Are we in Bosnia already?

I know that you are expecting it, so here it is, the story of the day:

Today was our travel day to southern Croatia. We were scheduled to meet the representative from our car rental place at the train station. We then planned a leisurely drive to Dubrovnik (225 km away). The short version is that the car rental agency delivered our car 2 hours late. We wanted to call to see what was up so Tom bought a calling card. He couldn’t get the phone to dial so he came back to where I was. I went and tried. Nothing. Asked a local for help. “The message says there is an error with the card” We had heard rumor that occasionally you will get a bad card, and you are just out of luck (and 15 Kuna). Ok, so we use the dollar a minute cell phone.



They deliver our car and we are off, after 30 minutes of paperwork. The young guy that brought the car tells us “oh, you are going to Montenegro, give the parking guy an extra Euro to watch the car special, because there is a lot of car theft there. Also, in Croatia, driving fast is ok, if it says 40.… 50, 60,even 70 is ok. When you get to Bosnia though, if it says 40, you must go 40.” Great! Point taken. Slow in Bosnia.



We drive along the breathtaking coastline for a couple hours and then drive into a small Cliffside town to eat our picnic lunch. We pull back on the road directly into a steep uphill grade. We drive maybe 100 yards and suddenly a policeman with a small wooden paddle jumps out in front of us and waves us over. As we pull over, another car pulls away. Hmn. “What did I do?” Tom wonders. The policeman comes to the window, asks “Mr. Thomas” for his license and then asks him to come with him. They go to the window of the police car, chat for a moment, and then Tom returns to the car…. For his wallet. Yup. We had fallen victim to the oldest scam in the book. Corrupt cops pulling over every car and collecting their toll. (500 Kuna/$100.00) As soon as we pulled out again, they pulled over the next car. We were angry, and yet, you have to laugh at the same time. I mean, really… what can you do? Pay them and move on. It sure sucked the fun out of the drive for awhile, and we weren’t even to Bosnia yet!



The drive was really diverse. We traveled along the coastline for awhile, and then the road turned inland. There we saw these lakes and canals, and some type of fishing that involved long lines of buoys. We stopped at a roadside stand to get some apples (the same type we bought at the green market in Split. Possibly the best apple I have ever eaten….crisp, sweet/tart and juice running down  your arm.) We also bought a giant cantaloupe type melon.



The drive through Bosnia/Herzgovina was short and uneventful. We didn’t even have to stop at the two border crossings at both ends. (Darn, don’t they realize I want some passport stamps?)