October 1, 2021

The ten musketeers of Prenj

by Maja Mujezinović, Business Development Associate & Amila Štaljo, Head of Administration
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Hi everyone, we are Amila and Maja, and we decided to share with you our team building story and how and why we ended up calling ourselves the “10 Musketeers of Prenj”.

Well, let’s just start by saying that we were in-between two locations for two months, just to settle for a third one as a compromise that Maja initiated.

Since most of us are outdoorsy and like to #stayACTIVE, it’s no wonder that we picked the mountains by the Boračko Lake, but a beautiful pool was also available as an alternative for the peeps that just wanted to lay low and chill (the compromise).

Just as we agreed on one thing, another struggle started, WHEN ARE WE GOING? It took us a month to decide, which we did not, so our Marketing Manager Ilma put her foot down and decided for us.

However, the week before the team building, the weather forecast didn’t look promising at all. In fact, it was so bad, that out of the twenty people initially planned only ten of us dared to proceed with the trip (that’s why we like to call ourselves the 10 musketeers). 
Day 1:

The day we arrived, we had no plans, we just wanted to settle in and take in the surroundings, except for Timur. Timur was training for the Ironman, and teambuilding would not get into his way. He decided to take a run and then a swim in the beautiful but cold Boračko Lake. We went along to cheer him on and it was all great until it started raining cats and dogs. Luckily, we found some shelter if you can call it that way, and Timur was already soaked so he didn’t care lol). 
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The night was calm but cold and we decided to watch a horror movie outside by the pool all covered in blankets, hoodies and winter hats. Amila talked us into watching “Hush” and we gave her a hard time for talking up the movie. For the rest of us, it barely qualifies as a horror. :) There was some serious yelling at the TV, the main actress that the killer was behind her, why she was not running, what she was doing there, etc.

The commenting was interrupted by a mouse hanging around with us below the tables with a couple of girls screaming and jumping on the chairs lol. The movie was done and so were we. It was time for bed.
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Day 2:

Day 2 was hiking day or as we call it D Day. Just foggy and cold with no chances of any possible sun rays. Of course, we had had a nice morning argument of why we should or should not go. Even our hiking guides advised us to skip our mountain trip, but against better judgment, we decided to go on as planned - mountain Prenj was waiting for us.

Let us just say, as two hikers, it was amazing and scary at the same time. We barely saw where we were going as the fog was too dense that we barely saw each other, let alone anything of the beautiful scenery. But, we were going strong, supporting our non-hiker teammates and cheering them on: YOU CAN DO IT. 
Halfway through, the sky briefly cleared up and we were rewarded by an amazing view that lasted for a minute, but it was worth it.  We continued through the fog, laughing, talking, and invoking the sun until all our prayers went down the drain as thunder, rain and HAIL (yes, hail) decided to shatter our hopes. We were just 200 meters below the Prenj mountain peak when we decided to turn back as the area is known for lighting strikes more than any other lol. 

Soaked, cold and scared (some of us still laughing at all of it), we decided to avoid (almost certain) death and started going down the mountain dreaming about a hot soup for dinner and some paracetamol and magnesium.

Also may I add, the road to the mountain was one to remember, oh dear Lord, was it bumpy, our heads hit the headliner and windows from all sides, hahah.

Once we arrived and changed into warm and comfy clothes, we gathered by the fireplace and did not move from there until bedtime. The crackling fire, coffee and tea was the perfect ending to the adventurous day. 
Day 3:

Rafting day was like heaven opening for us. Finally, we got to see some sun! We were all super excited to go down the Neretva River rapids and enjoy the cruising and amazing scenery and the beach BBQ midway.

There was so much laughter, great energy, and goosebumps all over because it was cold after all. 
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After rafting, we all went for coffee and ice cream where we recalled the funniest moments, and we could finally laugh about the bad weather, hail and fog, and all the coldness of Neretva River and that fact that we all loved it just the way it was.

We think that this teambuilding brought us closer together. Once we came back to the office, we felt that we knew each other a bit better. We bonded over the experience, but more importantly, we heard Timur say nobody was getting on his nerves (which was quite surprising, hahaha). Even though the path was rough especially because we had people who are not athletes nor hikers (the ones that initially wanted to stay by the pool and tan), everyone was in a good mood.