Herzegovina Day – Kravice Waterfalls, Blagaj, Počitelj

Today I am exploring the Herzegovina region through an organized tour. I could visit these places on my own but not without a car. I have met others during my time here that have rented a car but I do not want to deal with the additional hassle of renting a car this early in my travels. Plus with a tour guide you get commentary and insight to what life is like as a local.

Before I go into the tour, lets take a look at this amazing breakfast spread from my hotel. I don’t typically stay in places that include breakfast because I travel on the cheap but I got lucky this time.

Herzegovina is a region of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not a state as many people think. There are two regions of the county, Bosnia and Herzgovina, thus giving name to the country. Within BiH (abbreviated) there are states and border lines that do divide the country a bit but I am not going to talk about that because I’ll probably explain it wrong because even after being here a week it is a little confusing to me.

On our first stop we are taken up a hill and shown a beautiful view of the city of Mostar, the city I am currently staying in.

Soon we are at Blagaj Tekke, a village that has a charming Dervish monastery by a cliff with a flow of water coming out from a cave. We are short on time for the stop so I skip touring the monastery. This is when having my own transportation would be useful.

The water level is high this time of year. Part of the cafe is under water today.

It is here that I run into two girls I met on a tour yesterday. They are from the UK and very nice. I sit with them briefly and enjoy coffee with the view. Did I also mention that there are two girls from Singapore on my tour today that I actually met on a tour in Sarajevo. It seems like it is a small world in the Balkans travel circuit. Both pairs are heading to Croatia as am I, I won’t be surprised if I see them again.

We visit where the rivers meet. This time of year the water levels are very high. Our guide shows us pictures how narrow the river gets.

We stop at the village Počitelj, another place with much destruction during the war. Fortunately money went to the city to repair some of the damage. Unfortunately many don’t want to return to the village because of the terrible memories, one of which being the concentration camps just over the hill.

I climb to the fortress at the top to see the views below.

Our last stop is Kravice waterfall. We are told we are lucky since it is at its best right now. They are privately owned so there is no restriction on development. It seems like soon the place will be overly commericalized. For now during off season it is nice. A companion on the tour talks me into taking a boat ride. I get up close and feel the mist from the waterfall.

Two of the brave girls I am with have brought their swims suits. They say it is real cold im the water. It is really early I’m the season to aim but it gets very crowded when it is warm.

We make one final stop at a place that has a war memorial. Our guide talks about a local hero. We also see an example of a white box that was used to transfer food and supplies across the river at night so people on the other side would not starve to death.

I get back in town and visit the local wine shop that was closed yesterday. I participate in their wine and cheese tasting experience. One of the co-owners is lovely and she tells me some great stories. I love how open and friendly locals are.

After I head to the tourist restaurant Sadravan. The staff dress in traditional attire and has all the makings of a tourist trap but the food is actually pretty good. I order trout and later a dessert.

I finish off the night at the pub nearby where I get a very large amount of wine for about 2 euros. I can barely finish it and stumble back to my hotel which is very close.

I have a couple hours of free time in the morning before a car is to pick me up. The hired car is a last minute decision. My original travel plans to get to kotor Montenegro had to be reworked because the bus I thought I could take was not running or it was too early in the season to take that route. The only alternative is booking a bus ticket to Dubrovnik and then another in Kotor. Basically adding 4 plus additional hours to my travel. I booked those tickets but was not excited about the journey, especially having my passport stamped in a Schengen country 3 days early (research schengen visas to understand why that would be annoying for a multi-month tour of Europe). When the lady at the front desk at the hotel suggested the private driver option (costing 150 euros) I took it. It isn’t cheap but it is worth every penny to arrive in comfort, directly to the country i am heading to at 3.2 hours versus up to 9 hours.

Before I leave town I walk around. I finally see a bridge jumper….it’s not a scam.

Eventually Cafe de Alma opens and I get a proper lesson in how to drink Bosnian coffee.

Finally I get one last wine and enjoy the view. I really enjoy my time in Mostar. I will return some day.

Wandering the caves of Sacromonte

This morning I walk the streets of Albaicín (Granada) on my way to wander around Sacromonte. I was introduced to the neighborhood last night when I attended a zambra flamenco show. Today I am heading up to a cave museum (Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte) for a lesson on the history of this intriguing neighborhood.

I first read about these cave homes through a fictional book series. In each of the books the protagonist has an adventure in different cities throughout the world. In one book a woman visits the hillside cave town of Sacromonte in Granada. From then on I decided I needed to see these caves in person. A summarized version of the history is that they were inhabited by Gitanos, or what some people refer to as Roma gypsies- but the word gypsy is not really a good way to describe the group of people of this heritage because of all the negative meaning associated by its use. We know now that Romani or Roma people is probably a better way to describe this ethnic group that settled in this area in the 15th century. They brought with them their distinct culture that is reflected in this part of the city.

To get to the cave museum I turn down the street I visited last night for my zambra flamenco show – another distinct Sacromonte thing. The mostly white washed buildings are built into the hill. I climb up a couple of groups of stairs to eventually get to the museum at the top.

A few feet from the entrance there are some poems on the wall.

Granada is hot but the inside of the caves is a comfortable temperature. You see why they were used.

Some of the caves are decorated as they would have been used for living. Individual caves are also used as mini-museums of their own, for instance there is one where they talk about the history of flamenco and another where you learn about the plight of the Romani people in Spain; It is very hard to read how they were mistreated as a group over time. There are also caves that show different skills like weaving and pottery.

Outside of each cave there are plants with diagrams explaining their medicinal use.

I walk along the side of the hill of the museum and get a spectacular view of Granada. Along the hill sides you can see it is almost desert like with plants you typically see in dry and hot climates.

For only 5 euro I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth. I am glad to have marked this off my to-do list.

I walk back down into another part of Granada in search of an authentic tapas place. Again the streets are quiet. It is the warmest part of the day. Most people probably are indoors at this time.

When I get to the major business district of Granada I admire the shades installed along the shopping street – they are very much needed in hot Granada. I need to send a photo of these to urban planners in Florida (hint hint….might be a good idea).

I finally find an authentic tapas restaurant, La Sitarilla, and it serves free portions with each drink you order. I probably could have sat there for hours trying a good number of dishes; but I only try two today because the servings were a good size.

There are still more things I can do in town but I have already visited everything on my must see list. I head back to my hotel to chill there for the rest of the evening.

I finish my evening with the dessert I have been eyeing (Casa Ysla Pastelería) and finishing off the bottle of wine I bought a couple days ago. Tomorrow I fly north to begin another adventure there.

Zambra Flamenco

Today has been a busy day but it is not over yet. Earlier today I visited the large Alhambra complex. I have since returned to my room to shower. Tonight I have reservations to see zambra flamenco in an authentic Sacromonte cave. This is not my first time seeing flamenco, I’ve seen various shows in the USA and even saw a fabulous show in Sevilla in 2012. However the flamenco here is different- it has been said that here in Sacromonte is one of the birth places of the famous dance. This type of dancing, zambra flamenco, has more influences from other areas: Roma (Romani and Indian), Moriscos, and Arabic. It is distinct in its use of hand symbols, ruffled dresses, and soulful singing accompanied by guitar playing. In Sacromonte it is performed in cave houses.

My reservation is at 10:30 PM . As an early-to-sleep person it is amazing that I book the late show but I figure it is Spain, everything is better later, isn’t it?

I have plenty of time before the show so I wander up the hills of Albaicín. My hotel is on a street that is technically at the edge of Albaicín but to really get a feel for the area you must climb the hill streets to get a view of the greater city of Granada.

My first stop is at Mirador Placeta de Carvajales a small park that overlooks the Alhambra. There is a music group filming a music video here. I sit back and enjoy the free entertainment.

I get my first flamenco show of the day.

The plan is to visit the popular Mirador de San Nicolás to possibly watch the sunset and eat a light dinner nearby. It is very crowded at Mirador de San Nicolás since everyone wants to watch the sunset today. It is too crowded for my taste and I’ve seen my fair share of remarkable sunsets so I decide to eat. I don’t see a particular restaurant that really catches my eye so I choose a place with outside seating. I order wine and a huge ass plate of cheese once again. There is a great guitar player performing while I eat though.

After my cheese I walk in the direction of Sacromonte. I end up in a quiet alley where someone is singing from a minaret. It is almost like a call to prayer, perhaps it is.

At this point I am far uphill so I need to start walking downhill to get to the cave that is hosting tonight’s performance. For once I am walking downhill and I guess my feet are not used to it because I stub my toe. Darn minimalist shoes on cobble streets!

I get to the narrow street I need to walk down. There really isn’t a sidewalk and it appears cars can come both ways. Perhaps many people get dropped off in this area by taxi? The venue isn’t too far down the street.

I am attending my show at Cuevas Los Tarantos. Most likely these performances were more “authentic” and catered to locals but now they are more catered to tourists like me. Some venues have more a of tourist-trap feel to them but the venue I am attending tonight has many good reviews. As long as I am entertained who really cares that I am in a “touristy” place.

I arrive very early as usual but it allows me to enjoy two sangrias prior to the show instead of one. I spend a couple minutes in a cave next door with my fun drink and then head over to the other cave when the previous show finally ends.

The band enters into the cave like room where the performance will be held and soon after the dancers arrive. The guitar player plays and the dancers clap along while seated. One by one the dancers perform solo acts. I have seen male dancers as part of a duo before but this is the first time I’ve seen them perform solo. In the show there were two very good male performers. Also a woman is very skillful with a dance using finger symbols. She is popular with the group.

Below are some still photos of the evening, one of these does not belong-see if you can point out the one that is out of place.

Overall it is a good show. There is a great night view of the Alhambra on the walk back. The streets are quiet but are well lit so I feel safe walking back alone. I do find entertainment in watching taxis navigate the narrow streets.

Tomorrow I climb the hills of Sacromonte once more to visit the cave museum.

Te Anau to Milford Sound

This morning I am heading to Te Anau. Te Anau is just an overnight stop on my way to Milford Sound. I could drive straight to Milford Sound in a day but it is a long drive so I choose to break it up with an overnight in Te Anau instead.

From Moeraki the drive takes about 4 hours or so. I don’t stop too much on the way except a time or two for health breaks and great views.

I am running low on gas so I am happy when I find a rest stop Alpine Centre Cafe & Bar – almost at Te Anau – where I see a newly sheared alpaca who wants some snacks.

I am pleased that my holiday park for the night is right around the corner from the rest stop.

Te Anau Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park

I have an ok view of the lake below lake of Te Anau.

I also have a great view of my neighbors laying out their sock collection on the picnic table.

I haven’t scheduled much time in Te Anau but what I do schedule is a glow worm tour. This is my chance to better see glow worms since I was a wimp staying out after dark by myself in Australia.

The glow worm tour is a cruise across a lake to a cave where they can be observed. I drive down to the port to catch my boat after I settle in at the campsite (settle in = put my perishables in the refrigerator).

Te Anau Glow Worm Caves Tour

We start off with a breezy boat ride ride on the lake. I take in the breathtaking views as we cross the lake.

Once on shore they split us to two groups. My group tours the area around the cave while the tour guide talks about wildlife and the vegetation.

Then we enter into the cavern house where we learn about the glow worms and are given special safety instructions for the viewing. Glow worms are actually fungus gnats in their larvae stage. They glow to attract prey that they feed on and appear in the darkness. Tour guides do not let us take pictures or video inside so I’ll try to best describe the experience: First we walk into a cave along a series of platforms. It gets progressively darker inside. I can start to see little bits of the worms in the moist parts of the cave above and beside us. We eventually get to a set of stairs that lead to a platform where there is a little boat. There are two long benches where our group splits along facing outwards the boat to the sides. There is a boat guide who has a light as we board but after we are safely boarded turns off this light and guides the boat only by grabbing a chain above and pulling us down a water tunnel. At first it isn’t very impressive. Just faint glows but eventually we float to areas with more densely populated worms. Our guide tells us to look up and he glides us by and turns the boat around so all have a great view of the glowing above. We go through a couple sections of these before we return to the start to walk back out the tunnel.

Cavern house where we are educated on the worms

There are multiple scheduled times of the viewings so we wait for our boat to return with another group by the shore.

Soon we take the boat ride back to our starting location. The temperature has dropped and the wind is strong. Only a few of us brave the ride on the top. I spent so much of my travels hot so I take advantage of this moment of coldness; although I regret it later in the evening when I cannot get warm in my van.

Boat ride back

Once back to the campsite I prepare my dinner and head to bed. It is late but still light out. It is January but I have to remember this is their summer and the sun sets later.

That evening the campervan is so cold so it makes me want buy another blanket. I have a hard time getting comfortable to get a restorative sleep. I don’t see any stores on my way to my next location so I hope I’ll be ok for the next few days.

Next morning drive to Milford Sound

In the morning I am driving to my next campsite in Milford Sound. I’ve been warned about the narrow, curvy roads and tunnels of this part of the drive. I am nervous but I’ll take it slow and drive during the day.

It is on this drive that my GPS starts to crap out on me. Luckily I have backup systems like google and maps.me and the drive route seems pretty straight forward.

There are a couple stops along the way as well as some walking tracks. I unfortunately do not schedule time for any walking tracks, New Zealand is too big of a country! I do make a couple photo stops though.

Cascade Creek Road

The drive takes somewhere between 3 to 4 hours. I stop along way many times and drive slower than the speed limit just to be safe. Most of the ride is pretty easy but the last probably 45 minutes is the most challenging part: narrow and curvy roads, inclines and declines, and the famous tunnel everyone talks about. The tunnel goes through a mountain and only allows for traffic in one direction but a light outside each side lets the traffic flow in.

It is really interesting driving through the tunnel but don’t get me wrong I’d probably feel different if I was driving through at night or in inclement weather. I am lucky because the weather is spectacular.

So I have arrived at my campsite which happens to be the smallest I’ve had so far but the facilities are nice. The real annoying part of the stay is the sandflies. They are eating me alive here. It is my first real run-in with them in New Zealand. I’ve been keeping score with all my run-ins with wildlife and I’ll add this to the list of my enemies: geckos, monkeys, fur seals and now sandflies.

I check into the campsite and look at the list of all the great walking tracks I probably won’t get to do while I am here.

I empty out the icebox of my van and take the goods to the refrigerator of the campsite in order to keep things cold since the chill box only works when the van is on. I am tempted to eat dinner at the fancy restaurant at Milford Lodge tonight but I must finish my perishables since they probably won’t keep for my upcoming daytime activities. I contemplate leaving my groceries in the lodge fridge while I am out on my cruise tomorrow; you are supposed to date your goods with your checkout date but how will they know if I fudge the date a bit?

View of the campsite office from my spot

The sandflies are ruthlessly attacking me. I hide out in the van with the windows shut and nap. The nap is well needed. I didn’t quite sleep well last night because it was much cooler than I expected; I was kept awake because I could not get warm enough. I wake up from my nap but still too tired to do any walking around or exploring right now so I purchase a gigabyte of data to surf the web (15 NZD in these parts!). Best to save my energy for the Milford Sound cruise tomorrow and the drive to Queenstown afterwards.

Trapped in my van looking at the great view.

I head to the kitchen and lounge and prepare my dinner.

penne with pesto, green peppers and tomatoes.

I am actually lucky to get into this campsite, Rainforest Campervan Park, since it is the only one near Milford Sound and limited in space. It isn’t cheap though. There are posh cabins that can be reserved as well. They have a spectacular view.