We started the morning by walking into town to find the bakery. One thing about traveling with Scotty is that he can always find one—and he already knew the word for bakery in both Croatian and Serbian! In most European countries, you can find a bakery on nearly every block, but today we had to walk about half a mile before discovering one. The bonus was that we also got to see Stari Most and the old downtown with hardly any people around, since the tour buses hadn’t yet arrived.
Leaving Mostar, we quickly got stuck in a very long traffic jam. The drivers in Bosnia are something else—we even saw cars using narrow dirt paths that ran parallel to the road just to get ahead. Near the Blagaj Tekija monastery, we had to take what I called the road from hell: a lane just barely wide enough for two cars, with a stone wall on one side and a river on the other. At one point, Scotty suggested I play a game on my phone so I wouldn’t have to watch!
From the pictures I had seen, I expected the monastery to be a serene and quiet place, but in reality it was packed with people. I’m beginning to understand how the internet, while wonderful for sharing travel inspiration, is also overwhelming certain sites and altering the experience for locals. Still, we hiked up the path and the monastery itself is truly beautiful. Built around 1520, it blends Ottoman and Mediterranean architecture. Tucked right against the cliff and set beside a strikingly clear blue river, it is both beautiful and historically significant—it’s considered a national monument and is still in use today.
Afterward, we headed back toward the Croatian coast, winding our way through the mountains on yet another series of narrow roads. The scenery was breathtaking, though we wished there had been scenic viewpoints where we could pull over. Eventually, we reached the highway, paid a toll, and enjoyed smooth driving with mountains all around us.
Our Airbnb turned out to be quite charming. It’s a studio-style place with a room divider: one side has the bedroom with exposed stone walls and wooden beams, while the other side holds the kitchen and bathroom. Best of all, we’re only a five-minute walk from the beach. The host also provides bikes, beach chairs, a paddleboard for two, and plenty of other seaside extras—perfect for our three-day stay.
Once we got settled (after using the Wi-Fi at a nearby beach bar to contact the landlady for check-in details), we went exploring. We walked to a 15th-century castle along the water. Although the structure is quite rundown—some walls have collapsed and much of it is deteriorating—but to our surprise, it’s still inhabited. Their modest apartments were a big contrast to the gleaming yachts anchored just offshore.
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