Day 110 - Mostar to Sarajevo

October 24, 2018

Saturday, October 20th, 2018.

We set up the alarm for 7:30am, our usual wake up time during the week. Why? I don't know but that's what we do the day that we leave, even if our bus wasn't leaving until 1:00pm. We had breakfast, made sandwiches for the bus, then I went to ask at the front desk if we could check out late. We couldn't, so we left our suitcases and went for our last walk in Mostar. Wow, it was packed with tourist groups! You could barely get to the old bridge. We were so happy that we were leaving on that busy day.

We went back to Cafe Luft for a cappuccino and ice cream of course! It was such a pleasant day that I don't know why we didn't come here more with a book and sit by the river and enjoy. I always have the regret, "I should have done this or that" the day that we leave.

We went back to the hotel, picked up our suitcases, and walked to the bus station, which was 10 minutes away. We figured it would take longer to fit the suitcases in a taxi than walking. We got there early and while we were waiting for the bus, Sunshine noticed the girl with the violin that we had met in Trogir and that I had seen in Split. We went to say hi to her and to her brother. They are both traveling the world with the money they make on the street busking. In any case, it was fun to see them again. I told them we would probably see them again since their next stop is Sarajevo, just like us. Gregory called me and it was time to go, we were boarding.

During the bus ride, I tried to write but I couldn't concentrate. First, Gregory interrupting me to look at the view and then, when I looked out the window, wow! I couldn't believe how amazing the view was. It was breathtaking. No wonder he was bugging me to look!

We made it to Sarajevo around 3:30pm and Kelsey, our host, was already waiting for us! It feels very nice to have someone come and pick you up in a country where you don't speak the language and you have no clue what to expect. She was super friendly and from the start, I knew we were going to be OK. When she drove us to the apartment and I saw the building around it, I thought, oh, what did we get ourselves into? The inside of the building looked old and almost abandoned. I was a little worried, but when we went inside, we were happily surprised by a cozy and spacious apartment. We met Kelsey's husband Rocco and their two dogs, Mattie and Moose. The best and most moving part was to see how excited Daniel was when he patted the dogs. He hugged Moose for a while and that just made my day. Kelsey said, "seems like you found a friend Moose!" and I said, "no the other way, Daniel found a friend!"

We sat for an hour and chatted about our responsibilities and how to take care of their babies. After that, we went for a walk with everyone and the dogs. They showed us the park across from where they walked the dogs and they also showed us how to get to the old town. We were happily surprised to see a clean and modern city. After that, we brought the dogs back home and talked about their teaching positions abroad. I was fascinated with their stories. This is what I like about meeting people that like to travel, they are so much fun and always have many interesting and different stories to tell.

Around 7:00 we went out for dinner at a restaurant nearby. The place was fun, and the food was delicious and reasonably priced. OK, not expensive. Gregory and Daniel even got two dishes each! I have never seen Daniel eat with so much appetite. He was thrilled to order Thai style chicken with rice! We walked back home. I wanted to say goodbye to Kelsey and Rocco but my mom and my friend Maite from Mexico both called me. It felt so nice to be able to talk to them about our trip.