Today is our last full day in Mostar and it began with an unexpected wake up call - at 530hrs the minaret speakers crackled and so began the first call to prayer for Muslims for the day.  Then at 700hrs, the Cathedral bells chimed and it was time to get up.

Kelly and Judy headed to the little restaurant beside their pansion (B&B) for some breakfast, which included a "croissant" (bun with nutella on the inside), some fresh squeezed orange juice and Bosnian coffee.

We then wandered our way along the cobblestone paths to the Old Bridge that we have fallen in love with.  It is as beautiful as we expected it to be.

One thing that is a regular occurrence on the Old Bridge is divers.  They stand on the other side of the rail and tease, come back over to try and collect more coins from people, and then tease some more.  On our first sojourn across the Bridge this morning we just made it as a brave diver made the plunge. More on divers a little later on.

We then wandered into a bookshop that was showing clips from the destruction of the Bridge back in 1993.  The native Mostari had covered the Old Bridge and hung tires from the side in an attempt to dampen shell fire.  On the morning of November 9th, it took 3 direct hits and crumbled into the river, the pink stone used on the inside of the Bridge turning the river red.  "Our old friend is bleeding", they said..  The video then showed the reconstruction of the Bridge, and locals cheered and clapped as machines dredged up the first stone from the river bed.  When the new Old Bridge was complete, there was a big celebration with dignitaries from around the world.  Two doves were released and fireworks set off.  It's hard for us in the Lower Mainland to be so emotionally attached to a piece of architecture, but to the citizens of Mostar their Stari Most was a dear friend.

We then took another look that the Bridge from the east bank.  From there you can see a giant cross on the west side on the top of the mountain.  It was from this spot that Croat forces shelled the Bridge.

We headed back over the Bridge and headed down a little lane way which lead us to a rocky shore with a great view of the Bridge.  Sure enough, on the wrong side of the railing a man in a speedo who had his hat held out, fundraising for his next jump.  He looked down at the bank where we were and motioned for Kelly to jump in, which she emphatically declined.  We did, however, put our toes in the cool emerald waters of the Neretva.  The water is freezing, but welcome relief on a hot day.

The speedo-ed man never did jump - we suppose he wasn't able to raise enough money.  After a healthy dose of sun, we retreated to one of Mostar's many riverside cafes and sipped some icy cool fanta.  Judy read a book while Kelly wrote out some postcards, both relaxing in the shade and thinking how nice it would be if Ron were there, but joked about how he is probably having a better time, hopped up on some Eastern European painkillers.

After a bit of time, another promising diver emerged atop the Bridge and climbed over the railing.  A fellow diver came down to the shore to collect donations from the throng of school children who had just showed up.  After a thumbs up from the diver on the riverbank, the diver made his big leap, with much applause from the children who were eagerly waiting.

We then hit up our dinner haunt from yesterday - Hindin Han for another tasty meal.  We had a leisurely after dinner stroll along the streets where we bought some ice cream, then headed back to our pansion for the evening.

Our hostess at the pansion, Suzana, is a native Bosnian and moved to Mostar as a child.  It was her husband who actually caught the footage of the Bridge collapsing and was kind enough to share her memories of the war (I'm paraphrasing):

"My husband took the footage of the Bridge collapsing.  We told him not to go because it was so dangerous, he could have been shot by a sniper or hit with a grenade.  The city was under siege - it was like the Middle Ages.  No running water or electricity.  A man took the video and on horseback rode over the mountains and into Sarajevo.  They played it on Sarajevo TV, then French and British.  We thought then maybe people would see our suffering.  There was only one hospital and it was on the other side of the river.  My brother's wife was pregnant, so we put her in a basket and with a rope they pulled her across to the other side.  She was shot at, but not hit, and gave birth to her daughter in a little room with one candle (she is now a healthy 21 year-old).  There were 13 of us living in my kitchen - Bosnians, Croats, Serbs, all living together.  When someone you knew died you were sad, but had to be strong.  But when the Bridge fell, it affected us all and we were all depressed.  It was special to us.  When they rebuilt the Bridge there was a big celebration.  Hundreds of presidents from around the world came.  To us, the rebuilding of the Bridge was not only to reunite the two sides of the river, but to unite us - everyone - as people."

Let that be a lesson to us all.