On our way to 3rd
Mountain biking trip to
BiH we still had some time, so in the morning we explored the
Kozara national park.
The area was proclaimed a protected national forest in 1967 by
Josip Broz Tito. Kozara Mountain became a famous site after heroic battles for freedom in
WWII, where in 1942
Kozara Offensive took place.
We took a short walk to nearby hills Mrakovica, with a
Monument to the Revolution (Spomenik Revoluciji), Glavuša and a deserted
watch tower.
Around noon we packed our stuff and soon we were back in the saddle of the Blue Horse. Our road led us through the largest city of
Republika Srpska,
Banja Luka,
Kotor Varoš and
Kneževo over the
Vlašić mountain to
Travnik. From there we continued to
Busovača and over Vladića vrh down to
Fojnica. After the dinner we visited the
Franciscan Monastery, founded in 1668.
From there we continued towards our destination,
Prokoško Lake. Cca 10 kilometres before our destination the bike started to feel differently, so I stopped (10 km after and before the civilization). Rear tyre was flat. It's not the end of the world, so I located the leak. Some
foresters were also going back to the valley, and since they had an
air compressor, they were a good help. My repair kit had really soft plugs, so they tore apart before they were fitted into the hole of the tyre. Only the last one was OK. We filled the tyre with air and unfortunately there was another leak. With broken plugs I fixed also this hole, but the air was still slowly leaking. There wasn't much to do, so we said thanks to the foresters and decided to quickly move on, while the tyre was still full. After another 5 kilometers we met the truck and stopped him. He was also equipped with air compressor, so we filled the tyre again and managed to arrive to our destination. What a luck.
At Prokoško Lake family Bureković hosted us. They showed us our new homes and welcomed us with "Rakija" and together we waited for the rest of our mountain biking crew along with some home made cheese and
pita. Everything tasted superb.
Previous day of this trip:
13887
Previous mountain biking trips to BiH in 2016 (
Day 1) and 2015 (
Day 1,
Day 2 and
Day 3).
 |
| This museum on Mrakovica is dedicated to the partisans who fell in the bloody battle of Kozara. |
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| Tito slept in his Villa on Mrakovica once in the beginning of September 1972. |
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| Watch tower with traps near Glavuša |
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| View from the lookout tower |
Water is free and good, beer cheap (2 KM = cca 1€)
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| We left our bungalow "Rajski mir" - "Paradise peace" around noon |
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| Lookout point on the edge of Kozara |
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| Remains of the Bosnian war were seen everywhere on Vlašić mountain, since it was strategically important. |
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| Canyon of river Ugar. |
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| German troops made another attack in this area in January 1944. This monument remembers the fallen defenders for freedom. |
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| Plenty of water everywhere |
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| Instead of having a beer in 15 minutes we had a flat tyre for more than an hour |
GeoCaches found:
- Kozara - Spomenik revolucije, Multi,
GC6PGXZ
- ROUTE FIREFOX "DANGER MINES",
GC1AEJN
- Jan. 1944,
GC1AF4T
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