Montenegro 2

26 March 2016

We are still following the eastern side of Lake Skadar in Montenegro. The road is rated at 5 Tonne. (We are pushing the limits here. We weigh about 5Tonne). And it is about as wide as our vehicle (ie about as wide as a Toyota Landcruiser). So some would call it a "white knuckle " road, especially if they could see the drop off to one side and the cold hard rock on the other....

But the views are spectacular, all the way across the lake to Albania. 

When we are not pressed up against the rock face with sheer drops to the side we are driving through farming country, with rock walls, grape vine terraces, and ancient chestnut forests.

These trees can live 500 years, and are the oldest chestnut forests in Montenegro. There are also olive groves, and ruins. 

We took a side road advertising a restaurant in a nice looking stone building over the water on the lake, so down we went on a "white knuckle road" ( we are getting used to this). But unfortunately it is not open yet. 

However we found ourselves at a flat, absolute waterfront, grassy area perfectly suited for camping. 

27th March 2016

We got a late start today, with the outside temperature 11degrees when we got up. It was sunny and warm so we lazed about a bit. Joe got some greasing done on the vehicle and then we were off. Here are some scenes of the day. 

These are very old olive trees. We stopped at a roadside stall and found olive oil, wild sage flavoured honey, dried figs, and olives. Every house had a terrace with a trellis covered in grape vines. They must be wonderful in summer. 

Then we hit the Adriatc Coast. 

Soon afterwards we came to the Old Town of "Bar". This town was settled in 500BC! And stood until it was partially destroyed in the First World War! What a stupid apecies we are! And we are still doing it! (ISIS). 

But light was fading fast so we only got a brief intro to this coastline. We have high expectations for tomorrow. And for tonight we are camped in an olive grove in Maslina Camp Ground near Petrovac. That seems very appropriate to me!

28 March 2016

Thin the northwestern section of Montenegro is the area known as the Fjiords of Montenegro. And as if Montegnegro isn't already packed with beauty this area is also stunning! It is an almost enclosed inlet/bay with very steep sides, indeed reminiscent of Norwegian Fjiords. It comes complete with cruise boats.

A few photos is the best way to describe it...

Cafe Matilda has appeared again...although did I mention that there are resturaunts everywhere -on the side of the road, in small villages, and mostly they are delightful. 

We are camping tonight only 20km from the Montenegro border with Bosnia& Hertzogovena. We have loved Montenegro and found it to be a fabulous touring country. I give it 8/10 for touring. The two lost points are for views such as this...

It appears Montenegrans dump their domestic rubbish over any embankment they can find. There are very few bins, and no signs asking people not to dump rubbish! Come on Montenegro, clean the place up! Montenegro would be the perfect touring destination except for the rubbish! 

Our trip,so,far is marked in red..and we are positioned at the blue triangle. 

Montenegro

24 March 2016

We crossed the Bosnia Hertzogovena border today into Montenegro.  While the Piva canyon has been spectacular on the BiH side of the border we too concentrated on the road to really appreciate it. But on the Montenegro side things improved markedly. The wide and strong looking bitumen road allowed us to appreciate our spectacular surroundings. 

These pictures cannot show the scale of this canyon, from river level to mountain top, you cannot see it all in one field of vision! 

This river is used for rafting adventure tourism in the summer and we saw quite a few camp sites on each side of the border advertising rafting. 

The gorge has been dammed on the Montenegro side for hydroelectric power generation, forming a large and also spectacular lake. 

This is a great road trip, provided you can manage the stretch of road north of the border! 

25 March 2016

Today has been a day of mountains with much of the time spent above 1000m. Needless to say the vista has been fantastic. 

The roads here have been great so far, but they do have their hazards....

One of the tourist attractions along here is the Ostrog monastery (Serbian Orthodox Church) built on/in an almost vertical cliff. It represents the meeting place of all confessions - the orthodox, Catholic and Muslims -according to Wikipaedia, but I wonder if each if these "confessions" see it the same way! ). 

There are are two thousand steps from the parking lot to the monestary. And there is a "white knuckle" road. The pilgrims generally use the steps, but those who are "pure of heart" can use the road. We decided that we are not sure we are pure of heart enough to trust the gods on the white knuckle road, and not devout enough to tackle the steps. So a photo from afar was the nearest we got! 

And so onwards.... And we suddenly came out to a view of a plain. This is a flat fertile looking area which seems to hold most of Montenegro's population, including the capital of Podgorica. And if we were tired of endless mountains this was the perfect contrast. 

Podgorica itself didn't capture our attention for more than a quick drive around. So it was back up into the mountains. 

The mountains south of Podgorica were snow free! Suddenly we can see the limestone rocky strata and the incredible amount of surface stones. These have been cleared by hand in many places leaving grassy and terraced fields for sheep and agriculture, surrounded by dry stone walls which give the impression of very old age. 

But the most unexpected feature is the lake Skadar south of Podgorica, which crosses the border into Albania. It is very picturesque and there are winding ("white knuckle") roads along the southern coast of it. 

But more on the lake and on Montenegro in the next installment!