Kravice

It's up in the mountains in the hills, and beautiful, very, very peaceful place.

Then there's also the village of Positeć and the very beautiful Kravica Falls.

They all in that sort of

Mostar area.

I was reading that water supply restrictions are being enforced across Bosnia, including in the Mostar area, with authorities urging people to ration.

The waterfalls at Kravica, which usually thunder this time of year, are apparently lower than they've been in a long time.

I'm planning a day trip there soon, and I have to remind myself to check if swimming is even going to be possible.

The fires are part of the same story.

I stood there, eating figs, watching the lights dance on the river, feeling the evening cool settle in.

Mostar cost me about 45 marks today, roughly $25, including my breakfast burek, the bottle of olive oil I'll carry home like a treasure, two coffees, a swim in a river that's colder than any pool, a plate of sevapi big enough for two, and a handful of figs given with the kind of generosity that makes you feel like you've been here your whole life.

Everything I've mentioned, from the olive oil to the dive spot to booking the Kravica trip to Adeta Isim for the bus ride down, is in the episode notes.

Stravo from Mostar.

The taxi fare should be around 15 marks each way.

And later in the week, I wanna see Počitelj and maybe Kravica Falls, though I've read the swimming can be crowded.

If you're thinking of coming to Mostar, I'd say come in the late summer, like now.

The heat is manageable, the river is perfect for swimming, and the festivals are just starting.

He spoke about it with a mix of sadness and pragmatism.

"It's getting better," he said, "but it's a process." We talked about the plan for my coming days, a trip out to Blagaj to see the Tekija Debina spring, maybe a swim at Kravice Waterfalls.

I told him I had time, and he said, "That's good.

That's how you see it properly." I walked home alone through the Old Town, past silent shops and shuttered galleries.

So that's my second day in Mostar.

I have 10 more, and I haven't even touched the day trips yet.

Tomorrow, I'm going to rent a car for a few days and head to Blagaj, then maybe loop down to Počitelj and Kravice.

I've seen the prices for a rental, and it's surprisingly reasonable if you book ahead, which I always do.

For now, though, I'm here, and I've got a week in front of me.

I wanna do the day trips to Blagaj, to Počitelj, to the Kravica waterfalls.

I wanna climb to the Fortica Skywalk and see the city from above, and I wanna swim in the Neretva every day, like the locals do.

The cost of living here is remarkably low.