This post sees us leave Montenegro (Country 2) and enter into Bosnia and Herzegovina (Country 6) via Mratinje Dam, Monastery Zagradje, THE BORDER and The Pješčane Sand Piramides.
The drive out of Pluzine to the Mratinje Dam in Montenegro towards the Bosnia-Herzegovina border was simply divine. I ran the first 5km of it and back again to our unit in Pluzine at 7am that morning. A river gorge with the turquoise Pivsak River below on the left and a cliff drive with tunnels on the right. Amazing. I ran 2.5km of tunnels with the longest one almost 700m.
The Mratinje Dam was completed in 1975 with its construction resulting in the flooding of the Piva canyon and the creation of Lake Piva, which, with its 12.5 km², is the second largest lake in Montenegro. The dam is 220 metres (720 ft) high, one of the highest in Europe. The dam is 268 metres (879 ft) long and 4.5 metres (15 ft) thick at the crest, while it is 30 metres (98 ft) long and 36 metres (118 ft) thick at the base. The foundations go as deep as 38 metres (125 ft) into the ground. 820,000 cubic metres (1,070,000 cu yd) of concrete and 5,000 tonnes of steel were built into the dam. The hydroelectric power station at Mratinje is capable of producing 860 gigawatt-hours per annum. It has three turbines and generators, each with a generation capacity of 120 MW.
The Zagrađe Monastery is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and belongs to the Eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Budimlja-Nikšić . It originates from the middle of the 15th century and is the endowment of Duke Stefan Vukčić Kosača , who built it, most likely on the foundations of an older one. We were met by the only monk who lives there and allowed to photograph the inside of St John The Baptist, which was covered in frescoes.
Entry into Bosnia-Herzegovina was easy but took a long time, probably due to computer system down with manual replacement. The road on the Bosnia-Herzegovina side suddenly deteriorated – broken, half gravel with plenty of potholes. The landscape became tamer with lower more rolling mountains but still green. A long deep canyon finally led us to the Capital and largest city of Sarajevo.
Enjoy the drive to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina…
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