Day 137 - Grude

27 April 2022

We have just over 50 km today. Two climbs. One at the start of the day. One to finish. We say goodbye to our host in Mostar. His name is Denis. He is a fit guy, looks like he lifts. When we first arrived he said he is out fo shape. He caught tuberculosis a year ago and is still recovering. You don’t hear of TB much these days. He was vaccinated.

“The disease is still around, it's still contagious, and despite the fact that the vaccine costs approximately sixteen cents to produce, and $3.13 to buy, tuberculosis continues to ravage periphery countries.

Millions of people die from tuberculosis every year - and it's totally treatable. This is a disease we can eradicate in our lifetime.” ― Jennifer Wright

We cruise out of Mostar and soon hit the first climb. It is steep. Hard going. Shell is soon off the bike for a break. It is steep, but Shell usually crushes the climbs. She sets a rhythm and nothing stops her. Not today.

She is unwell. We push on with regular breaks and finally hit the summit. Tough start. Great views down to Mostar. It is 23˚C today. The higher peaks still have snow. Not for much longer, I would guess.

Today could have been a scenic ride. It was hard to enjoy it with all the hills. We climbed a total of 760 m in altitude today. Any chance of recovery after the first climb was lost with hill after hill. Tough going.

“Snake”

“Where?”

“Right there”

“Shit!”

I am the ultimate snake spotter these days. We have seen more snakes in Balkans in two weeks than we have in all the hiking we did in Australia. This was a little python. Harmless. I think.

We get to our last climb and it is huge. Steep. We walk and ride the entire way. Some of the inclines are over 20˚. Hard work in the sun. We discover the water Shell is drinking is what is making her sick. We switch bottles a little late.

We hit 515 m elevation and coast down the other side into Grude. We arrive at our place. It is very cool. One thing I have noticed with houses and yards is every available space is vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and vineyards. There are very few lawns and ornamental gardens. Almost every house feeds itself from a vegetable patch.

“The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is enough for everyone. Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter.” ― Bill Mollison

Shower and eat. This missing lunch deal is not working out for me. I have frog legs for the first time. They are delicious.

A tough ride today. I am exhausted. Croatia tomorrow.

Today’s ride -