We were back on the road after the first part of the expedition and I was pleased to see the driver demonstrating his ability to multitask by driving while using his phone.
Following the formalities at the Montenegrin checkpoint, we climbed back into our increasingly adventurous minibus and continued across the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had another short wait at the Hum border checkpoint while the Bosnian authorities checked our passports. Hum is located within Republika Srpska, one of the two political entities which make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. They did not need to inspect us individually, as the driver simply carried a job lot of passports into the office. It was an efficient system, provided everyone eventually received the correct identity back and I’m pleased to say that they did, although we did have an extra passport for a while.
Around ten minutes after crossing the border, we entered Foča, an attractively situated town beside the River Drina with an exceptionally dark recent history.
Foča was the scene of some of the worst atrocities committed during the Bosnian War. Bosnian Serb forces conducted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the town’s Bosniak population, involving killings, forced displacement, unlawful imprisonment, torture and systematic sexual violence. Several of those responsible were subsequently convicted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
We stopped in Foča for a short while, allowing passengers to visit the café or use the facilities. I tend to regard these interruptions as an unnecessary delay to the important business of arriving, whereas Jonathan considered them a welcome part of the journey. One of us was clearly better suited to coach travel.
During the later part of the journey, the driver opened the passenger door while we were moving to provide some improvised air conditioning. I appreciated the sudden flow of cool air, although Jonathan had to ensure that neither his bag nor he followed it out of the vehicle. I was very pleased with the whole arrangement.
I had visions of Final Destination 2. The countryside that we went through was beautiful once again, although photographing it whilst holding on for dear life in the front seat was more challenging, so I concentrated on road photos.
Against several reasonable expectations, we arrived safely at East Sarajevo Bus Station in Lukavica. The safe arrival was welcome, but the location was not, as we had assumed that the service would terminate at Sarajevo’s central bus station. East Sarajevo turned out to mean a separate city within Republika Srpska rather than merely the eastern side of central Sarajevo. Resolving that little geographical misunderstanding will feature in the next blog post. Oh, the anticipation once again.
As a final note, I would add that the bus journey was a very enjoyable one, the driver was engaging and personable, the bus didn’t fall apart and we got there in time. So all rather lovely.