Right! Today nothing turned out as planned. Gotta take the rough with the smooth!

My route today was a lot longer than planned!

Day 12 Banja Luka to Sarajevo

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After a good breakfast



First off was Banja Luka which was only about 30 mins down the road, It is quite a big place. so I had a little ride round and stopped for a coffee. I then wanted to go see the Castle in the town. Spoiler 1, They were renovating it so I could only get to see the outside, after being told you could ride right inside as there was a cafe in the middle of it. So after taking a few snaps it was time to go to Doboj which was just a stop on route before heading to Tesanj Castle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banja_Luka

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Tesanj Castle Spoiler 2, when I got there they were doing road works on the road leading up to the Castle so the only place I could park was a carpark in the middle of the town, it would mean leaving all my kit unattended for a long time. so that didn’t happen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tešanj_Castle

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Then it was back on the road towards Maglai Castle. I got to the town and found the Castle and I managed to nearly get up to it before I came across some more digging in the road. Spoiler 3! I had to turn round on a really step incline which is not fun with a fully loaded bike as you know, so that was the end of that.
Whilst in the town I decided to grab a Kava and use Airbnb and get myself a room for 3 nights in Sarajevo. My only bit of success of the day. £45 for 3 nights, not too bad, with a garage and wifi.


Maglai Castle

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So I set the Montana towards Sarajevo with a view to looking for somewhere to camp on the way there (about half way). Anyway that didn’t happen as I could not find anywhere suitable due to following the River very closely. On the way there I passed yet another Castle in Vranduk. I spent an hour riding in the dark before I came across were I am now.
Hotel Sunce N43.90210 E18.33759 on the very outskirts of Sarajevo.


Vranduk Castle

Some Views from today









Wayne

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Day 13 Balkans Trip

Set off from the Hotel and headed deeper into Sarajevo. It was only about 10 mile to where I was going to be staying. So I had a bit of time to get lost in the city and also to look for the Yamaha Dealer to see if they can sort out my back brake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo

The place I have booked through AirBnB is nice and I have a great view from the Balcony. I have a complete apartment to myself. 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, shower, wifi and best of all a garage for Arrunya. I am sure she blew a sigh of relief when I took all the gear off


Not bad at all for 45 quid

Washing is in so its time to relax.
















The View from the Balcony

Wayne

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Day 14 Balkans Trip

Went to get Arrunya fixed today. The shop was closed when I got there at 0930hrs even it was supposed to be open at 0900hrs. So I hung around and 10 mins later someone turned up. They do not have a mechanic on the premise but I followed them to the authorised Yamaha Mechanic they use it was a 10 minute ride away. The caliper was starting to seize so they stripped it all down, cleaned it, greased it, put it back together and bled my rear and front brakes with new fluid, Dot 5.1, they dealt with me straight away and spent about 1.5 hours working on her and all for £29.40 (once I had done the conversion from KM to £). Brakes are now spot on. Well happy.
The Yamaha Dealer Sarajevo N43.84128 E18.32553
The Mechanic N43.83707 E18.33490 (not the Jason Statham film)

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Once that was sorted it was a quick stop at McDonalds for a burger and a Kava Frappe, then a sit out in the sun to enjoy it.

Then I went it to the city on the bike to have a good ride around. Traffic was busy but I was not in any rush.










Spot the flag


Lots of these about and the majority have dates from the early 90's








Still lots of this about too








Sat enjoying a Kava



When I was parked up 3 French bikers came passed, they paused for a quick photo and as they shot off one of them was nearly under a car turning left at the junction, he was waving to me at the time.



Off to try and find the Skakavac Waterfall tomorrow, traveling light

Wayne

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Getting better mate and the suns shining

Thanks Phil
Very foggy this morning for my trip to find the Waterfall

Wayne

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Day 15 Balkans Trip

Woke up this morning to a very thick fog in Sarajevo and I was hoping that it wasn’t going to be like it all day. Because of the height I was going to I thought that I would climb out of it.
I wasn’t to be disappointed

Day 15 Visit to Skakavac Falls

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I was a good trip out and once I got out of the city it was a mixture of paved and unpaved roads. Once I got to the 1000m to to the falls sign, in a little car park there was a barrier.

Some photos from the way up






Sarajevo is under the blanket of fog

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I thought I am not leaving the bike in the car park, just in case…so I managed to squeeze Arrunya through on the right side so I could ride to the falls, or so I thought.
After riding for a K there was another open area with some building work in progress, wooden huts for the summer no doubt. There was yet another sigh pointing to the Falls, it said 850 meters, so I got off the bike and went for a look, it was a track with stairs, no way I was taking the bike down there.
So it was a case of hide the bike or don’t go. The bike got hidden out of view and off I went. It was a right hike, going down was ok but coming back up, well….. I was knackerd..point to note for oneself…remove quilted liners from jacket and trousers before walking a great distance again. I was roasting.
The sight was worth it when I got there although I didn’t hang around to long due to the bike been left and here was no way I was getting back up to the top again in a hurry. I am not as fit as I used to be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skakav...all_(Perućica)








Looking back from the Waterfall

As I got back on the bike and started back along the track towards the barrier again there was a van coming towards me and it was slowing down, I thought I was in for an ear bashing but he was just slowing down to let me passed and he waved at me as I did so.
Back through the barrier and time for a sit down and open the flask before heading back in to the city to sit at a nice cafe I have found and watch the world go by


Sat with the flask

On the way back down







Stopping another night after this one, not in any rush and I quite like the city.
Then it is off toward Vitez, Nova Travnik and Gornji Vakauf

Wayne

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Day 17 Balkans Trip

Warning, a little bit of graphic writing below from my experiences in the area. If you get offended please do not read todays report. Thanks

Today was Sarajevo to Prozor. With a stop off at Vitez, Nova Travnik T Junction and Gornji Vakauf

Day 17 Sarajevo to Prozor

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When I left Sarajevo it was very gloomy not with rain cloud but with a kind of smog and it stayed in for most of the day, although in the background the sun was out. It did get better as I progressed.

Gornji Vakauf was where I was based in 93 and one one of the reasons I want to come back to Bosnia. 22 years on and I wanted to see the change.

Some photos from on route












The Autumn colours are definitely out

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