Flixbus Drive to Dubrovnik
With a mapped drive time of just under three hours, we were surprised that the booking showed almost five hours. Once on the bus, we realized that this is not a typical bus. There were local people who used the bus to get their groceries home. They were dropped off at a random spot… so we had a few unplanned stops. The reward for the bus ride was the view! So green… hills, rivers, valleys. Such beauty!
This valley, a short time outside Dubrovnik, had a fun lifestyle. Outside their backdoor was a canal/river. It looked like most everyone had a boat. This location is about the halfway point between Split and Dubrovnik. Running fairly near to the sea, much of the journey up until now has been more inland.
Following the path of the Neretva River, my “future trip” planning mode kicked in… Looking online to learn a little about what we were passing, I found that a trip down this river would be an intriguing trip. It is deemed the coldest river in the world; the Neretva runs from Bosnia and empties into the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.
Continuing on, we drove through Opuzen, Croatia. Known for its tangerine crops, it looked to be the perfect combination of weather and water sources for growing the fruit. Had we decided on a road trip between cities (which we will do next time), we could have stopped to see the fortress for which this town is famous. It was built by the Republic of Venice in 1684; the photos look interesting. All around this area are old bridges and architecture…
Winding throughout our driving path, the river is narrow in some spots and grows wider in others. In this particular area, there were several offshoots of small rivers/creeks. Along the banks there were many residential homes. Then, outside the direct river area we saw large, wide-open fields. .
At a particular wide area of the river, we crossed the Peljesac Bridge. What is notable about this bridge is that in this one area is a place called Nuem. It is the only place that intersects and divides Croatia. In this one location, Bosnia and Herzegovina touch the Adriatic Sea. The bridge spans that small area so that people driving this route never actually leave Croatia.
A last view of the bridge, it’s odd to think that underneath the bridge is Bosnia. We have in our future travel plans, a visit to Bosnia so maybe we should just follow the river throughout both countries. It would definitely be a beautiful route!
Looking down on Bosnia… this is the exact point that divides Croatia into two land masses. After crossing the small point where Bosnia touches the Adriatic Sea, Croatia continues on. At this point, we are about one hour from Dubrovnik. It’s funny to think that our stays in Zagreb, Zadar and Split were on one side of Bosnia and as we head into Dubrovnik, we are on the other side of Bosnia. Boundaries are odd sometimes…
