard to do it justice in a photo.
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After Zabljak we dive into Tara Canyon towards Kolasin. We don't realize it at the time but it turns out Tara is the deepest canyon in Europe and the second longest in the world after the grand canyon. It's a big favorite with the rafting crowd and the water is so clean you can just drink from it while you're rafting.

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It's 1PM by now but the HUBB meeting camp ground isn't far off anymore so we decide to skip lunch and ride on. The gravel road up the mountain starts a few clicks outside of Kolasin. There's HUBB meeting signs every few kilometers, just in case you'd wonder whether you were still on track I guess...
The signs even conveniently tell you how far you still have to go. Funilly enough there's about 4km between the sign for 8km and the one for 6km. And the rest of the signs aren't entirely exact either. But the road itself is pretty fun. Until suddenly the sign points to nowhere while the road continues along the mountain ridge.
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But the camp site is just a stone's throw away from the road.
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The location and the views are definitely acceptable.
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The eco camp site is located on a small alpine meadow. There are a few wood cabins that serve as kitchen and dining room. And a few smaller ones that can be used to sleep. The entire site is pretty much self-sufficient with solar panels, solar water heaters and a wi-fi hotspot!

Kitchen:
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Dining hall:
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Boiler for the shower water:
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Beer stash:
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Fridge:
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I'll let you guess where the Wi-Fi hotspot is located:
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We get a warm welcome from Blazo and Tonko, the meeting organizers and find a spot to put our tent.

Today's route:
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Guys this is just to much , i'm setting off for there in 4 weeks for a month and can't wait :D
Phil