“And we are going the way of Greece”

Nikola Rokvić’s wife, Bojana Barović, revealed to “Blic” how Nikola’s preparations went for this unusual and above all humane mission. She said that they hear from each other every day, and that she is very proud of hers. In these moments, he believes that the most important thing is to be firmly by his side as support:

– I think that Nikola has been preparing for such feats for a long time and somewhere in the last couple of years he had this path in mind. And how long he specifically prepared for this mission was three months, when he scheduled the date when he would start, from that day he started preparing, it was January, February. So since then he has been in high-altitude preparations, he was trained by people who were involved in extreme marathons and who are experts in this field and who understand what is needed for this trip. In addition to physical fitness, there are also many different professional accessories that need to be known, whether it is a type of footwear or special materials that must be used for that purpose. Everything is specific and some things that we as a normal world would not think about.

– Nikola has been living such a life for years, in terms of working on himself, he is in good physical condition. Parting before the hike in front of the St. Sava Temple was very emotional.

Nikola was accompanied on his journey by his children, his wife, and many citizens.

– The parting was emotional, a lot of people gathered in front of the church to greet him, that contributed to making the parting even more emotional. Children know all about this road, as much as they can understand, to know what it is about. They are happy because they know that dad is helping a little girl who needs it. And I am immensely grateful to Nikola, because the children may not be aware of it now, but what he does will have a huge impact on them and when they grow up, they will have a very good example in their family, they will learn from him, they will understand through his actions, that everything is possible, if we want it and that we should never give up, we should always try and that above all we should look at actions, not words. I think he is a good example for all young people, first of all for our children, and also for other children. As much as I try to be a good example to children with what I do, how I behave, I think that what he provides them, this example, really cannot be compared with anything.

While Nikola is on a mission, Bojana does not neglect her duties, so help with daily duties was also necessary.

– I organized myself better, I also have help. I have my own job and children, I couldn’t do it all by myself. Easter vacation is coming soon, when Leona doesn’t go to school, and we’re also going to Greece, of course not on foot, we’re going with my family, we’re taking the kids to the seaside, and we’re going to see Nikola on the way, that was our idea.

– We hear each other regularly, I don’t want to have any worries, of course I think, I try harder to think how I can help him, rather than worry. And that’s some logistics that only we women can do: is there enough food, clothes, is he warm, but I try not to worry, I don’t want this time to be filled with any fear, but when we all embarked on that, it is important that we all be brave, to be each other’s support, as he for us, as much as he can here, we for him as well, somehow to be a moral support, I put fear in the second place, I don’t say that it never appears, but I really I try and succeed in providing only support and positive energy, it seems to me that this is a recipe for success. This is something we encounter for the first time in our lives.

Bojana opened her mouth and with what words did they greet each other.

– We said goodbye with the words, I believe in you, we know you will succeed, we are here and we love you.