EXPEDITIA BIKE EUROPA 2014 - EPISODUL 17 - BOSNIA - SIMPLY THE BEST

On my way towards Gradac I stop to admire some flowers.

It is a mountainous region and in the vicinity of Hutovo I come across some ruins of an ancient citadel.

After cycling on secondary roads with light traffic, I get to the busy road E73 and it`s time for me to eat a pleskavitsa at a fast-food in a township. The food in Bosnia is very cheap, you can eat well with 2-3 Euros.

Near Klepci` village I pitch my tent and during the night two policemen pay me a visit to see what the heck I`m doing here in my lousy tent full of holes. When they see I am a poor cyclo-trotter they simply let me be and wish me good luck.

Today I`m cycling upstream the Neretva River. Suddenly I reach Pocitelj which will pleasantly surprise me.

This tiny medieval Muslim village is simply amazing.

Here it`s time for me to take a break and I saunter happily across its streets.

Then hit a bit by the hunger I enjoy a tasty meal on the terrace of a restaurant.

With my belly filled I stroll again a little bit on the lovely cobbled streets gazing at the souvenirs` stands.

After 3 hours of sheer delight it`s time I kept on cycling along the Neretva River and in a few hours I reach the town of Mostar.

It`s here that I can gaze at the most famous bridge from all the Balkan Region.

From this `stari most` I can admire the sparkling waters of the Neretva River and throwing a coin into the river I make a wish that I will return to my beloved Bosnia.

This town is amazing and has plenty of lofty and gorgeous mosques.

This interesting bridge is always crowded with people.

The historic center looks fabulous, being endowed with tortuous cobbled roads, exquisite bazaars and plenty of pubs and restaurants. The tourists are from all over the world. I was even lucky to catch a glimpse of a Arabian woman.

I will come back to this magnificent Muslim town and that`s for sure.

Soon I carry on cycling heading for the mountains. After about one hour I make a small halt in a village to admire a mosque.

After Potoci the night overtakes me and I enter the mountain region along Neretva River. I cycle till midnight when I decide to spend my night in the middle of nowhere in my sleeping bag right next to the river having no possibility to put up my tent. It was a frightful night but I luckily survived, the wild beasts avoided me.

Now it`s time to enjoy the mighty Neretva River. But in this paradise I ran out of money. I was lucky to have good friends that sent me some money, so that I could continue my adventure. Thank you so much to Horia, Flavius and Sergiu, my generous friends that helped me out of my misery at that hard time for me.

This proves to be one of the best rivers in Europe.

In incheierea acestui episod vreau sa multumesc din suflet tuturor prietenilor sustinatori care m-au ajutat financiar sau material pt. realizarea expeditiei BIKE EUROPA 2014. Aici este lista prietenilor sustinatori care m-au ajutat. Multumesc din suflet lui: Tiberiu si Carmen Muntean - Munchen, Horia Cardos - Timisoara, Razvan Anton - Ottawa, Flavius Nicola - Arad, Marius Cruceru - Oradea, Zoltan si Adina Marton - Bucuresti, George Marcu - Bucuresti, Camelia Balutescu - Timisoara, Bogdan Cristea - Londra, Attila Szodrai - Oradea, Timotei Rad - Cluj Napoca, Mariea Crasmaru - Laslea, Emanuel Dobre - Ineu, Radu Lasc - Ineu, Morar Victor - Ineu, Havasi Sergiu Celin - Ineu. Multumesc de asemenea domnilor din conducerea Consiliului Judetean Arad si domnilor consilieri judeteni care au aprobat proiectul meu cicloturistic si doamnelor de la Centrul Cultural Judetean Arad. Multumesc mult si lui Rogoz Stefan, administratorul clubului RACING BIKE PRO ARAD si lui Torok Laci, fara ajutorul carora nu puteam accesa banii de la CJA! Dumnezeu sa va binecuvanteze pe voi si familile voastre si sa va dea doar bine! Nu in ultimul rand multumesc si colegilor Florin si Giani, cu care am pedalat destul de mult pe batranul continent! Traiasca cicloturismul si prietenia! Cu respect, Claudiu