Rafting and camping in the Tara Canyon

With one almighty hangover following the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony celebrations, we dug out our tents, packed up the cars and with the help of a bacon sandwich (a coveted treat here) we set off for a weekend of camping and rafting.

Located about 2hrs South East of Sarajevo, just beyond Foca, the Tara Canyon is the largest canyon in Europe and the second largest canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the States. The Tara River runs through the canyon, the majority of the river is in Montenegro, it then joins the River Piva and converges into the Drina when it flows into and through Bosnia.

Camp Ivana offers basic overnight accommodation in little wooden huts, there is basic ( and I mean basic) toilet and washing facilities and bar/kitchen area. The accommodation was full, so we offered to camp in the field which was perfect (although subsequently we discovered that it a bit 'anty'! Being about 150 degrees (OK, slight over exaggeration) we walked the 100m or so down to the river. Wow... was my first impression, a relatively fast flowing, wide river with steep banks and woodland on either side. Ice blue in colour and as it turned out; also in temperature... it was freezing! Only two of us actually made it in properly, the others fussed about on the shore! It was certainly refreshing, so clean you can drink the water straight from it, something I realised I had never done before.

That evening we had a delicious meal at the camp 'restaurant'. A feast of meat and fresh river trout and a couple of beers and after a few camp fire games, we all hit the sack.

By 7:30am the next morning I was awake, as soon as the sun rose the tent got hotter and hotter! We packed up the campsite and were then put into groups, handed some rather dodgy (and smelly) life jackets and waterproof shoes. We then piled into a van and set off up stream. The journey to the rafting start point was about a 40 minute drive away, across the Montenegrin boarder. It is a beautiful drive, right up through the steep cannon. After a bit of organised chaos, we were carrying our raft down to the river and offer we went. We were given some basic rafting instructions by our 'Skipper', in short to 'paddle' when he said so, and to stop when he said so... and that was our briefing! Arrrh the joys of being outside the EU!

The gentle drift downstream was quite fantastic, the steep sided canon/gorge is beautiful and the water is crystal clear (yet still absolutely freezing)!! As none of us knew what we letting ourselves in for, in terms of how much 'white water' there would be, we didn’t take a camera which is a huge regret. However, this means we will have to go back next year! We were on the water for a good 4/5hrs, we had a number of stops where we moored up, had the chance to swim etc... we even stopped at a fantastic river side bar which kept the beer cold in the water itself! There were other people at these stops (no Brits, lots of locals), so it was not quite as isolated as we were expecting and it would have been marginally better if the stops had been staggered so we were not all stopping in the same place at the same time.

Anyway, our journey ended back at the camp with another delicious meal consisting of about 3 courses, just what we needed after a tough day on the water!

A weekend in Sarajevo

We have just come to the end of a lovely Sarajevo based weekend which has been lovely. A relaxing mix of exercise, good food, delicious wine, sunshine, friends and cheese! And to top it off, a huge range in temperature and weather.

On Saturday we had a glorious day... 28 degrees, hot, sunny, blue skies and summer well and truly on the cards. Sunday (as forecast) was cooler and raining, but then to our surprise, we awoke this morning to a 3cms of snow... and more falling... crazy Bosnian weather! So, the flip flops have been put away and I have dug out the Ugg Boots.

 

How time flies!

I cannot really believe how busy the last few of weeks have been. So much so, that I have not even found time to post any updates. Lots of fun has been had, topped by the fact the weather here in Sarajevo has gone from Spring to Summer over night and we are currently enjoying temperatures of around 28 degrees!

Additionally, the busyness has been for social enjoyment, with small bursts of work which have had to be fitted in between. At Easter we enjoyed the long weekend in Dubrovnik. This was our first trip to the coast and it was very enjoyable. The weather was a little disappointing, but that is somewhat expected in mid-April. We stayed in a lovely guest house, located above the old town, so the views were fantastic.  We spent our days strolling through the old town, which is lovely, took the walk around the walls which is definitely not to be missed and ate plenty of fresh fish. We also explored some of the surrounding area – Ston and Mali Ston should be on any list, beautiful little towns located north of Dubrovnik where the Peljesac Peninsula meets the main land. Mali Ston is tipped to have the best oysters in the world, as the water is the cleanest. We also spent a day in Cavtat which is just south of Dubrovnik, another beautiful coastal town which is much sleepier than Dubrovnik itself and therefore slightly more enjoyable as you are not fighting with hordes of cruise liner tourists. There is a lovely walk all the way around the headland and plenty of lovely looking restaurants and bars overlooking the bay. This trip has definitely given us a flavour for the coast and I am looking forward to plenty of long weekends spent exploring the Croatian Islands over the summer.









We then took a fleeting trip back to the UK as we had hen/stag party commitments. Not only did we catch up with friends and family, we also had the opportunity to stock up on a few much needed items such as, cupcake cases, bacon, sausages, cheese, various herbs and fresh coffee! We also went out for a curry, which was fantastic! A curry is probably my favourite meal-out, so a quick trip into the Birmingham Balti Belt put my cravings to rest! (There is a curry house here and we have yet to try it... I will let you know when we do)!

Most recently we have spent the weekend in Ljubljana. We had a cracking weekend! Six of us embarked on the eight hour drive and it was well worth it. It is an absolutely beautiful city, quite small, but centred on a beautiful river which is lined with bars and restaurants. We also spent the day out a Lake Bled (about 65km north of the city), it totally lived up to expectations, it is beautiful. A glacial lake with a gorgeous little island in the middle, set with snow capped mountains as a back drop. We hired bikes to cycle around, stopped for a picnic half and took a rowing boat out to the island. All in all a fantastic day out and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

So, we are now back in Sarajevo for a bit of a break, but as the summer approaches, I think it is going to be anything but quiet!