Exhaustion and stress make it fairly easy to sleep. The sound of the steady flowing water of a mountain stream right outside our window helped. The incredibly loud clap of thunder (the kind that bring the children scurrying to the comfort and security of their parent's bed) woke us, prompted a bit more snuggling, and started our day.
S2 decided he would be the one to brave the morning rain to forage for food, get the additional umbrella from the car, and see exactly where we were. He returned over 45 mins later oblivious to the continued rain. It was not the dark ominous storm of last night, but an early morning rain shower, with edges of clouds clearly visible and blue sky popping through in places.
This was like a dream come true for him. He had slept in a UNESCO World Heitage site. The ancient city of Kotor had a wall surrounding it (going up the steep mountain right behind it), watch towers, a moat (we crossed over last night), stone walls were everywhere (hey, even the walls of our room were stone). It was built be the Venetians during their rise to power. (There really is a lot to learn about European history). We ate our breakfast of corn flakes, packed up and headed out.
Searing intense heat (or so it seemed to me) and 110% humidity greeted us as we packed the car and proceeded down the coast toward Croatia. I became totally captivated by the fjord like setting of the drive, that incredible blue-green Mediterranean color of the water, the cafe sized docks perched on the water, where people were reading newspapers and drinking their morning coffee. This was a place to come back to!!!
Out of Montenegro (they use Euros so we were re-supplied) and into Croatia. Traffic was certainly picking up here, and the scenery, the sun, and the water were probably the reasons. We drove past Dubrovnik as if we see it everyday, but we knew the last two places we stayed were very similar based on a stop we made here in 2006.
In less than 2 hours we were at another border - a Croatian border with Bosnia Herzegovina. The war that went on here (in the former Yugoslavia) for much, much longer than it should have (I believe the rest of the world should have stepped in with more force much sooner) was far more complicated than history books can tell us about. Yes, Croatia got a great coastline that a tremendous number of money-wielding Northern Europeans want to visit (for good reason) which undoubtedly helps embrace capitalism and consumerism. Of course, Serbia would want some of that, as would Bosnia. In the end, Serbia got no coastline, but Bosnia did. So for 45 mins or so, we were in Bosnia. Passport checks were perfunctory only, and no one asked if we had cigarettes or alcohol.
Back in Croatia, we continued on until we had a road towards Bosnia, and drove to the border (less than 10 kms) to leave S2, his bicycle, and all his gear. It probably took him 45 minutes or so to get everything packed the way he wanted, separate the needed documents, fill up his water bottles, arrange the maps he needed, and hug us good bye.
And thus, he started home through Bosnia, Serbia, and Slovenia on his bike, and NS and I started the drive home through Slovenia (her 41st country), Austria, and Germany. I hoped we could make it out of Croatia that day, as the expressway started soon after we left S2, but it is a LONG country, and we only made it as far as Gôspic.
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