Down the Drina ­— December 3rd

We are getting some rest after our last evening in Bajina Bašta when Père Castor knocks at the door of the small house. Departure is today, and he offers to drive us for our last preparations. Also, he built some oars in the night. We pack in a hurry, and go buy a few last things: a rope to attach the raft, some food… About an hour later, we are at the river, nibbling while we wait for Aleksandar: he wants to see us leave. The mood is half-stress, half-feverish as other people we know come to say goodbye.

We eventually get to put the raft in the river. It is much heavier than we expected, and we fear we might have underestimated the required buyoancy. We are already imagining the worst possible scenario, the raft sinking as a stone as soon as we release it. Fortunately, no such thing happens, and we get on without any trouble. People wave at us from the shore. Someone yells: “I can't believe you did it”.

After three weeks in Bajina Bašta, we are on the road — that is, on the river — again.

A few minutes after departure.

The bridge of Bajina Bašta.

The House on Drina.

As we come by the House on Drine, people call us and tell us to shore. Let's do it! In a few minutes, we manage to stop, and I tie the raft to a bollar. We then go up the stairs, and meet a group of kayak enthusiasts. Turns out they are having a barbecue, and in no time we end up with a full plate of mixed grill and a beer, telling our story and explaining our project of going down the Drina with our raft.

We hang there for about an hour and a half, then decide it is time to leave. We won't go far though: a member of the Kayak club catches up with us. He happens to know a place here we could sleep. Banco! He jumps onto the raft, and proceeds with guiding us through the rocks, he seems to know like the back of his hand. We spend the night in a closed coffee on the shore, under the bar, and leave early in the morning. The next two days are quite calm, nothing special happening except the incredibly good weather.

Our raft, moored close to the kayak club.

View from the coffee we slept at.

Snow storm

On the third day, the weather turns to dark clouds and cold wind. This quickly exhausts us, so after unloading a bit before twilight — that is, 4:30pm, we grab our backpacks and head for the Etno Selo, a place we were told is nice and cheap, and about 2 kilometers from our bivouac. Good choice! The rain starts as we get there, and we rush into the small inn. Nice place, wooden furniture, small stove near a couch, and locals playing the dices. We are enjoying the place when, all of a sudden, everything goes pitch black. The power outage makes us realize how strong the wind is blowing, and how much rain is falling on the roof. The bartender lights a few candles, and everyone resume their activity.

We feel so good, with a warm fire and the dim light of candles that we have a hard time convincing ourselves to go out in the storm, back to the tent. But no choice… or have we? As we dress up for rain and cold wind, the bartender stops us: he invites us to sleep in one of the houses he rents during Summer. No heat, but a real roof, real walls and a real bed. That's magic in the middle of a storm!

A surprise awaits us in the morning: good weather is on its way back, and we discover snow all over the hills around the place. Nice views as we get back to the raft.

Courtyard of the Etno Selo.

After the storm.

Break on the shore.

Paranoia

On the sixth day, the river dramatically slows down as we get closer and closer to Zvornik's hydroelectrical plant's reservoir. We decide to stop on a small dock, behind a factory. The place is ideal, featuring enough depth to navigate all the way to the dock, a perfect place for the tent, and an easy way to moor the raft. We unload, and go to a nearby coffee for some rest. This is when a full police team comes in. Turns out the bartender called them. Well, we are getting used to having our documents checked, we must be at about 10 checks in 15 days. But those cops insists that we get all our stuff and follow them to their car. This is how we end up doing the last 15 kilometers along the reservoir in a police car.

Anyway, this gets us to Mali Zvornik, and after quite a long talk at the police office, and having our bags searched, we finally get to find a place for the night. First part of the mission: success. Next part: finding someone with a truck to move the raft to the other side of the plant.
See you !