Today was definitely the most entertaining day of the trip so far. Rafting was simply a superb experience. We rowed down Nertavi River for 4 hours. I insisted on swimming in a calm part of the river. Although I had a full body suit on, the water felt freezing. I got back onto the boat after only a few minutes. I can’t imagine how cold these waters are in the winter?!
Bosnia is a land of untainted beauty. Its nature envelopes you, wholly and truly. It has a unique combination of warm, sunny Mediterranean weather (only during the summer of course), lush green forests and mountains, and plenty of water running in rivers and lakes. The colour of the river is a unique shade of bluish-green. I remember once when I was younger at school, a Bosnian boy, a refugee from the war, had painted a scene from Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. The river he painted was green. We all laughed at him and told him, “Adis! Rivers are blue!” He turned to us confidently and said, “No, this is Sarajevo,” as he pointed at his painting. I only understood this incident when I came to this beautiful country. Yes Adis, you were right. The water in Bosnia is not blue.
As the boat swam down the river, I looked up at the towering green mountains on either side of us. There was no one and no thing to disturb the peace. It was only the wild animals in the water and on either side of the shore, that could share with us the beauty of our surroundings. I turned to our skipper and I said, “You have such a beautiful country.”
This one statement triggered a long conversation. Salko (a reformation of the name Salih – this was a common practise during the Communist rule over Bosnia, where Bosnians had to hide their Muslim identity by altering their names in order to get jobs and avoid discrimination. Today, you will find that most of Bosnian last names begin with an Arab name and end in ‘vic’ to give it a Slavic/Russian tweak – Hassanovic, Adilovic, Husseinovic, Alijavic etc). So, Salko the skipper was one of the first young Bosnians I had a chance to speak to. He replied to my statement by saying, “Bosnians do not appreciate Bosnia’s beauty; we do not feel it is our country.” I did not fully understand that statement until much later on during the trip, and so I will leave it at that for now. But for the rest of our ride down the river, Salko the skipper told me about Bosnia, about the war, about the young generation, about the economy, about religion ... a volcano of dilemmas had erupted in front of me. I was beginning to see the real side of Bosnia... the dichotomies it lived in.
After our rafting trip, we made our way to the cottage we would be spending the night at. The whole group sat around a pot of home cooked vegetable soup and freshly baked bread. We are on a mountain and a fresh water stream is running beside us. The garden is candle light and Bosnian music is playing in the background. I would not necessarily say I have come to like Bosnian music much. Even its young people keep repeating how bad it is. We also have a huge pot of freshly brewed Bosnian coffee. Abosondos is telling us stories about his first trips to Bosnia.
I have given up on trying to find normal English tea in this country. The only tea they have in Bosnia is fruit tea, such as berries or apples etc. So from now on, I will stick with Bosnian coffee, or kafa, as they call it. Kafa here is an experience in its self. You are served a coffee container/pot, what we call كنكة in Arabic, with small coffee cups and cubes of sugar or Turkish delights on a copper or silver circular tray. Bosnian coffee is not made with sugar. Instead, you put a piece of sugar under your tongue or you eat some sweet delights along with your coffee to take away the bitter taste. I prefer it just plain or with a little milk. Bosnian kafa is good … and I have had at least three cups already! I am not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight.
Konijc, Bosnia
11.05 pm
6/07/2010
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