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| Split Airport |
We pulled into our hotel and were warmly
greeted by the owner himself, who ushered us inside. It was a family run place,
and it looked like his son and daughters were manning the lobby. We were
overdue for dinner at this point, and they sat us down as soon as we checked
into our rooms. This was one of the things I really liked about our stay there,
the breakfasts and dinners. They served our group family style. We had
designated tables and they would then place the entrees in large plates in the
middle of the table for us to distribute. This was a lot more laid back than
our time in Rome. Wine was always part of dinner fare so my education in that
arena continued.
Day 10 – Catholicism Sets In
While our trip was billed as a pilgrimage,
this was the day when it became really Catholic. We made the short walk into
town in the morning following breakfast where Anna gave us a tour of the church
grounds which were a lot more extensive than I thought. We celebrated an
English language mass in the main church led by a Canadian Archbishop and at
least 20 priests, including Father Bob.
It was an awesome experience because the church was packed and these
were serious Catholics (except for me) who really through themselves into the
service.
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| Walking to Church |
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| The Main Church |
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| The Shops Across the Street |
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| Very Happy Wife |
After mass we were scheduled for a
presentation in a nearby building by the resident English-speaking priest
assigned to Medjugorje. I was girding my loins because this didn’t sound like a
whole lot of fun. I kept reminding myself that this was for my Favorite Panamanian
and I should grin and bear it. I was wrong. It turned out to be one of the
highlights of the whole trip. Father Leon was an Indian priest, born in
Singapore, trained as a doctor who lived in England. He delivered the best oral
presentation on faith that I’ve ever heard. He was poignant, personal, and very
funny. I loved it. No one was more surprised at that than I was.
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| First Mass |
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| Father Leon |
We were on our own for lunch after that
and wandered across the main street to a café (lot less pressure than in Rome).
Since our Spanish wasn’t as much a help with Serb-Croat as it had been with Italian,
I just pointed to the picture on the menus for some veal cutlets. I was excited
as this marked the first non-pasta involved meal since I left the US. I was more
than pleasantly surprised when the meal showed up and was at least twice the
size of the picture I’d pointed at. It turned out the waiter spoke English
also, so win-win.
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| No More Pasta! |
After lunch we bused to the Cenacolo
Community on the other side of town. This was a community founded by an Italian
nun aimed at helping young addicts. We listened to a very moving presentation
and testimony from two of the residents. One of the benefits they offered was writing
down your prayers on a piece of paper which they bring to the Marian Apparition
site to read and then burn. My wife spent a lot of time writing which made me nervous,
but I guess I have that going for me.
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| At the Cenacolo Community |
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| Lots of Prayers Sent Downrange |
We returned to the church grounds for
more tours. Anna showed us a statue depicting the risen Christ. It has quite a
story. After it was erected, people noticed a clear liquid seeping out of the right
knee of the figure. Pilgrims now embrace the statue and wipe cloth on the right
leg to collect the moisture which is said to have healing properties. I thought
it was poignant in a town dedicated to the Virgin Mary to have pilgrims
gripping the legs of Jesus much in the same way the real Mary might have done
on Cavalry Hill. We’re bringing a pack of the clothes back with us after wiping
them on the statue.
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| Church Grounds |
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| Amphitheater Behind Church |
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| Wife at the Risen Christ Statue |
After the tour we were released and my
Favorite Panamanian, big surprise, wanted to do some souvenir shopping. I voted
to return to the hotel but, again, I only get 49% of the vote. She said I
should walk back to the hotel and she would find her own way back. We looked at
each other and both started laughing. She is not possessed even the smallest modicum
of a sense of direction and probably would have ended up in Slovenia. We
returned to the church grounds after dinner for an adoration and I was astounded
to see thousands of people quietly sitting in the outdoor amphitheater praying.
It was very moving.
Day 11 – Castles and Rocks
This day started off with a jolt. After
a couple weeks traveling in sedate buses, albeit through some fairly gruesome traffic
(I’m looking at you Rome), Anna loaded us in a series of taxis for our next
destination. Our guy must have just watched a Mad Max movie because we were
flying through the one lane, two way streets that wound through the village. We
had to contend with very large Italian tour buses which he hoped would get out
of the way. I think he just like terrorizing Americans. I was very excited to
hear we would be visiting a castle as this didn’t sound very pilgrim-like. I
envisioned an ancient structure bult to hold off whatever barbarian horde
needed holding off. I was wrong. The castle sits below Apparition Hill and was
built in the last thirty years by a Canadian auto dealer, named Patrick. An
explanation is probably called for here.
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| The Castle |
Patrick was a very successful auto dealer
in western Canada, owning several high-end dealerships. He wasn’t religious at all
and on this third wife with a fractured relationship with his kids. That third wife,
Nancy, was a Croatian lawyer living in Canada (it happens). She insisted on
getting married in a church and, as part of their preparation of that, she gave
hm a book with quotes from the Medjugorje visionaries. One of those quotes, “For
the last time, I am calling you to conversion” which struck him. He found his
faith. He sold all his businesses and homes, while Nancy closed her legal practice,
and they set out for Medjugorje. After arriving he met a Hungarian architect who
designed the castle and a Romanian builder who built it. It’s still being built
and when they pass on it will be donated to the church. It now serves as a
destination for pilgrims because the Virgin Mary has also appeared there many
times and one of the visionaries lives next door.
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| Patrick Telling his Story |
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| Wife weas Impressed |
Father Bob was especially excited about
the visit because he had been there several times. It was a high holy day so
they weren’t supposed to be open for visitors but Anna talked her way in. We
were greeted enthusiastically by Nancy who escorted us to one of the small
chapels that adorn the castle. Patrick then joined us and told us his story which
was truly fascinating and entertaining. After this we were free to wander the grounds
and I was in seventh heaven charging around the battlements even though they lacked
any horde history. I was very impressed with both Nancy and Patrick and their simple,
yet very expensive/dedicated expression of faith.
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| More Views from Inside the Castle |
We headed back to the village with the same
crazed driver for the mass in English followed by a hurried lunch. Our post
lunch destination was Apparition Hill, the most famous location in Medjugorje. It
was on this hillside that Mary appeared to the young visionaries and a must-visit
for pilgrims. The only problem being it is up a steep sharp, loose, rock-strewn
hill. When I say rock-strewn, I’m being very serious and some of the pilgrims
made the climb up and down barefoot (insanity!). The footing was incredibly dangerous,
and my Favorite Panamanian was still in recovery mode from knee surgery. She
was not going to be denied though and shot up the hill as soon as we arrived,
leaving the group behind. She was a true champ. While the trail had not been
improved, at all, there were granite slabs carved with the stations of the
cross on the way up.
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| At the Foot of the Trail |
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| We Can Do This! |
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| Stations of the Cross Marking on the Trail |
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| Tough Walk |
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| Mid-Way Point |
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| We Made It! |
As I said, we went up quickly, dodging the
omnipresent Italian pilgrims and arrived at the apparition site which is marked
with a cross and a statue of the Virgin. While my wife prayed at the statue, I
wandered around the hilltop which offered some stunning views into the valley.
I was also touched by how quiet and reverent the large group was, especially considering
there were a lot of Italians involved. We were fortunate during our stay because
as we were heading down, we ran into a massive group of Italians heading up.
That included a large metal chair that six guys were carrying to get the chair’s
occupant, a disabled lady, up the hill. I was impressed. Our group was just
arriving as we started down.
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| Statue at the Top |
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| Wife Praying |
We had a long wait at the bottom of the hill
waiting for the rest of our group to return but that offered an opportunity to
watch the comings and goings at the start of the trail which was fascinating.
There were some people that were overcome with emotion just being there. The
guys carrying the chair returned while we were there and my Favorite Panamanian
started applauded which was soon picked up by a large group of people waiting
with us. It was a cool moment. As was the entire day, a rare, very spiritual
day for me.
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| Back to Risen Christ Statue That Night |
Day 12 – Final Full European Day
I had another very Catholic day in store
for me on the final full day in Bosnia. We started out with the daily English-speaking
mass with Father Leon. This was followed by a special blessing of all the different
religious items we’d acquired during our travel. I had a full backpack which my
Favorite Panamanian took into the scrum so they could all be blessed. So, if you
get something from us, it’s been anointed with holy water. Aren’t you special
(yep). Our next stop was the Blue Cross, or I should say, the Blue Crosses. Why blue you ask? When they placed the crosses that was the only color paint the guy putting them up had and they've carried on the tradition ever since.
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| Street Sign Near our Hotel |
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| Our Hotel Room had a Balcony |
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| Wife in the Middle of this Group Getting her Purchases Blessed |
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| Anna Briefing us on the Blue Crosses |
They’re down the hill from the big
shrine we visited the day before. The story goes that Mary appeared to the youngest
visionary as we was about to guide a group of pilgrims up the hill. She warned
him that the police were waiting to ambush the group a short distance ahead. When
the visions first occurred Medjugorje was part of Yugoslavia. The communist government
didn’t approve of organized religion and weren’t allowing anyone to visit the
site. The parish priest was imprisoned for protecting the visionaries. It was
all very Balkan. Anyways, the blue crosses were placed where Mary appeared to
deliver her timely warning.
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| Wife at the Blue Cross |
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| A Happy Catholic |
Just a short walk away was the house of
one of the visionaries which was open to visitors. Anna provided us some more
background on the visionaries. Three of the visionaries still see the Holy
Mother daily while the other ones only see her once a year. Mary apparently has
a very special bond with the area around Medjugorje and these visionaries.
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| Street Outside the Blue Crosses |
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| Visionary's House |
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| View from Visionary's House |
Our final stop of the day was at Mother’s
Village (you can guess who the mother is). This was an orphanage founded by
that same priest, Father Slavko Barbaric, in 1995 to house the many orphans the
war had produced. He, allied with the Franciscan sisters, devised a superb, non-institutional
way of going about it. They, assisted by donations from Medjugorje’s pilgrims,
constructed seven houses. Each house was manned by two of the sisters who then provided
as close to a normal home life for the orphans as possible. We received an inspirational
talk from the head of the village which left me with tears in my eyes. I donated
all the remaining Euros I had left before we departed.
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| Entrance to Mother's Village |
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| Father Slavko Barbaric |
We then had to attend yet another mass,
the daily international mass, delivered in Croation. Yes, you heard right, I
attended two masses on the same day. Apparently if you attend mass on Saturday,
for it to count for Sunday it has to be after 4pm. We could have gotten out of
it because there is also a dispensation if you are traveling, which we would
certainly be doing on Sunday. It’s all very Catholica. I blame Father Bob who
said we should attend, since we could. Could doesn’t necessarily mean should,
but, again, 49% of the vote. We sat inside the church but there were no priests
since they were delivering the mass outside in the amphitheater which we could
hear on the speakers. If I understood Serbo-Croat it would have made more sense
to me. The line for communion was epic.
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| Our Last European Sunset |
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| Final Walk down Main Street |
After this exercise we returned to the
hotel for our final dinner together as a group. It was a lot of fun as we lingered
at the table far after the last food was eaten. I’d bonded with a former merchant
marine over the past weeks and we had a lot of fun trading war stories and
laughing. He’s in his mid-80’s but has lost nothing off his fast ball. He’s a
deacon but was flirting almost non-stop with both Flavia and Anna, a real character.
We stole the wine and desserts from the other table (which they were going to
leave) so we could keep our conversation going. A great final gathering.
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| The Final Dinner |
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| My Buddy and I |
Day 13 – Traveling Home
Wait a minute! We were traveling on the
13th day! I guess it’s okay because we made it home. I described the
travel in yesterday’s blog post so I won’t belabor it here. Other than to say
it was a fitting final bus ride as the surrounding views were wonderful. I’ll
let you see what I’m talking about by posting these photos of our trip from
Bosnia through Croatia to Dubrovnik. I’ll mention that one of the highlights
was seeing the fortress in Dubrovnik that served as the external view of King’s
Landing in the Game of Thrones. Supremely cool. This ends my laborious retelling
of our latest European adventure which I enjoyed so much more than I thought I
would, but, again, I was blessed with great company.
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| King's Landing!!!! |
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| That is All! |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECURRING CHARACTERS:
ABFA – Amazing Best Family
Athlete - my daughter
in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter
#3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel -
second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue
about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; Curbside Girls – close
friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which
grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of
course); FBR - First Blog Reader -
first granddaughter; First Friday –
celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene
Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene,
NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend
since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife –
her US sisters, my wife is the 3rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew –
son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia
member; PanaGals – female relatives
/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin
Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we
have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor
Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos
- two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever
explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course
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