Let's dance the Balkans stage 10 from Mostar to Gabela. The next morning we leave Mostar, taking up the thread of the first stage: the route of the old Austro-Hungarian narrow-gauge railway that started in Sarajevo and crossed the mountains to the Adriatic. Here in Bosnia the route is signposted as Ciro Ruta (in the Croatian part it is still defined as Dalmatiner Bahn, with the original name given by the Austro-Hungarian empire). We initially cycle on the plain crossing the uninteresting industrial area of Mostar, as we move away from the city the charm of the former railway increases, even if in this stretch the old railway bed is asphalted and has been flanked over the years by various houses. The valley is very anthropized, a new railway runs alongside the old track and on the opposite bank of the river runs a road with heavy traffic. Every now and then some remains of artifacts remind us of times gone by. Silvia continues to feel ill and struggles to continue. Once in Capljina, Silvia is no longer in a condition to continue. It is starting to get hot, we take shelter in a bar to rest; fortunately this stage includes 2 detours that we remove from the route. I accompany Silvia to the hotel not far away, in the Gabela area, so that she can rest.
Having picked up the bike and left most of the luggage at the hotel, I set off lightly, retracing my steps for a while. I then reach the village of Pocjteli, a beautiful fortified medieval village that stands on the bank of the Neretva clinging to a hill with steep paved streets (traveled on foot). The village is still partly inhabited in some elegant Ottoman houses dating back to the 19th century, after the ethnic cleansing perpetrated during the war. As is common in these places, a purely European origin (perhaps Italian), was followed by Ottoman domination until the second half of the 19th century and the architecture shows this overlapping of cultures. Some of the fortifications are in good condition and others have been partially restored. It is worth a visit if you pass through these parts.