I know this sounds boring, but it was another Groundhog Day start to our last day in Dubrovnik - ie it was stunning. I got up early and set my office for a couple hours on the balcony and watched the sun come up (see pic). That done we started packing up in preparation for leaving behind the lovely Dubrovnik and after a hearty breakfast set out for our drive to Split via Mostar. But as we packed the car I noticed the equipment in the boot (see pic) and hoped that sudden spring snow storms or fires would not see us put them to use.

So we set out - and I must note for the record that our GPS Gertie resulted in a great deal of anxiety (long story, red wine needed), but given the skills of the 2 operators (JJ and yours truly), this should not have happened. Despite this, we made our way out of Dubrovnik very easily and made headed across the significant bridge to the north of Dubrovnik (pic), then thoroughly enjoyed the continual view of the sparking Adriatic across to islands of all sizes with huge granite hills rising to our right. Spectacular.

After kilometre after kilometre the landscape suddenly changed and after going up and over a large hill, unexpectedly the coast disappeared and there was a vast expanse of farmland. Being on the right side of the road (mostly, and nervously when a lot of cars and trucks came around curves on my side of the road!) made it hard to stop and take pics, but a few professional ones are the same as mine would have been.

Eventually we parted company with the coast and headed east to Mostar. Along the way we stopped to admire a 16th century castle and the Neretva river.

Mostar is a place that I went to in September 2013 and which has special meaning for me. So to quote a bit from wiki, Mostar is a town In Bosnia and Herzegovina with a population of by 113,000 (and at least 3 sleeping dogs - see pic) and is the most important city in the Herzegovina region, its cultural capital, and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva River, is the fifth-largest city in the country and was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most recognizable landmarks, and is considered one of the most exemplary pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.

Stari Most (English: Old Bridge) is a reconstruction of the Ottoman bridge that connects two parts of the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993 by Croat forces during the Croat–Bosniak War. Subsequently, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it, and the rebuilt bridge opened on 23 July 2004.

The bridge has special symbolism for me and during my previous visit I saw the alignment of the bridge's history with my own and felt that it was tatt worthy so that I would remember the positives that result from rebuilding, which is definitely a good lesson to learn. I am confident that I am not the only person that this special place resonates with.

So, with the above in mind it is a bit of a pilgrimage for me to return, and a delight too. The markets along one side bustle with activity, the town is a mixture of the new and the reminders of the 1990's war, with bombed out buildings remaining standing beside new structures. This visit I returned to the museum in and under the tower on the eastern side of the river. The museum keeper was so impressed that I had been there before and that the bridge's history had resonated with me, that he let me in for free and then spent about 20 mins chatting to me about Bosnian history and significant impacts on Mostar and the bridge. Nice fella.

So then I spent some time in the museum which include climbing the tower (see pics of views including many buildings still in ruins following the war. Descending to under the tower I also saw some of the excavations of early building work, and a re-watched a 40 min video on the early bridge, destruction and the rebuilding project, which strictly used old technology.

I then emerged into one of the alleyways, bought some mementos, enjoyed a Turkish coffee and crepes before heading to the car to meet JJ for the next leg of our journey to Split.

As an aside, if you want to find out more about Mostar and see some fabulous pictures of the damage caused by the war, find out about food and some stops along the way, I highly recommend this site..

http://wevemadeahugemistake.com/our-day-trip-from-split-to-mostar/

But moving on, to say that Gertie (GPS) and Alison (Astra ie Opel) introduced challenging elements to the drive to Split is a mild understatement. I think that Gertie took us a bit of a round about trip to join the HUGE tollway to Split.. Though the drive on second class roads was quite interesting, after navigating multiple border crossings (into and out of Bosnia twice today because Bosnia has a 13 km coastline jutting int Croatia and Mostar is in Bosnia - but I think you know this already) we got to the tollway with a 130km speed limit (except for tunnels and near exits).

However, an Opel Astra only does 130 kmph downhill with a tailwind. Seriously the car is a shocker and it took a lot of gear changing to keep her above 110 going up the many, long uphill sections, and nothing like 130 except for downhill or flat. For an old rev head like me who uses the speed limit as a 'must do minimum', this was seriously sad.

However the scenery was amazing... Huge granite volcano shaped mountains in the near and far views, dotted by small towns and clusters of the inevitable terracotta tiles. Oh and warning signs noting pigs, bears, wolves and deer. Don't spend the night out there!

At this point we were running quite late for our arrival at our apartment, and my 2 calls to our landlord did not make me think that meeting him would be a happy occasion. Things got complicated because not only did Gertie keep fading, but there is absolutely no parking (at a reasonable price) near our accommodation and we seriously lost our way. I won't bore you with the details except over red wine, but in the end we met Ivo our landlord who was delightful and who spent a lot of time telling us about what to do and where to eat in and around the old town. We are staying two streets back from the harbour in the absolutely fabulous old town buzzing with people and places. The apartment is well equipped and more than comfortable ... Except that it is 3 stories up. Still the young waiter from the cafe downstairs helped with bags. Bless him.

No pics or more on Split till tomorrow (see the web.. Any professional pics are how it was today.. FABULOUS).. But after finding a supermarket we stocked up on smoked salmon, cheese, salad, chocolate, beer, wine and ate in! Time now for zzzzzzzz, it's been a big day and apart from a couple of gear malfunctions, we stayed on the right in fine form :)