MonteNegro to Albania and Back

Our original plan was to spend a couple of weeks lazing around on the beaches of Croatia, however when we attempted to book an apartment or even a guesthouse we soon realized that Croatia is no longer the quiet country with sleepy little coastal towns that we fell in love with, in October, on our last trip to Europe in 2012. The local papers in Bosnia actually were printing articles telling people to stop going to the sea in Croatia, it was full, the Croats had turned off their phones and were not taking any more reservations...stay away. So, we made a new plan! Why not the beaches in southern MonteNegro, where we also stayed in 2012? 

After coming to terms with the fact that we were going farther south, despite the intense heat, we got on TripAdvisor and booked a room for 10 days, with Booking.com, in a guesthouse on the beach in what we thought was southern MonteNegro...oops, turned out it was in northern Albania, just short of the border. We were going to Albania. (Close to where we also stayed in 2012). 

The one thing we remembered about Albania from our previous trip was the garbage, everywhere, and it hadn't changed. The guesthouse was good and the family running it was super friendly and helpful, H and H Hotel. The beach however was crazy busy, 25,000 other tourists mainly from Kosovo and Italy, not our scene! Luckily, we were let out of our contract, and we left after four nights. On the road again. We headed for the mountains in northern Albania, the Albanian Alps. We had two destinations in mind, Valbone and Vermosh, both recommended for good hiking. In Valbone we did a short 3 hour hike with a couple, Tobi and Johanna from Heidelberg, but we didn't quite make our second destination as we found LaPushe, a nice camping spot, another breathtaking hike (in more ways than one). If you like to hike, the Albania Alps is the place to go. The hikes are not yet too busy, Swiss people are marking trails (the Swiss have to have experience in doing that) and not to mention the awesome scenery. After Velbone, on our way to LePushe, we had to take a small ferry through some mountains where there was no road. Thank goodness! A great experience with yet again more beautiful scenery.The Albanians are SO very friendly, they will do anything for you but unfortunately they have to do something about their infrastructure, before the tourism gets too big, or they may have more problems than just the garbage.

Let's not forget MonteNegro, we had to ride through it, there and back to Albania. What can we say, the thing we remembered the most about MonteNegro, in 2012, was CRAZY DRIVERS, they just love to drive in the middle of the road. The small roads in the Tara Canyon were an accident waiting to happen. Ken had to be constantly on his toes, a different type of adventure riding. In MonteNegro we had extreme heat and we hit our first torrential rains with lightning flashing all around us (we even saw a stoke that started a small fire directly on front of us on the hillside). 

On our way back up through MonteNegro we chose to do a repeat performance of a ride we did in 2012, through the Durmitor National Park. Why? you ask? Because it was one of the great ones, and that is what we do...search for great rides. Besides, things always look different the second time around...after time and other experiences. Both Ken and I will vouch for that.

Tunnels along the Tara Canyon in MonteNegro.

A major accident we came upon, MNegro drivers refuse to drive on their side of the road!

A weird building, used for ??? At one time, now stands empty in Kolasin, MNegro.

A village in the mountains in N Albania in an area they call Kelmend, the land of the living past.

The Leqet e Hotit Pass N Albania.

It was really Hot in Albania and we were there.

Take a look at the air temp while we rode close to Podgorica in MNegro.

At the beach at Velipoje in Albania near the MNegro border.

A couple of Roma/gypsy kids going for water.

Early morning, it was just me, the lounge chairs and the trash on the beach.

Approximately 3 1/2 km of beach chairs, in some places 14 deep line the Adriatic Sea. Ours cost us 4€ for the day.

A hand written map of things to see and do in N Albania, written by our landlord at H and H, we kind of found our way around it. Do you think you could?

Blackberries, yum. We ate all we could in one sitting.

The Drin River is dammed to form the Fierza reservoir, the largest water shed in Albania. The dam is a little low during all the hot weather.

It is what we do, and Ken loves it! Drin in the background.

Tobi and Ken, after our day hike in Velbone, Ken is the short one!

Must I say more?

The Rozafa Ferry pulling in, and ready for us to load for the trip from Fierz to Koman, 3 hours of beauty on the water.

Ken looks on as one of the deckhands fills the boat with diesel from a can and a cut off pop bottle. The generator is for??? Just in case! This is the 20€ ride not the 32€...hmmm wonder why?

The captain and deckhands enjoy a beer as we set out.

A quiet moment on the Komani Lake ferry.

Unforgettable scenery!

You have got to be kidding! Three ferries and everyone is expected to offload on one small platform and drive away through the tunnel. Where do we go from here?

First one on, last one off.

Along the ridge of Vajushes Mt on our way to the peak.

Looking over the mountain range it is rock, rock and more rock covered with a little grass.

Sorry to our non-meat eating friends but on return from our hike dinner was being prepared at the guesthouse.

What a view to wake to. Vajushes Mountain is way in the background.

The Durmitor National Park, MonteNegro.

Villagers in Durmitor still practice ancient traditions and customs like sheep and cattle herding through the mountains living off cheese, bread and berries.

We rode from the other side of the canyon, down 600 meters and back up to where you see Ken now. It was a small paved road which was nothing but a dirt track in 2012 when we did it last trip.

Another unforgettable camp spot. We were threatened with thundershowers so we got a cozy cabin for the night.

A bench with a nice view of the VStrom...I mean the Durmitor NP.

That was it for MonteNegro and the Durmitor and that is the end of a really big bull...bigger and taller than some of the cars over here.

The mountains around PROKOSKO Lake, Bosnia

We did a day hike around the mountain tops surrounding Prokosko Lake, what a beautiful view of the village, lake and the mountains beyond. The village thrives on tourism during the summer months, raising livestock and making local cheese and other food like goulash and pita. 

A look at the village from the mountains behind.

Ken thinks of trading in the VStrom...not!

After reaching the top of one peak, I found picnickers who had driven up.

Check out some of the view we enjoyed.

https://youtu.be/lUqBY4SMC5Y

Mostar bridge jumping competition 2017

The 451st Mostar Bridge Jump

Safety personal we're ready and waiting.

Over 40 competitors jumped the 24 meters to the river.

Over 10,000 people viewed the competition and we were two of them.

Mostar Bridge was rebuilt after it was destroyed in the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

Check out some of what we saw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X__YPo1htA

   

Bosnia

Bosnia the 9th country this trip and the third new country with new roads for us!

We found Bosnia intriguing, the people were very nice once they warmed up to you, the scenery was breathtaking, the food was yummy and, for us, living was very affordable. Once again, as in Serbia, the country has had a troubled past and we are no closer to really understanding it now than we were before this trip. People have been very graciously trying to explain it to us but as they themselves say ' it is very complicated'.

After a friendly good bye to Serbia we headed to Mostar, not our usual kind of destination as it is very touristy but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. We didn't quite make it on our projected day however, when we stopped for gas 40 km east of Mostar, in Nevesinje, the gas attendant told us about Lake Alagovac where there was great free camping and it was only a few km from town.  We spent two nights camped at the side of the lake, did a hike up a logging road into the mountain and alpine and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the area...oh! that is until the guns started going off around three in the morning...but don't worry, I guess it is only a wedding tradition to shoot into the air, all is good. Something we have had to get use to is the water quality here in the Balkans, as beautiful as the lakes look at first glance, most are reservoirs and the water is never as crystal clear as it is in Canada. Believe me, when it is 37-38 degrees outside and you have been sitting on a bike for a few hours any water fells good to swim in.

We travelled to Mostar by recommendation from Silke, who we met at Motocamp in Bulgaria. "You have to see the old bridge, left from the Automan days". She showed us pictures of herself on the bridge with not a soul around. When we got there, however, the town was so busy we could only book a room for one night, then we had to leave. Too busy for us anyway.  As it turned out, there is a special event that happened once a year, men jumping off the bridge into the river on the last Sunday of July. You will never guess what day we arrived in...yes, just in time. It was great to see, but just our luck...really? All the same, we had a great room at pension Most, enjoyed a very tasty meal with a view of the river and left in the morning. Good enough for us.

What was a little complicated for us was getting from point a to point b. After investing in what we thought was a pretty good map we still had a hard time finding the right (paved) road to the places we were going. As in our excursion to Provosto  Lake, we ended up on a logging road(s) up into the mountains where there was a lot of dirt, mud, rock and was fairly deserted. Our description of adventure riding. Thing is, our destination was one that I had found on trip adviser so it should have been busy??? As we finally found our way to near the top of the mountain, we came to a fork in the road and it suddenly was very busy...tour buses delivering tourists from Saudi, Oman, the Emirates and other counties from the east there for the day. Crazy, but the setting, with the village with no electricity surrounded by mountains, sitting by a lake, was so beautiful we stayed two nights.

Next it was on to Banovici, where we were told we could spent a few days hiking in the mountains. We treated ourselves to a mountain resort, a switch from camping...the shower floor was broken and leaked water all over the bathroom, no fan or air conditioning, the dogs barked ALL night and the lights from the hall and yard shone directly into our room...we really like our tent.  But the hike was great and we met some very nice local people.

Our last stop was at the ski resort where the Bosnians hosted part of the Winter Olympics in 1984.  Here we stayed at, get this, the Relax pension (do we sound like we need to relax any more?) which was hosted by a very charismatic lady. Stayed another two days! Again, did a hike, and enjoyed the locals and other tourists, including a couple of girls (one Bosnian, now living in Vancouver) who lived in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war. Again, they tried to explain the war to us but we ended the day with jet again another question mark.

Are you finding the theme here? The weather is sooo hot, high 30's to low 40's, a real heat wave in the Balkans so we headed for the hills, Prokosto Lake with Veranica mountain, Varna mountain, and Babanova mountain...a good thing is that after Bosnia is Montenegro and more mountains.

In the area which we crossed into Bosnia we started to notice more mountains, water, the Lim and Drina rivers, lots of tunnels....

And bridges over muddy water...

and bridges over smaller waterways, near cities.

A monument, commemorating a huge battle during WW2 between the Germans and Titi's partisans in 1943, near the summit of Maglic Mountain, the highest in Bosnia. We wanted to go for a hike here but we were recommended not to, without a guide, because of all the unexploded mines.

Beautiful scenery around the area of Maglic Mountain Park.

Klinje Lake, a great place to take a break and enjoy the view.

A perfect free camp spot on the banks of Alagovac lake near Nevisinje, on our way to Mostar.

A huge mussel, one of many we found in the lake, but apparently the locals do not eat then...so neither did we.

We did go for hike up a mountain located behind the lake, a birds eye view of our campsite.

Along the way up the mountiN we met a family, of a father and his two sons, who were collecting firewood. Ken jumped at the chance to try his hand behind the wheel.

The 'Old Bridge' at Mostar, over the Neretva river.

And breathtaking night view.

Prokosko Lake located way up Vranica mountain, which we hiked during our two day stay.

Ken chats it up with one of the tour guides in the area, over a light lunch of...sleeps head.

The outhouses were not up to our standards.

The weather was a little if'y so we got a room in a restaurant, complete with covered parking for the bike.  The owners of the restaurant where only around during the day so we had a room upstairs and the restaurant downstairs all to ourselves.

Our accommodations with the town of Prokosko in the background. 

More of these lovely thistles.

Bosnian dutch ovens or cooking bells. Food is put on a large tray and topped with a ceramic and copper lid which has been sitting in the hot coals, as the lid cools it is replaced by another that is ready and waiting in more coals off to the side.

Ken and our local friend, Evo at the top of Varna mountain near Tuzla.

Ken caught a shot of some of the Bosnian wildlife...or as much as we saw.

The ski jump left for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, located at Vlasic ski resort on Babanova  Mountian.

During a hike up the Mountian we saw what we thought might be craters in the fields left from land mines...

When we turned around we saw signs all around us...

Needless to say we stuck to the road and got the heck out of there!

A lovely way to end the day in Bosnia or anywhere for that matter.

Serbia

Travelling out the southwestern corner of Bulgaria we slipped into the second new country for us this trip, Serbia. We liked it right from the start, people were welcoming, the border patrol spoke pretty good English and I had a few things on my to see list.

The first thing we wanted to see was Lake Vasinsko. A shallow lake where there were supposably floating reed islands. It turned out the islands are only there in the spring when the water is at it's highest, but who knew that the Serbs liked to camp and being that the weather was hot and the camping was free around the lake everyone in the area was there camping for the weekend (of course we had to show up on a Friday). Busy, busy, busy! Lucky for us we met Stan and his wife Slobo at the water fountain, and they invited us back to their camp for coffee and we ended up staying the weekend. A very nice couple who were very interested in Canada as they have a daughter that lives in Halifax. For Ken this was a really interesting stop as he had some major conversations with Stan about life in old and new Serbia. We are learning so much about the old Yugoslavia and life after the breakup unfortunately caused by religion and politics. When we talked to most people that we met they said said that life was better before the breakup.

After a friendly good bye with Stan and Slobo, we headed west and got settled into a little family run hotel (with a pool, because it was still REALLY hot) in Bajina Bašta. Wouldn't you know it, we get a hotel with a pool and the next day we woke to rain, and lots of it. We tried to leave at one point, when the clouds broke, but turned back before we left the city limits (it took us a while to leave because we took a wrong turn somewhere along the line-yes, even with our new gps). BB had a nice walking street, and we found a Rakije  plant to tour, all in all, not a bad place to dodge raindrops for a day or two. 

Rain gone, and back to a now steamy heat, we were in search of Uvac Canyon and the waters snaking through it. We started our search driving the small roads, again, winding through the many villages and farms in the countryside and somehow found our way to the right viewpoint on the right ridge in the middle of who knows where. We were not disappointed with with our destination, a beautiful view just like TripAdvisor said it would be. After a day and a half looking for the viewpoint we stayed just over 30 minutes or so and it was off to the next adventure. After six days in Serbia it was time for another new country...we where off to Bosnia.

Lovely thistles, just a little different than like the ones we get at home in Canada, like a lot of the native wild plant life.

Stan and Slobo, cheers with her homemade krauter Rakije. Made from local herbs that are good for you, so it is kind of like drinking health food.

This look like vineyards but they are actually raspberry fields, Serbia is one of the top raspberry producers in the EU.

And just to prove it, here are a couple of pickers bringing in a bit wagon load.

Barrels of Rakije. Like wine some Rakije is aged in oak barrels and some in vats of copper and steel, we tried some of both.

One of the partners came in specially to give us our own private tour, after I wandered into the plant to see what was going on. Some of these bottles where 50 plus years old.

The food staples in Serbia, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions and, at this time of year, watermelon. Add cheese and you have an awesome shopska salad.

Looking down on a reservoir as we wound our way up the mountainside to Napk Tapa N.P.

Perucac Drina reservoir at the head of Uvac Canyon.  

Just more lovely countryside containing MANY small roads, (some paved, some not) great for riding on a bike.

Yes, even more lovely views.

Uvac Canyon, well worth the ride, but then again most anywhere is worth the ride for us!

A different angle. The colour of the water was amazing, I can't imagine what it would look like on a sunny day. We had to dodge rain storms, but the temperatures where still in the high 30's.

Some roads where dirt...

And some roads where not!

I just thought it was a nice way to end the posting.