We Do Adventure

The eagle-eyed will have noticed that this picture is shot in almost exactly the same location as my post of a week ago today. It appears because yet again it is the location of a surprising sight. I draw your attention to the festive lights strung across the street. These are, in themselves, not much of a marvel. There are plenty of reasons – well at least two! – why there should be lights up at this time of year. It’s just that I heard Mostar was going to pass on having a New Year celebration in Spanish Square this year as a city without a budget finds it hard to finance such things. I had wondered if non-essential illuminations would find themselves plunged into darkness. It’s nice to see things are a little brighter than I imagined.

Ok, so the title should read 'Matt and Rowan' but 'Jack and Jill' are more famous for their hill Rowan is hugely relieved that as of tomorrow we will be living on a flat road in a flat part of town. She's said more than once that she thought that walking up the steps and slopes to the place we've been living should have got easier over time. In her opinion it hasn't. It is fair to say it's good for the legs. I've appreciated it, as I've yet to find anywhere that seems sociably acceptable or safe enough to run. The safety issue centres around the quality of the running service rather than the vibe of the neighbourhoods. Tomorrow the two Novi Most combis in Mostar will share our stuff between them as we descend for the last time. (Obviously, not really for the last time!) I will miss the view. That's all the more reason to get my bike up and running. It's been fantastic to get up in the morning and look out over the city. The light here is ...

So I'm driving here now. Today was my first time going solo. It wasn't quite fully-fledged freedom of the roads as I was following Claire in one of the other Novi Most combis, but I was on my own in my vehicle. We drove about twenty minutes out of town to leave one combi at a garage for servicing. That was the VW I drove out. I drove the Toyota on the way back. It really has seen better days. However, I managed to navigate my way around the vagaries of its gearbox and drive in a way the accommodated its painful lack of power. It wasn’t quite as bad as I’d been lead to believe, but it was close! Half the roads around Mostar appear to be being resurfaced, or should I say they have been prepared for resurfacing. The scraped surface leaves drain covers protruding as unpleasant wheel-deforming devices. No, I didn't hit any! Potholes and other severe surface undulations, however, are almost unavoidable so it's often the case of literally having to take the rough with the smoo...