Geography was not one of my best subjects at school, perhaps only marginally better than my barely competent efforts in woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing. The journey recounted for this day in 1973 did not see me cross any national borders, but that would not be the case now.
My knowledge of the changing political geography of the Balkans since 1992 is shamefully lacking. It is also the case that place names have changed since my trip. For example, being somewhere on the road to Ivangrad is now more accurately described as being on the road to Berane.
It was a hard climb this morning out of Dubrovnik under the hot sun. I picked up my first lift after about 45 minutes, and this took me quite a way. This was followed by another long trudge, a couple more short lifts, and then I took a break to eat some bread and drink some welcome and refreshing orange juice beside the road.
There followed a few other lifts until I finally find myself climbing up a mountain road…
…not wishing to fall over the edge; river flowing below; blue, white where broken, green vegetation; felt sort of pleased and lonely; constantly day-dreaming.
I eventually picked up a lift with a Yugoslav family, a lovely drive through beautiful wild mountain scenery to a place beyond Titograd called Bijela Polje. We arrived there around 19.00 hrs.
I was now on the road to what was then Ivangrad, looking for somewhere to bed down for the night. Darkness was rapidly closing in and the sound of dogs barking filled the air. It was also starting to get cold. And then – behold! A brightly painted VW van pulled up and offered me a lift. We didn’t quite make it as far as Skopje, but the 2 German students stopped off for a beer, and soon after we looked for a place to park up for the night. I slept in the front of the van and the others slept in the back.
So, Day 17 was quite a tiring and arduous one, with some beautiful scenery, crossing of regional borders but not national borders, and ending with bedding down on the front seats of a VW camper van.
Yesterday’s bonus quiz answers:
The comedy programme was “Hugh and I” (Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott), and the album was Pink Floyd’s “Obscured by Clouds” – soundtrack to the French film “La Vallee” – the first e has an acute accent but I don’t know how to do that on my phone.
And your clues for tomorrow’s destination:
A port city that is a regional capital, sometimes referred to as the Nymph of the Thermaic Gulf.
Psychologist on the Move 