Cooling off

The heatwave arrived like an uninvited guest who refuses to leave. By mid-morning, Mostars streets were already glowing in the haze, the stones underfoot radiating yesterday’s warmth back into the air. The forecast promised another day well above 40°C (104°F), and the only sensible plan was to find somewhere the heat couldn’t quite reach. We drove south to Zitomislici, a peaceful village where the Neretva River flows broad and unhurried. The road wound past olive groves and vineyards, their leaves shimmering under the relentless sun, until the river finally appeared, a deep, shimmering green ribbon winding through the valley.

The air felt instantly lighter when we reached the shore. The Neretvas surface rippled in the breeze, carrying with it a faint coolness that couldn’t be found in the city. Willows leaned over the banks, their branches trailing in the current, casting shifting patches of shade on the gravel shore. I found a quiet spot to sit under the trees, the ground still warm but bearable with the gentle wind coming off the water.

The hours passed slowly, in that easy, heat-drenched rhythm of summer afternoons. Driving back to Mostar later in the day, the heat wrapped around me again, heavy and inescapable. Yet, the memory of that breeze, the shade of the willows, and the quiet hum of the Neretva stayed with us — a small pocket of cool that the heatwave couldn’t touch.

In Zitomislici, the river isn’t just water flowing to the sea. On days like this, it’s a reminder that there are still places where summer’s extremes give way to something softer, calmer, and infinitely more bearable.