Garth knocked on my window to wake me up and he immediately apologized for waking me up so early. It was just after 6am and unfortunately Holly had been ill all night with severe pains in her side. We set off to find a hospital. The first one had a checkpoint building at the entrance and the fellow waved us on. We drove up to a four storey, white fading hospital building that appeared to have missed any kind of up keeping for the last 3 decades. It didn’t look like a promising medical facility but I was reminded of Harry’s comment the night before that this country didn’t have the best health care...I guess we were about to find out first hand. At first we couldn’t find anyone to help us out. The hall way was bare and all the doors closed but Garth hunted around and found someone as I parked Betty. Ten minutes later we were told to head back from where we had come to another hospital where there would actually be a doctor. Turns out that this place was more of a palliative care place.
The palliative hospital:
At the next hospital, Holly was seen right away by a few ladies all dressed in red. One was a nurse but the other a doctor although it was tough to tell the difference. They took her vitals and asked a number of questions. She was soon put on an IV to provide her with some fluids, some painkillers and vitamins. Garth and I hung out for about an hour as Holly was revitalized. We couldn’t help but joke that this facility must have been cutting edge, some thirty years ago in a communist run country. I need to visit the little boys room and yikes, it was the standard squatting toilet that wouldn’t have passed even a restaurant’s hygiene test in Canada. There was a bucket beside the toilet where used toilet paper was stacked up...double yikes. Nonetheless, after her IV and at a cost of 12 Euros, Holly was feeling better and we returned to the apartment they stayed at for her to get a few more hours of sleep. The apartment was interestingly decorated with dark red walls and a variety of knickknacks and a seemingly open door policy. After her rest, we all showered up (surprisingly in a shower with the best water pressure I’d experienced in Europe so far and a great view of the fort) and then hit the road towards the town of Herceg Novi. Holly slept most of the way as Garth and I admired the terrain and views of the large tidal lake.
The second hospital:
Our brave patient:
The scary hospital bathroom:
Driving around the lake:
Arriving in Herceg Novi, a possible paragliding venue, we drove to the far side of town and found a beach, yet another crowded one, for a spot of lunch. The conditions didn’t look great for flying and ironically I also didn’t have a terribly happy tummy although not one requiring hospital assistance, just a traveller’s type issue. We decided to press on further towards a definite stop on our tour, the city of Dubrovnik. We stopped at a fantastic lookout point just before arriving in Dubrovnik for a few pictures. The city sports an amazing walled old town that was nearly decimated in 1991 by the Serbians. The stone walls are up to 6 meters thick in areas but that didn’t prevent over 60% of the buildings within from being hit. Massive meticulous reconstruction has returned it to its previous glory and we were in awe of the sight including some nice islands in the background. We found a campsite north of Dubrovnik and set up for the night. Tomorrow we shall visit the city.
Beautiful Dubrovnik:
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