Pero and his bike

subota, 21.12.2019.

With a girlfriend to the sea, again! The August 8th

You can come back on the previous part of this travelogue here.

If you don't want to read, skip the text and see the images of this day here.

You can see the map of this day of the journey here.

We awoke the same way we felt to sleep last night - calm, comfortable, relaxed. We woke up with a comfortable stretching with a sense of rest and spirit and body. Who knows how many times it showed out how strong is the power of a good dream. This morning, as we slowly, with gusto, wake up without any haste, it becomes clear to us that most of the problems that occurred in the first part of the yesterday were mainly due to the lack of sleep during the night spent in Jablanica. Now that this has been successfully overcome, there is an exciting story behind us, with a happy, enjoyable ending, which will be recounted as with greater fervour as the more time will pass since yesterday.
So the lesson is, take a good night's sleep!
Today our goal is to reach Medjugorje, which is about 35 km away. So it's not much, so we don't have to rush either, and that also means we can relax to the fullest of our pleasures.
After leaving the camp we headed in the opposite direction to our present destination. Before we actually go, our desire is to visit the water spring of the Buna River with the tekke (a kind of Muslim monastery) above it. I came to this intention a couple of years ago when I saw a photo of a tekke with its source. There was hope that we would reach the water spring yesterday evening, but it was scattered by the light rain that was very stubborn as if she had enjoyed in the destroying of my plans. But man is also a creature that can also show a great deal of stubbornness, or rather, persistence so that what could not have been possible yesterday, it could be today.
When we left the camp and headed east, toward the sun, it was about 7.30 am. After supplying us with food and drink at the store we came across, we drove to a place that greeted us with a sign labelled Blagaj. About a hundred yards away we passed the Catholic Church. We delayed her visit on our return, which, however, did not occur because we continued our journey on the other road, bypassing the church.

Catholic Church in Blagaj

After a few questions to the locals, we found the road, but narrow, albeit paved, to the tekke and to the spring.
The path to the tekke (filmed on return)

After almost a kilometre of driving along the narrow road, which was initially uphill, after that, it went by downhill and stopped in the end because it was ended suddenly. In fact, the road ended with a parking lot.
A huge, completely upright rock appeared in front of us.
After we stopped, my companion and I have split into two groups, so we will take turns exploring what is needed here.
I started first.
The path, beautifully paved with stone, led to a building that was tekke. The building, actually several buildings, squeezed side by side and thus clustered together along a cliff.
The approach to the tekke

The tekke

The cliff above the tekke

The water spring of the Buna River near the tekke

On the far right of the squeezed buildings was a kind of balcony, just above the calm surface of the blue lake, which, at first glance insensibly, flowed from the cave on the cliff. Through water that was clear as a tear, one could see the bottom on which was a mass of banknotes, coins and anything else, evidently thrown there for the wish expressed in the moment of throwing.
According to the Google, a tekke at the Buna spring was founded shortly after the fall of Herzegovina under Turkish rule in 1446, and at the latest around 1520. In this earliest, Turkish period, Bektashism was regarded as the dominant ideological doctrine in the Turkish conquest campaigns, especially with the akindžijas army (light striking cavalry) and Janissaries. The Bektashi at that time could be compared to the Knights Templar, who were not only regulars but also soldiers.
The tekke in Blagaj was originally conceived not only for the purpose of performing Bektashi rites but also as a missionary, as well as military, checkpoint. In the time of the Turkish conquest of the Balkans, it was considered that the Bektashi, who are still known for their tolerance, due to their religious breadth, were best suited to approach and ideally gain the locals, both Orthodox and Catholics.
So, we can conceive tekke, in a broader sense, like a monastery.
Now let's go back to this tekke and me with it. Everything was extremely clean and tidy. With the silence of the morning, which was disturbing by the noise of the moving of the water, which was very, very quietly, it gave a mystical, surreal note, as protection, a shelter against all adversity, difficulties and problems. Feeling this peace and serenity, I felt wish in me to stay here more and more, so moving further became harder and harder.
Nevertheless, I succeeded to moved on. Walking slowly and calmly, trying to be as quiet as the surroundings, I started on the paved path back where I came to the tekke
The path to the tekke

To the left of the trail, the murmur of the newly formed river Buna flowed softly. On both shores of it, wherever there was a place, housed dining tables, in anticipation of hungry and thirsty tourists who would not shy away from opening their thick wallets, all to quench their hunger and thirst.
That my mystical, surrealistic mood had melted away. It was replaced by pure commercialization, a frantic pursuit of profit.
I have to admit that people have to live from something concrete, but yet there were too many tables around me.
With less, fortunately, and more by the providence of God, we came here early enough, before these tourists, at a time when the day replaces the night. Then the silent, but all-present breaths of the past and present, flutter in the morning to show, those who see and feel it, some different values from ordinary numbers written on national currency notes. To feel this, you don't need to be a particularly clever person, nor be an especially well-read person, nor be a particularly capable person. It is enough to get up a little earlier, to come to this, or similar, place, to let time flow wherever it wants, and in the peace of God to open your soul and heart to new, rarely experienced but still special feelings.
To reach the other shore, a stone bridge just a little wider than a meter was built. I stood in the middle of it, taking a picture of Buna still fresh from the interior of the earth from which she emerged from beneath the cliff.
The tekke was leaned over the water.
The contrast to all this was the empty tables of the catering establishments.
The tekke and the spring of the Buna river

When I turned around myself, I took a picture of the Buna river downstream, which was running toward the light of the sun that was already illuminating the continuation of its flow.
Further course of the Buna river

I let the Buna River travel its way, and beside the mass of tables, I found a path that could be reached the lake under a rock, yet close enough.
The tekke and the Buna spring viewed from the other side of the river

After passing between the tables of the restaurant, I climbed a few steps along a narrow path, bypassed some rock, and came to the end of the path right above the lake. That rock I just left behind me, seemed to be a barrier between different spaces and time. While behind it was a jungle of tables and a restaurant bench, everything had been untouched here for centuries. The well-preserved complex of the tekke building looks like it was completed yesterday (though it built half a millennium ago) and the intactness of the spring, rock and water flowing from the rock is many times more permanent.
So I stood at four square feet of flat ground, just as much as I needed to, so I didn't take care about balance, on a slope steeply descending to the blue-green water and I watched the scene in front of me. I was amazed at the scene I watched, the sound of peace, quiet, a kind of superior dignity of nature, with which my presence is less than the smallest grain of dust, with the freshness of the morning, with the lack of other people or anything that would disturb this supernatural peace and dignity that with its immense greatness causes awe. Looking, listening and feeling on this in front of me, I was sinking into myself, comprehending completely different notions of the substantially, urgency and importance in my life. With the feeling of pleasure and bliss that overwhelmed me, I completely lost the notion of who I was and where I was. I just stood there and let all the senses to absorb.
These are the moments in which "the batteries are recharged", and later, much later, when I get tired under the weight of everyday life, I bring back from my memory these moments which I just experienced here at the source, so the noise of the water, the smell of the morning and the dignified silence of this shade lift me, empowered me, so I become more determined and more persistent, and with more faith in myself, I move on.


Less, much less, than the eternity I wanted to spend on these blissful few square inches I started to move on somehow, I made some movement, I don't even know-how. It was difficult to me, very difficult, to go back to reality, to re-understand where I am from here and where after this place, and in the end, with extreme effort, I turned around and went back to my companion.
I passed a crowd of empty tables and benches, trying to watch them as little as possible, so I filmed a stone bridge that skipping the Buna river.




I reached my companion and noticed that she had to move the bikes ("Oh, what a heavy bike is your one!"), which we leaned it on in closed stands. As I navigated the expanses of mental bliss, the people who make their daily bread from these stands came slowly and prepared their stands for tourists. One of them also brought his "best friend", who patiently watched at the makeshift table his boss work. The boss is on the sight, so there is no reason to fuss and panic.
The Man's best friend

Now I stayed with the bikes, and my companion went on a tour, with my note that it was worth to visit and there was no need to rush. I wished that she feel everything I felt, and during that time I would calm the impression that I could continue the journey with "cold head", because I was still under the impression, which was still strong, of what I saw, felt and experienced.
We finally set off, now on a gentle downhill, then winding, narrow road that we had come to. We left the shade of the rock and noticed that the Herzegovina sun was warming well. Today is going to be a hot day.
Rain will no longer be a problem on this trip. It will be replaced by hot sun rays.
The Buna river murmured joyfully towards her mouth, which was 5-7 km further into the Neretva river.
The Buna river

In the centre of the town, next to the tourist office (which was closed!) We found a bench in the shade and had breakfast. After breakfast, with the already warm weather, we continued riding. With the help of locals, we found a road which was a shortcut to the Buna place where the Buna River flows into the Neretva and where we will exit (again) onto the main road.
Next 5-6 kilometres we drove through the plain, winding slightly, and for a while along the river Buna and its crystal clear blue water.
The purity of the water was not only us impressed. There along the shore, in the shade of the trees, was mother duck with her little ducks. Clean water, clean mother duck, clean little ducks.
Mother…

…and her children

Just as we were indulging in driving on the road without traffic, along the Buna river, we arrived on the main road, where we again found frantic traffic. To entering we waited a long time because we had to turn left. The crowd, the same as yesterday, but now we have only 6-7 kilometres to Zitomislic, so we will somehow endure.
One truck was passing by us very close, the gust of wind was considerable because of that, so my companion immediately braked and stopped - half a meter in front of the turtle. For the moment we stared at it mutely, we were so surprised that we remained speechless. So what is a poor, slow, animal doing here on this wild road !? Crossing the road !! ??
There is no chance that it succeeds in that crossing, so we decided to return it to its habitat, at least to what we thought it was. On the right, somewhere down the bushes, the Neretva river purled. All we needed was to find a path to the water. I put the turtle in the front basket of my companion's bike, and we walked a few dozen meters together until we found the path. Then I took the turtle and took it to the shore and left it there. I hoped for the correctness of my procedure because if it had stayed at the end of the road and walked across it, it would surely be gone.
An unexpected encounter

A slight shakes in the bicycle basket elicited the curious head

Interestingly, the moment we stood in front of her, the turtle immediately pulled her head into her armor and remained hidden there until I was lifting her. But as we started slowly, on foot in search of the trail, probably because of unknown, yet inexperienced movement and vibration, its head came out curiously, and with it itsr legs, out of armor.
In front of Zitomislic, from the main road, on the slopes of the hill on the right, across the Neretva River, we saw a zigzag road that should be followed. Under this sun!
Our near future - zigzag climbing in the hot Herzegovina sun

We turned off the main road (ah, what a relief), paused in the shade on the bridge over the Neretva. Coming closer, it seemed to me that the uphill was steeper and higher heights. If I not to worry too much and unnecessarily, even before climbing, I turned my view to the river below the bridge, which gleefully murmured with its clear blue.
Bridge over the Neretva River and the climb on the hill behind it

River Neretva upstream of the bridge

After the bridge, we crossed the railroad and found a small shop next to it, where we restored cold fluid reserves (you know which ones, right?).
The train station had 3-4 tracks, I guess the trains could be bypassed. The station building was from the time when the narrow-gauge railroad was going here. So from the Austro-Hungarian times. It is old but neatly renovated and still serves as a station building.
Old beauty in renewed attire

Across the street, more precisely across the rails, opposite of the old station building, was a church, in front of which we stopped for a moment. First, we took a break in the shade, and then we prayed one-tenth of the Rosary because we were also pilgrims. That brief prayer of the Most High, in peace and quiet, the absence of people and their hustle, the blowing of the summer breeze, as if to find a way somewhere, open the door to Him, for I really have the feeling, the impression that the wind did not take the words of prayer in anything, but they found a way to Him whom they are intended.
Across from the Žitomislići train station…

…was the church

Just before noon, as if we were waiting for the middle of the day, we finally started by that uphill. There are good, steep, winding four miles to the top.
The weather was finally as I like - sunny warm (read hot), dry, with a tendency that it will stay that way for the rest of the day. Like in the Formula One race, we changed the tires, too, so we replaced the sneakers with sandals. The heat seemed to intensify by ten degrees as soon as we started climbing by the uphill, so I took off my T-shirt. And not for long, because the sweat was leaking out like from the faucet, the heart was beating as if it would pop out, so I decided to continue on foot. But my companion did not surrender so easily, so she continued to ride. What's more, she rode this whole climb,
what I respected sincerely. My male dignity of the Father of the family was seriously shaken.
We were stopping, very often, but it did not spoil our mood. On the contrary! We were happy, cheerful, pleased, though we were sweaty, we were panting, with red faces. Today we did not plan many kilometres to ride, only about thirty, so there was no need to rush. And when one is not in a hurry, everything becomes more beautiful, and so is this heat, which does not bother my companion too much, otherwise an opponent of the summer heat.
I have already mentioned that we stopped very often for rest. It was a little problem to find a shade to take away from the sun while we resting, but by reducing the requirements that the problem was not unsolvable.
Finding the shade I

Finding the shade II

The road was quite narrow, not for us, cyclists, but motor vehicles, and especially for trucks and buses. There was no place for nervousness and hast. A sense of soberness and mutual respect was needed. Thus, at one of the elbow bends, a large truck and bus met, and only after mutual appreciation and the tacit agreement they went through the bend one by one because there was simply no room for both of them at the same time.
A narrow road on a steep slope

One of the serpentines

Again break

Depending on these serpentines, we drove either along with the fragile, rusty bumper, behind which we saw a fantastic view of the Neretva valley, to our right or along the rocky slope, so the Neretva was across the street. But in both cases, because of the frequent stops, it was no problem to stand by that rusty bumper and stimulate the soul with a beautiful view.
A view to the north

A view to the south

A view to the north from a higher altitude

The bridge we crossed the Neretva river

The Žitomislići railway station

A view to the south from a higher altitude

It all comes to an end, and so did it with this climb. The hint of this, as with any summit of a pass, is a view of the end of the road where the road touches the sky
The summit of the pass

At the summit of the pass, I took one more look at the valley of the Neretva River, which we travelled yesterday and today, and I allowed to myself a little bit of the vanity to shine in me, recording myself proudly and confidently standing on that summit of the pass.
A view to the north from the highest altitude

Proud me on the summit of the pass

Behind my proud back, you can see the tame, almost flat landscape on which we had the continuation of the ride. If you take a closer look at the pictures of the Neretva valley from which we climbed in the sweat of the face (and body) of our own, you will probably come to the same conclusion as we did. It looks as if the Neretva, in an otherwise gentle, slightly hilly karst, has carved itself a valley on its eager journey toward the sea.
We are left to enjoy a gentle but really gentle up and down ride, all the way to Citluk. In this quiet, easy and relaxing drive, we passed a vineyard in front of which was the inscription "Stone Vineyards". Needless to say, it was immediately apparent that these vineyards were just like that - made of stone.
The Stone Vineyards

The rule seems to be that as soon as we get closer to a larger city, motor vehicle traffic becomes larger, denser, valid regardless of landscape, region or country. Thus, as they passed through the Čitluk town, these vehicles were buzzing both in front of, behind and beside us. Maybe this place has something interesting, but except the thick shade with the stone wall, we couldn't find anything more interesting. But we were not complaining too much because it was comfortable to take a break in that shade.
The Čitluk town

The shade in the Čitluk town

Quite unexpectedly, the exit from the Čitluk town was followed by a long downhill slope, so it was a special pleasure to descend. Maybe he was special because he was unexpected.
By some strange, intricate intersections, freshly made, we managed to reach our present destination with the help of a signpost - the Medjugorje place
When we found ourself on the main street, right in the centre, I thought we had entered the wrong street because the campsite was somewhere on the side, but my companion pointed to a signpost for a campsite for which we had to be walked by a narrow path.
Bikes with their riders are adaptable to all kinds of riding conditions and thus was with this path. We hiked some two hundred meters with bikes along the trail and we entered at camp. Then it became clear that this was a shortcut for pedestrians, and in this cases for cyclists too, and that the main entrance to the camp was really located on the other side of the town centre.
By this trail, on which we were pushing our bikes, for today and tomorrow will go countless times, true without bikes. It is the shortest link between the camp and the town centre. From the camp to the church of St. Jacob, which is known as the centre of Medjugorje, does not even have a ten-minute walk. It can't be any closer!
Along this track, on which we pushed our bikes, there was an unfinished big house, and next to it two old cars, without license plates. I suppose they have been napping here for years. One of them was the Citroen Cx, the term of upper-class sedan forty years ago. This model was manufactured by Citroen from 1974 to 1991, and in 1975 was named Auto Year in Europe. In my humble opinion, this is the last real car Citroen has worked. It remains, for today's terms, an example of superior comfort and original line, and extremely low air resistance. Obviously, that low air resistance was some basic idea when designing this model, since it is also named after the air resistance coefficient label - Cx.
Oh, if I would be a little younger and have a workshop, it would be a lot of enjoyment for me to renovate, dress and makeup and then in riding this car.
Citroen Cx

And finally - the camp!Today's kilometers

The time of ending today's ride

We arrived early enough, only in the early afternoon, so there was a lot of time to the end of the day, for any idea that came to our mind. But the accommodation needs to be solved first.
As it already goes by the standard procedure, first to the reception desk for the application and basic information. One of them is that the camp is divided into a motor home area, much larger and almost completely filled, and a tent area, much smaller but weakly, only half full. In addition, there was, more or less, a thick shade in this tent area, so there was no problem finding a suitable tent location.
Our tent in the thick shade

As you can see on the image above, we also had a bench next to the tent, let it be close if needed.
After we solved the accommodation problem, we had to solve a lunch problem. Looking around, we saw a vacant table with benches some fifteen meters away.
The lunch

After lunch, there was a break. After it, we decided to go to church, of course, appropriately dressed.
We came to the church just as the evening outdoor Mass began. Although it was a regular workday, without some kind of church saint, there were a huge number of people in the area.






The first impression I feel every time I come to this shrine and which leave me speechless is just that - a huge crowd of people. How many desires, requests, repentance, gratitudes in one place, how many human stories, full of patience, submission, perseverance, stumbling, doubt, hope in one place. Fortunately, it remains to be hinted only, because when all this was found out, was shed on the space in front of the church, the pressure on the souls of all present would be so great that that souls would all simply disappear, sink, and they would be lost. In contrast, this way, each with his or her own, gets something, if not an answer, then only a small sign, a guideline, a hint of what to do next. That is why people leave this place at least with a little relief, encouraged, comforted if nothing else that they can do just that - to move on.

You can view the continuation of this travelogue here.

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