Bosnia; A Path less Travelled

After leaving the bobsled sled track the following morning we headed towards the Montenegro border, venturing deep in Republika Srpska, an ethnically Serbian area of the country. Serbs make up some 37% of Bosnia's population, not too far behind the amount of Bosniak's, the dominant ethic group from which the country derives its name. In this region certain things began to change. I saw no Bosnian and Hercegovinian flags hanging in the streets. Instead all the flags were Serbian, except they were missing the crown-topped eagle crest that normally adorns the centre. Secondly, the Cyrillic alphabet was used almost exclusively for everything but major road signs. This is a political and cultural statement making a clear affiliation to Cyrillic-dominant Serbia.

A river by the road passed through a surprisingly natural-looking tunnel

The weather was ominous, threatening to storm up any minute. Not a good sign considering we wanted to visit Trnovacko Jezero, a picturesque lake on the Montenegro-Bosnia border. We were getting deeper and deeper into the mountains and the road occasionally took lines cut into the side of canyons. Early on in the mountains proper the police flagged us down with one of those small stop signs they carry everywhere. As per usual they spoke little English and we expected the worse; this was a shake down. Basically a once over to try and find weaknesses to leverage bribes. 

After looking over our papers they finally spoke in broken English. “Australia- left side. Bosnia- right side!” Were we going to have to pay a bribe for the privilege of driving on the opposite side of the road? They seemed to deliberate a little but in the end it turned out they were just trying to be sociable. We drove on, the sky continually becoming darker and the cloud base dropping.

At one point we saw two huge concrete sculptures sitting on top of a hill on the right side of the road, two curved staircases leading up to them. I couldn't see why there was such a large impressive communist monument in such an obscure place. The time, collection of “donations” and “volunteers” required would have been substantial. It was now raining but I was determined to check it out from up close, running up the staircase. From the side that faces away from the road it appears like two huge fists, pointing towards the sky. Impressive stuff.

When we reached the turn off to the lake it was pouring with rain. Still, we thought we'd give it a go, lifting yet another boom gate that we probably weren't supposed to. The road was ridiculously washed out, aggravated by the ensuing torrential rain. There was no chance in hell we were reaching the lake today, particularly after loosing a windscreen wiper meaning we couldn't see out of the front properly. Defeated we turned around with great difficulty and headed back. Only to find someone in the checkpoint by the gate.

This someone came out and interrogated us, taking down our number plate and passport details. We have no idea why. Maybe because its a border area and we're not meant to drive there. Or maybe because we didn't have a national park ticket, something he claimed we should have but there was no signage to tell us this. I still don't have any idea. 

The weather was miserable and didn't look like it wanted to clear up any time soon. Dark clouds hugged the mountains and torrents of water gushed down the hillsides. Good weather in the mountains seemed elusive yet again. So we made the decision to simply head for the cost a day early. 

Improving weather closer to the coast and one of many Serbian flags

The Balkans conflicts are still very much being felt today