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Anem a Croàcia | On our way: Croatia

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(English version below)

Un cop caminades Tailàndia, Birmània, Bangladesh, Índia, Pamir, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Azerbaidjan, Geòrgia, Turquia, Grècia, Macedònia, Albània, Montenegro i Bòsnia-Hercegovina amb aproximadament uns 13.600 quilòmetres als peus, ara entrem a Croàcia .

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As we step across borders, I use these “On Our Way” posts to reflect on our walk through the country we are leaving.

It’s with a heavy heart that I write about Bosnia and Herzegovina, and wonder what our next Balkan country, one closer to my heart, will bring.

(Catalan version)

Després de Tailàndia caminàvem Birmània per encabat saltar a Àsia central per poder caminar Pamir, Tadjikistan i Uzbekistan evitant el seu cru hivern, així com també l’asfixiant monsó a Bangladesh i Índia. A continuació vàrem reprendre la ruta a Bangladesh, un pèl massa aviat per que les primeres setmanes ens ofegàvem de calor, humitat i en alguna que altra tempesta de final de monsó. Entrar a Índia per passar tot l’hivern ens va regalar perfectes temperatures diürnes, però poques hores de llum amb fredes nits i matinades on la boira espessa ens va acabar de congelar. L’operació quirúrgica de Jenn va marcar una important fita durant l’estada a Índia. Des de maig a juliol vàrem caminar Iran per creuar Azerbaidjan durant un agost severament calorós que ens va causar forces problemes, però després vàrem gaudir d’un molt bon setembre a través de les muntanyes, valls i rius del sud de Geòrgia. A continuació vàrem estar molt de temps creuant la llarga Turquia resseguint el mar Negre per després passar al mar de Marmara. Recentment hem creuat una part del nord de Grècia, bressol de la nostra civilització i hem campat per les muntanyes i llacs de Macedònia, Albània i Montenegro. Seguidament hem caminat per Bòsnia-Hercegovina en paral·lel a la costa,  en paral·lel a la frontera amb Croàcia, que ara creuarem en direcció a Eslovènia.

Mirarem de seguir publicant i informant tan sovint com ens sigui possible, però com sempre, si no podem comunicar-nos, actualitzar o publicar molt freqüentment, assumiu que estem feliçment caminant entre bones persones i sobretot, que estem bé (o molt bé).

Així doncs, faré / farem el que bonament podrem, sense oblidar-nos de tots vosaltres que molt amablement ens seguiu, us interesseu per nosaltres, ens recolzeu i doneu ànims per continuar i als que us estem MOLT agraïts.

Marxem de Bòsnia-Hercegovina abans? Trenquem per l'esquerra i sortim per Grahovo? No, anem a donar una altra oportunitat i seguir recte més al nord, per Bihac com teníem previst
Marxem de Bòsnia-Hercegovina abans? Trenquem per l’esquerra i sortim per Grahovo? No! Anem a donar una altra oportunitat i seguir recte cap al nord. Sortim per Bihac, com teníem previst

 

Mapes amb la nostra ruta detallada. / Maps with our detailed route.

Mapa general de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. | General map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked.
Mapa general de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. | General map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked.
Mapa detallat de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. 1 de 3. | Detailed map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked. 1 of 3.
Mapa detallat de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. 1 de 3. | Detailed map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked. 1 of 3.
Mapa detallat de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. 2 de 3. | Detailed map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked. 2 of 3.
Mapa detallat de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. 2 de 3. | Detailed map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked. 2 of 3.
Mapa detallat de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. 3 de 3. | Detailed map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked. 3 of 3.
Mapa detallat de la nostra ruta a peu per Bòsnia-Hercegovina. 3 de 3. | Detailed map of Bosnia-Herzegovina with our route marked. 3 of 3.

 

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(English version)

The truth is I don’t know what happened to me in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). I wrote another post trying to put more words around it.

There is a jutxaposition of circumstances and surroundings I cannot reconcile in my head or heart. The impact of the 1990s war is still very evident in BiH, and it takes several forms.

On one side, cities like Trebinje and Mostar are jumping ahead, cashing in on opportunities brought by tourists daytripping from nearby Dubrovnik, the very popular and overcrowded Croatian seaside city. In other places around Livno, people have picked up the pieces and rebuilt their lives and homes, hiding their scars under brightly painted facades and bougainvilleas. The days we walked to and after Drvar smacked us with depression as we passed abandoned villages, houses destroyed by grenades, windows and walls shelled with bullets and areas of the forest marked with warning signs about landmines and mine removal.

People were equally perplexing. In some eyes, we read great loss, resignation, hopelessness, helplessness and uncertainty. Other people are shaded with racial bias, which has bubbled up again as they watch the news about Syrian, Afghan, Pakistani, Iraqi, and North African refugees and migrants crossing their country. Some people surprised us with great kindness, offering us coffee, shelter from the daily storms, a warm meal and their friendship. Many people are just getting by, cutting wood for another winter and doing what they can to feed their families.

It’s a country with wide open spaces that at times are both suffocating and liberating. History seeps in from all sides, marking changes in power from Ottoman times to Austrian-Hungarian rule to life adjusting to post-Tito, post-Yugoslavia and post-war. It’s a place trying to reinvent itself, and craving to join the club of the European Union, but still it suffers from an disheartening inertia that keeps progress leashed.

I’m glad we were there. Every country teaches us something, and layers our lives with new observations, cultural understanding and appreciation for the privilege we have to travel and walk as we do.

I’m also glad we are leaving. We step into Croatia as summer turns into a cooler and more bearable fall, my favorite season. Some of my family roots reach into Croatia, and it is  a place I have visited several times before and briefly studied in. I hope things are easier there.

As always, we have no idea what our connectivity will be like or how soon we’ll be back online. Crossing borders means getting new money, new SIM cards and figuring things out in another language we don’t speak (well, at least in the Balkans, we have a working knowledge of Croatia language and that is helping a lot).

But, check back here now and again. We have new blogs scheduled in the next few weeks. And, we are posting on Instagram and Facebook as we can. Our tag on both pages is @bangkokbarcelonaonfoot. The links are below:

https://www.instagram.com/bangkokbarcelonaonfoot/

https://www.facebook.com/bangkokbarcelonaonfoot/

Thanks for walking with us!

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