On the way back, the three were suddenly stopped by a police patrol. With the words “Stop! Women sitting on the road”, they were prevented from continuing their journey and were given information about an alternative route to Sarajevo.
Having quickly purchased a tourist map at a petrol station – and with the time of the return flight breathing down their necks – the gentlemen took the diversion. After a good hour on normal roads, they continued along forest paths with potholes when they came to a dilapidated bridge that had been reinforced with planks. The front and rear tyres on the left-hand side were damaged while trying to bring the rental car safely across.
Good advice was hard to come by. The mobile phone network was not working, so no help could be requested from the car hire company in Sarajevo. Shortly afterwards, four SFOR officers arrived in their jeep as ‘saving angels’. From them, they learned that ‘the women sitting on the road’ were, among other things, war widows who – due to a lack of support from the government – had erected road blockades to draw attention to their cause.
The SFOR officers moved together and took the HB travellers with them – albeit back in the direction from which they’d come. An overnight stay in a hotel in Tuzla was unavoidable. In the evening, a mechanic from the rental company arrived and took the keys and papers as well as the route map – SFOR had used military means to determine the location of the rental car.
The gentlemen were amazed when the car was clean and ready to drive in the hotel car park the next morning. That’s what you call perfect service!