Day 4 (June 14th, 2012) - Mostar and Kravice

Today was a long and winding road-trip to Mostar. Anne, Michelle, and I sat in the front of the bus and kept mostly quiet and still to avoid looming car-sickness. We stopped at a coffee shop at our halfway point where a bought a large package of speculoos biscuits and a REAL Fanta! I think it made up for the hilly bus-ride.

The city of Mostar is built along the Neretva river, which is the most amazing turquoise color. It looks like it’s been dyed with food coloring because it’s so hard to believe that a river could be that color so naturally! My photos don’t do it any justice!

Mostar can best be described as a village/city that came out of a J.R.R Tolkien novel mixed with an M.C Escher drawing. There are white-washed stone buildings that still stand from medieval times with bridges leading to other levels of the city. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before! Mostar is more historically known for the old bridge, which was built by the Ottoman’s in the late 16^th century. It’s 90 feet long and 64ft high.

During the Bosnian war, the city of Mostar was subject to an 18-month siege. Unfortunately the 427-year old bridge was destroyed during the war, which really exemplified how destructive the war was. Prior to this trip our class watched video footage of the multiple attempts by troops to destroy the bridge until it collapsed. In 2004 funds from multiple countries and organizations enabled the reconstruction of the bridge and interestingly enough they had the original plans for the bridge down to the type of stone to use! It’s a really impressive bridge and we were lucky enough to witness a local jump off the bridge and into the water, which is done very frequently for tourists but unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.

We didn’t spend much time in Mostar but I did get some time to buy some local art which I’m really excited about!

Then we drove a few miles further into the mountains to Kravice which is a series of waterfalls from the Neretva river with the same turquoise color). This was the moment when I realized that Bosnia has so many hidden treasures. History, natural beauty, great food, and beautiful people! The weather was so hot and seeing the waterfalls was like seeing Shangri-la in the middle of the desert!

As we drove down through the mountains and back down to Sarajevo we shared some hysterical stories and silly laughs. We stopped by the river and had the best lamb I’ve ever had in my life (sorry mom)! More laughs down the mountains and then straight to bed!

View from the Mostar Bridge

View of the Mostar Bridge

This was Kravice from the top.... we were in for a serious surprise!

Kravice! Look at that friggin water!

Better than Fanta in Europe!

Bosnia Kaffa

View of the river from where we had spit roasted lamb and potatoes. One of the best meals so far!

Day 3 (June 13, 2012) - War Crimes Court

Today we went to the war crimes court and met with American judge, Philip Weiner. All current war crimes that occurred during the Bosnian War are now tried in Sarajevo and not in the Hague. There are 43 national and 5 international judges in Bosnia.

Interestingly enough there is no mandated time limit for trials, which can be very frustrating and delays the much-needed justice of heinous war crimes. For example, a current case against 4 men for war crimes in the town of Srebenica began in 2010 and is still going on.

The most common trials that Judge Weiner views are war crimes, organized crime, economic crime and corruption cases.

The judge was very accommodating to our questions and was able to discuss some of his frustrations with the judicial system and the politics within the country. He admits that there is a lot of corruption in this city and spoke about how even in schools it is very common to pay teachers for good grades and EVEN to have sex in trade for good grades. The judge told us about one instance in which he read a job posting for a medical position and it clearly stated that in order to get the job, the applicant would have to pay 24,000km which is close to $20,000. This comes as such a shock to all of us but this has been going on for so long that it is second nature and no one has stood up or been effective in saying that it’s wrong.

We left the war crimes court and returned to our hotel to process how we felt afterwards and then some of us ventured through town and did some shopping. There is an underground marketplace that has knockoff sunglasses and handbags galore and handmade scarves. It reminded me of the underground shopping places in Brussels with all of these unique vendors. Of course, I bought 2 pairs of sunglasses and a new handbag (the first of what I think will be many to come).

Still jetlagged but doing ok. Tomorrow we are going to a town outside of the city called Mostar.

  One of the views from the veranda at our hotel

At the war crimes court

   Just a small view of the copper street. It's funny how we steal copper from houses and it's worth so
                                             much when it's worth practically nothing here!

View of Sarajevo from one of the forts

Dinner at the Spite House. From left to right Me, Dasha, Heidi, Rhonda, Julie, and Ann 

How do you say sorry in Bosnian?!

What a great trip so far!

I’ve been here over 24 hours and it feels like 2, despite what my fatigued body is telling me.

Yesterday we arrived at who-knows-what-time in the morning and took a well-stuffed bus to the hotel. The hotel was nothing like I expected. It’s beautiful and in the middle of town, surrounded by people, culture, and beautiful weather. We went for a late lunch and had our first bites of Burek (a savory pastry stuffed filled with cheese and spinach, meat, potatoes, or pumpkin). If the food didn’t make me feel comfortable and at ease, the ambiance did. Streets filled with open watering holes with fresh cold water; vendors selling knockoff handbags, copper coffee sets, silvers jewelry, and hidden cafes. This was all followed by a lazier evening of bottles of wine and snacks from the local general store.

This morning (whatever day it is), we got breakfast a local bakery (delicious)! Then we walked to a tour center saw an exhibit about the siege of Sarajevo. A 10-minute video left several of us close to tears if not struggling to find words to express our thoughts about the video. We then went on a small bus tour up to the mountains which overlook the city. Although a stunning view, it was a sobering view of how easily the Serbian snipers were able to attack their targets. The landscape oddly parallels the Hawaiian islands with rolling green hills and a tropical-like breeze.

Our next destination was to the site of the tunnel which Sarajevan’s used to get to the free Bosnian territory where food, medical supplies, and artillery were smuggled through. Amazingly, the tunnel was never discovered by the Serbians. Our tour guide told us that he had joined the army when he was 16 1/2 years old and he had to get written permission from both of his parents to join the army. He spoke about how he didn’t want to flee the city, he wanted to defend it. The Sarajevan’s were able to defend the city for 3 years and avoid Serbian occupation. The tunnel took 4 months to build and the city’s best engineers were recruited to build it from both sides. Interestingly, the engineers from both sides of the tunnel were only 10 centimeters off from the distance between both sides.

The bus took us back closer to our neck of the woods where we walked around and did some “light” shopping. One designer handbag and two new pairs of sunglasses later we grabbed some gelato and headed back to the hotel where our group met to process our day. It was great to sit and hear how everyone felt about what we had seen and process our reactions to what we had seen. We all felt this sent of shame in that we had intruded on someone else’s traumatic history and taking pictures of buildings with shrapnel holes, or looking at bullet shells made out of pens and finding temptation to buy them, seemed so wrong. But how else do you document what you have seen or what you have felt by what you have seen?

In addressing the title of this post, being a tourist can really suck; apologizing for not speaking Bosnian, or having a large monetary bill that they can't change, or just being in the way. "Sorry" might be the most important word for us at this point!

Overlooking Sarajevo

Marketplace = Heaven

Beautiful entry way to a mosque

Day 10: Cambria- Santa Barbara

Woke up this morning and had a fantastic breakfast at the Cambria Pines lodge and then walked around their beautiful gardens. It was a little chilly for the butterflies in the butterfly garden, but it was fun to walk around.

Then we headed back up north, passed by the Hearst Castle (my summer cottage) again and went to see the Elephant seals. At first we saw only a few and then TONS of them, both in the water and on the sand. The males are butt ugly and apparently the beach gets an average of 4,000 seals chilling on the beach. Female seals are pregnant for 11 months, and then four days after having their pups they are pregnant again- I can't imagine life being any worse!

Then we headed back into the town of Cambria which is very cute and had lots of local art and bakeries, and great restaurants. We briefly drove thru the town of Harmony (population 18), which our guide book had recommended but we didn't feel like walking around, and it didn't look much like it was worth the mention.

Next stop, Moonstone beach which I naively thought would be covered in moonstones. It was quite the search but I got two pocketfuls of moonstones and just cool stones.

It was another foggy and cold day but we braved the cold and put that roof down in hopes that it would get warmer. We headed to Morro Bay which is a "volcanic plug"-a volcanic landform created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. We couldn't see the top of it but from where we were standing, it was huge!

We hopped back on the road and route 1 took us more inland where it was warmer and less foggy and MUCH appreciated! Inland was filled with rolling golden hills and cow pastures. It was amazing to think that over a hill there was the large, loud, foggy, and cold Pacific Ocean!

We are now sitting in our beds and watching TV after having an awesome Mexican dinner at Los Agaves (voted best Mexican in Santa Barbara this year). Our hotel is on one of the busier streets on the harbor so I'm crossing my fingers for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow we'll walk around town for a bit and then head to Tujunga Canyon and spend time with my Aunt Kat, Uncle Malcolm and cousin Calley, before heading back to Colorado on Wednesday!

It has been a great trip and I know that plenty of people have done it in less time. I think 10 days was a great amount of time but could have easily packed more things in with a few extra days (whale watching, kayaking, a massage, exploring more inland). I highly recommend this trip and will most likely be doing it again soon!

a mini gardens we actually missed

young bulls sparring

Look at that chunker!

This one's for you, Rachael

What idiot picks up an elephant seal pup?

that is what we should've seen

that is what we saw

MOMMA'S NOTES

Male elephant seals are about the ugliest males on the planet with so much testosterone that they spar for practice until November when they return to almost kill each other for real, staking out their harems. And these charmers keep the females pregnant for all but 4 days a year every year of their lives after they mature at age 3 or 4.

They mesmerized us for over an hour.

Still scoured the horizon for a whale and Eliza also hoped for a white shark and a Planet Earth moment with a seal pup in it's jaws.

The town of Harmony with a population of 18... it has it's own post office! Really? No wonder the US Post Office is going broke.

We are both a little sun and wind burned from the top down drive today, a pleasant change from the last colder and foggy days. Not that we are complaining. Eliza returns to CO and 90+ degree temperatures and I will soon be in Singapore and 90+ temps and humidity.

We've started to realize our vacation together is coming to an end. Much to get back to but this has been a lot of fun.

Day 9: Carmel - Cambria

What another awesome day today!

We were woken up to a damn seagull that wouldn't stop chirping or whatever it was doing. So we left our hotel and walked around the town. The town of Carmel is cute, however overpriced stores with a lot of not-so-great art... AND.... Carmel LOVES Kinkade....ugh....

Then we drove down route 1 some more and stopped at the 40 foot waterfall that drops into the ocean at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns national park. It was absolutely breathtaking. And then a little further on our walk and we came to the sight of a landslide that went right into the water.

Our next stop was the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Perhaps the coolest and most fascinating thing I've seen this trip! What a lot of interesting history, architecture and landscaping.... AND.... the site of my new home? I wish! There are still zebras that run free along the property from his days of having his own zoo.

Now we are laying in our beds at the Cambria Pines lodge. We haven't been able to see it during the day yet but our room is HUGE and has a fire place so we can't complain!

UGH
A fantastic stop at the Big Sur Bakery
Can't get enough of these waves!
At the waterfall!
Beautiful wildflowers everywhere!

Leftovers from the landslide



badass bridges
Surfing anyone?
Hearst Castle
Oh this is just part of the parlor
Oh that old thing? It's just the front door!

Amazing gardens!
The Neptune Pool (if you swim in it you get a $650 fine)

The family home (of the 4 on the property)
Succulents!
Another view of the pool (one of 2)
The roman pool (that's the diving deck on the top)- and below the tennis courts
ZEBRAS!
Mommy and Baby

MOMMA'S NOTES

I think it's getting a little warmer as we head South. We still turn the heat on when we put the top down and it would have to snow to prevent us from chillin' in our convertible.

The road sign indicated 74 miles of S turns and that was pretty much it. When not averting my eyes from the edge I was enjoying the beautiful coast and (as usual) looking for whales.

Hearst Castle was the highlight of the day. Eliza wants to marry into the family and I thought we might have to pay the $650 fine, the pools were so appealing.