In the Foothills of Mountain Prenj [Part 1/2]

Even though the south is showing some first signs of spring, in most northern parts of the country nature is still in full winter sleep. To that, add some fresh snowfalls that have hit the lands, and you'll pretty much end up with the landscapes in this two part outing into the foothills of mountain Prenj.

Prenj is actually a mountain range in the Dinaric Alps located in north-east Herzegovina near Mostar, Jablanica and Konjic. The highest peak is the "Zelena glava" at 2,115 m (6,939 ft), and there are several other peaks of similar height. The name Prenj is derived from the word "Perun", which is the highest god of the pantheon, and the god of thunder and lightning in Slavic mythology.

This is a two part series:
Part One: In the Foothills of Mountain Prenj
Part Two: In the Foothills of Mountain Prenj

click on the images for a bigger view

Travel into the Countryside

Once you make the turn from the main M-17 road to the village Glogosnica, a small regional road will take you further into the mountains. There are several small villages here, like Bijela, Sanica, Glogosnica, to name a few, each consisting of 20-30 houses. Nature blooms here in spring and summer, and has glorious colors in autumn, but unfortunately the winter look is stripped and cold, and as brooding as the skies on the day we traveled here.

The Hike Begins

We parked the car near our cottage here, and started our hike on the unpaved mountain dirt road. Selma was with me, as well as my dog Beni, and our neighbors Labrador Div, who hadn't seen us in quite some time. Of course the two of them had a great time playing together, as well as fighting for attention.

Wait up you guys!

The surroundings were stripped of colors, only the blue tinted mountain tops, hovered above the bleak landscapes. Even though cold and icy, the tops of the surrounding mountains were calling out to me, so I took quite a few shots of them. I can only imagine the absolute wilderness there, stripped of any human life.

Through the Village Sanica

Our hike to the foothills of mountain Prenj, took us at first through the village Sanica. And while there are many houses here where people live in, you can also find old and abandoned ones along the way (stay tuned for part two, for a really old house that we saw).

In the distance the peaks of Prenj are calling out, and at the same time, they are veiled in snow bearing clouds. Actually on this very same day fresh snow would cover the mountains again.

The majestic peaks of Prenj were so close now, but it would take us some more hiking to get to a good spot from which we could see the whole mountain.

That meant that our journey had to continue. Beni and Div were playful, and always in front of us, so in a way it seemed that they were walking us, and not the other way around. But I guess everyone was happy with the arrangement.

In the second and final part, there will be more sights from the countryside, as well as glimpses into the wast wilderness of these regions.

End of Part One

To be continued...

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