Most Inspirational Moment
The Gulf of Kotor takes your breath away and the city itself, with its ancient battlements, was awe inspiring.Walking round the Black Lake, surrounded by glorious mountains, was impressive.Driving alongside the River Piva on the way over to Bosnia was incredible. The wooded mountains, the deep green river and the miles and miles of Alpine meadows covered in flowers with not a soul around. What a contrast to our own overpopulated country. Learning about the siege of Sarajevo; so poignent when we realised that our guide, Anaid, had been imprisoned at that time. And the contrast between the old city and the more modern part. And the beautiful Venetian cafe where we indulged in amazing coffee and cakes. And climbing up at evening to witness the mortor which was fired to mark the end of that day's fast; then all the lights came on on the minarets and the people round us shared their Rhamadam bread and Turkish delight with us.The day at Lukomir. Wild roses and many other flowers grew alongside the canyon where we walked and had a picnic supplied by Anaid's mother. I'm not exactly young,and I found it fairly tough going, but I loved every minute of it.The Kravice Waterfalls: We swam in the clear, refreshing lake below the falls and thought nothing could get better than this!Fresh trout at the restaurant at the source of the Briva River, opposite a beautiful monastery. The river water was crystal clear and lovely to drink.And finally, back to Dubrovnik, to the Old City . I wish we had had time to walk round the walls ; we had to choose between that and a swim in the Adriatic.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Anaid made our holiday special. He is a historian and even the extremely complex history and politics of the Balkans came alive as he explained it.He was well organised and very personable and chatty; a good combination.
Advice for Potential Travellers
This is not a strenuous holiday, though there's a lot of fairly hairy travelling. A good job our driver was so careful and reliable.Be prepared to soak up all the information about an area which is unfamiliar to most of us. Enjoy the remoteness and the amazing terrain.