Headed off to look at Mostar, but our GPS refused to take us by our chosen route. We phoned our last landlady who gave us enough instructions to find our way to the border. From the border post you can see how thin this area of Croatia is - in places less than a kilometre between the coast and the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Once over the border we found the area not very developed with steep rocky hills and small villages that did not look prosperous. However the road was excellent and we made good time. Once we reached Stolac (half way) the land improved with big areas under intensive market gardens. One notable feature was a big concrete lined canal (irrigation we think) that paralleled the road for 30km.
We noted the signage in this area was in both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. Also there were an increasing number of mosques in the towns as we moved north. The gravestones in the Islamic cemeteries are very distinctive being tall square stones with a pointed top.
Arriving in Mostar we found a carpark and a local trader swapped a Euro coin for the required local currency to feed the meter. Here the everything is available in multiple languages and currencies. We walked over the main road that had been the front line during the siege in 1993 and saw several buildings still bearing the marks of the conflict.
Walking down to the "old bridge" (now reconstructed after being destroyed in the war) the road was paved with polished marble stones - uncomfortable to walk on and slippery. Each side was lined with gift shops and tourist traps, but the hawkers were not pushy for a change. I bought a lovely table cloth ( Gillie here) and The bridge itself was an engineering masterpiece in its time as it crossed the river with a single span. Here the river runs fast and deep. The paving on the bridge is polished marble slabs with ribs to give traction. The footing is treacherous and I can only imagine how many people slip when it is wet. As it was many people were hanging on to the handrail with grim determination.(GB - I took off my shoes and it worked well!) 
We ducked into a local restaurant to try the "National Plate" - a selection of local food. All very nice, but enough to feed us for a couple of days. It included small sausages, meatballs, lamb, stuffed vine leaves, stuffed peppers, grilled vegetables, rice, a very nice capsicum pesto, yoghurt and flat bread.Heading off again our GPS took a different route than we expected and we headed down to the coast. Seeing a sign for a motorway we found a newly constructed motorway that the GPS didn't know about. With clear signs that the construction was not complete it was still an education on how to plan a new through route. With wide lanes, a continuous emergency lane, clear signage, perfect surface and a 130km/hr limit it makes the NZ major roads look second rate. We saw very little traffic on the road so it probably does not yet have an economic return.
We had trouble finding out apartment in Split as we had not realised it was tucked in behind the casino. However once again we were in for a pleasant surprise as the accommodation is great - fully equipped, sea view and a beach in front of us.
GB story of the day:
We traveled to Mostar from Dubrovnik - into Bosnia Herzegovina and up to Mostar - all I can say is that it was a revealing experience and the geology very variable and we gained some insight into the historic and not so historic conflicts.
Mostar
was amazing.. we have yet to write the blog but seeing the bullet holes
sites in the buildings / bomb remains in the city was salutary for we
who live in cotton wool. As I made a purchase for Lucas in Mostar
Stephen talked to the owner who was in Mostar when it became the front
line in the war. As I said - huge challenges to our comfortable
background. My challenge is to not forget. We had the most gorgeous Herzegovina lunch in a Turkish restaurant in the old city - beautiful site dripping with grape vines and waiters - all male , in traditional Turkish dress!The hostesses who invited us in were the females! The meal we selected was a traditional Herzegovinan platter - so yummy and was my birthday meal. The wine here has a fuller bouquet than in Croatia - and believe me - there are grapevines everywhere - no matter how poor the soil.
Off we went on another adventure to Split to this gorgeous apartment - yes! Stephen has done it again. We are in a modern, beautifully appointed apartment with a view to the Mediterranean- went for walk and passed the tennis court we can play on / the gorgeous swimming pool we can swim in . the pentanque area we might play in and the mini golf course we will avoid! below this the sea laps into the beach so guess where we will be tomorrow? This apartment is gorgeous - has dish washer XX and clothes washing machine xx - having said that we gave 2 huge bags of washing to our lovely hostess at Apartment Silva in Dubrovnik and they came back fragrantly clean and beautifully folded and she wouldn't take payment - said it was her present ! Amazing people in the Croatian Tourist industry.
Add to that - a knock on the door a few minutes ago and there was the lady who was at reception and showed us to our apartment - she came with a traditional Croatian cake for a celebration and a bottle of local celebratory bubbly as she saw today was my birthday from my passport - how amazing is this!
22 June
Got up late and drove into the old town of Split. The centre is the remains of a palace built by the roman emperor Diocletian. Some of the outer walls remain, but the interior is now filled with a jumble of narrow streets and houses built over the last 1600 years.
We returned to our apartment ( Anamaria) and had a swim at the beach - bit disappointing as the water was a bit murky and some flotsam floating in the gentle lapping waters. Lots of pepole there who seem to relish lying on the bumpy stony beach and wallowing in the waters. Not to worry - better was in store the next day. I had a lovely swim in the pool outside our apartment and went happy back to shower and go out for a lovely dinner - we walked to it via an underpass - Arkady. It looks very picturesque - we dined outside - not may other guests -when you look more closely you can see how they have covered up and dressed up what is actually quite an old and a bit dilapidated area. Good for them! We were told by Silva when we arrived in Croatia that people have a very low basic wage and there is little to come and go with.
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