MONTENEGRO

September 2018

Montenegro Autumn/Fall 2018

by Seer Hor & Shu Li

The Balkans have been one of our favourite spots on Earth. Following Croatia and Slovenia, Montenegro, Black Mountain was our recent adventure. Flying over the terrain revealed amazing views. Our first stop before we head to the tip of Montenegro was Ostrog Monastery. It is an impressive Monastery built into almost a vertical rock mountain.

It took us approximately 2 hours drive to Šćepan Polje where we planned to do a bit of white water rafting and enjoy clear water of Tara River. From here, you literally see Bosnia across the river. The next morning, we had traditional Montenegrin breakfast (huge portions) before gearing up. As it was summer, the current of the river was slower. Half way through our rafting, our guide Obe offered to climb a spot 5 meters high to jump into the river. Without hesitation I said yes! It did not sound high but when I got up there, I felt as if my legs were not mine. Nonetheless, I jumped down as going backwards was just not acceptable! We thoroughly enjoyed the journey down Tara River.

Lunch was lovely. Fresh whole river trout with typical Balkan side dish of potato and spinach. Then we drove through beautiful mountain roads through numerous tunnels towards Dormitory National Park.

The drive along Sedlo Pass through Dormitor National Park was spectacular beyond words. Every corner we turned we were greeted by another amazing view. The countryside was beautiful. Life looked simple and animals roam free. Please take a moment to see the photographs.

We stayed the night in the National Park. The sausages we had for breakfast here were reminiscent of those we had in Plitvice, Croatia in 2013. Scrambled eggs were not as brilliant as they should be though. We then visited Black Lake. For the very first time, we picked up a young hitchhiker going to Black Lake. This was the first time we had space in the car as we usually travelled with a small car filled up with our stuff. We arrived on time for the lake to be so still it looked like a giant mirror. The water was crystal clear with lush greenery teamed with magical sound of birds chirping. What a combo.

After Black Lake, we headed towards Kolasin, bypassing Đurđevića Tara Bridge. This is one of the most popular bridges in Montenegro. There were people zip lining from one side of the bridge to the other. We saw people getting stuck half way. I did not fancy that. Kolasin was very quiet during the summer but observing the village, it looks like a skiing area during winter. We had lamb dish with traditional Montenegrin dish called Kačamak, which is cornmeal, potato and kajmak (Montenegrin soft cheese).

The first stop for today was Morača Monastery. Quite an interesting place. When we nearly finished visiting the monastery, a man came up and asked for ‘Entrance Fee’ despite no signs saying there is fee! We then continued our road trip through another beautiful mountain road with the view of Lake Skadar National Park. Here you can enjoy the vista of the magnificent horseshoe bend. Our accommodation of the night has a little rowing boat, which we took until the sun set. This was a rather amazing place. They have a honey farm, vineyard and they distil their own brandy. I can tell you the brandy was pretty strong stuff. What was amazing was the breakfast. We were served traditional Montenegrin dish pita sa sirom (I think that’s what it is!) to be eaten with fresh honey. Needless to say the bees were hovering all over our breakfasts. Having breakfast up in the mountain with fresh air in our lungs was such a delight.

With full tummies, we aimed towards Stari Bar literally means ‘old Bar’. This was once a thriving town now a ruin as a result of war. Our lunch at Paštrovica Dvori in Sveti Stefan was simply delicious. Simple homey Montenegrin food of grilled squid and soft tender lamb cooked in salt and rosemary. The bonus was the owner Željko is such a humorous and nice man.

Kotor was the most southern location in our itinerary in Montenegro. It was also the busiest and has the most tourists. It was an old walled city, also known as ‘mini Dubrovnik’. A walk in the evening covers it. We had our obligatory ice cream. From memory, ice cream in Croatia was better. We enjoyed the evening nonetheless. The next morning, we woke up bright and early to tackle the Ladder of Catarro. It is a hike with more than 70 switchbacks and shhhhh, has a secret connection to the Kotor City Walls, which entrance fee has skyrocketed to €8. In my opinion, this was primarily aimed at cruise ship tourists. You’re much better off enjoy the Ladder of Cattaro early in the morning and join the City Wall half way. I used this website as a guide. There is a house half way up the hill whose owner we met! He self-claimed to be the ‘Guardian of the Mountain’. Understandably he is not fond of tourists as it attracts other problems such as rubbish and social problems. Having said that, he did not offend us and vice versa. He kindly directed us where to go.

The next day, we ventured into Perast, in our opinion a much nicer village to visit. It is a car-free village with vehicle entrance only for residence. So we parked just outside the village for only €2 for the day. It only took five minutes walk into the village. We went up the bell tower where I had a small splatter of bird poop on my shoulder! As a compensation, we went for more ice cream. The weather was significantly hotter than the mountains. Coincidentally, this was also the finishing line of a 4x4 race. We also saw fisherman gutting and cleaning fish at the pier. Although you can take boat trips to the Blue Caves, we did not. Nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed Perast.

Our final day involved driving along the famous P1 Kotor Serpentine to Cetinje. We then drove into Lovćen National Park where there is a large beautiful Mausoleum of Njegoš overlooking Lovćen. Entry to the National Park costed €2. We walked many stairs up to the mausoleum but to view it costs another €6! The vista of Lovćen National Park was worth the walk though. We had our final dinner in Montenegro, another lamb dish, in Podgorica.

I have to give credit to my lovely better half for planning this trip. She has been a fantastic companion. It was another amazing journey indeed. Yet another tick on the list. More importantly, this is another moment to cherish and to look back in the future.

-The End-