Montenegro – Growing With Leala

After my day of work and leisure I meet my tour group at 7 am the next day. We are to explore sights in North Montenegro. Our driver explains the buoys and boxes in the water are for fishing and mussel farming. I have tried some delicious sea bass but mussels are next on my list. We first stop to see the two islands outside of Perast. We do not boat over to them though. I am regretting my day off yesterday since that would have been my only chance to see both the town of Perast and the two islands.

We start an ascent up hill. It is curvy but I am not concerned because I happen to be in the front of the bus. There are beautiful views of the bay of Kotor from above.

I loom at the gorgeous views and then look to the side, a girl from our bus is puking her guts out into the bushes. At first I offer my seat to her but after realizing how far back her seat is I decide to just share the row with her. I share my motion sickness pills with her and the girl on the other side of me who is suffering too. I learned my lesson in Thailand so I always have the pills on me for road trips.

We stop briefly for breakfast and coffee.

Our next stop is a lake called Black lake. It is located in Durmitor National Park. We don’t have time to walk around the complete lake because the levels are high and it would take too long. I admire the views of the mountains and hike some of the shorter trails. It is pretty but nothing more impressive than what I have already seen. This is where my extensive traveling backfires on me as it gets harder to impress me these days. It is still chilly out and there is still some snow on the ground.

From the park we travel to a very large bridge over the Tara River. Some in the group are dropped off ahead of the bridge stop. They plan to zip line across the very deep canyon. The rest of us take the walk across the bridge on a very narrow walkway, making sure the constant traffic doesn’t accidently hit us when we stray off path. Despite the scary walk it is a beautiful view. The river below is a color that almost seems made up on a computer. The view is lovely.

For our final stop we stop at the Ostrog Monastery, a very popular Serbian Orthodox Church built into a hill. Many make the pilgrimage barefoot up the steep switchbacks to pray to the body of Vasilije, the founder of the church. There is also some lore about a grape vine growing in the wall of the church in a place that is not conducive to growth. There are some very old frescos inside. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures inside because it is forbidden and for some reason I am a strict rule follower lately (even though most are not).

We get back late but I still need to eat. I attempt my first of many disappointing servings of mussels. One would think that since they are farmed nearby that they would be fresh and flavorful, but that is not the case. The mussel meat is very small of the ones that are actually opened and the taste is probably the worst I’ve ever had of mussels. I can only guess maybe they are not in season yet. The dessert is good though.

Tomorrow I am switching countries again and head to Croatia where I’ll meet my friend soon. I probably could have spent more time in Montenegro so I’ll just have to come back some day.

My driver drops me off outside the old city gates. We have driven through beautiful fjord looking mountains surrounding a bay. As we get closer to Kotor the traffic gets worse and I see a large cruise ship ahead.

I grab my bags and go in the old city to meet the owner of the apartment I am renting. I am starting to second guess my visit to this town. Crowds are thick with groups doing day tours of the town. I’ve been communicating with the apartment owner by WhatsApp who tells me to wait in front of a church. A boy appears with an older photo of me on his phone “Is this you?” Yes and so I follow him. I am following a little boy to my apartment apparently. I meet his mom. She says he is 7 and she is teaching him English and often sends him on task; a point that is reinforced when he comes to collect my payment later.

I settle in and decide to eat and walk the city walls. The lady at the apartment tells me I am visiting on a holiday time. Many businesses will be closed the next two days, including grocery stores. She tells me that most of the restaurants in the old city are rip offs and not really good but then tells me most things outside the old city will be closed so I really have no choice, do I?

I eat at a lackluster place and then wander around. I start to notice all the cats. I think I read about the cats in my research but perhaps I forgot? Anyway this town is a holiday getaway for many including cruisers, people from nearby Balkan countries and until lately Russians. Despite the slow down it is still pretty busy here, luckily it does ease up a bit during the week.

This town is almost at the coast, actually a bay. The country once was part of Yugoslavia. It held onto the membership more than some but is now independent like all the other former Yugoslavia nations. It is facing some of the same problems politics wise as its neighbor, Bosnia and Herzgovina.

I end up going a wine tasting at a little bar. I had wanted to buy a bottle to take back to my apartment but all the wine shops are closed for the next couple days. Luckily I get a discount on a local bottle of wine. I sip this bottle for the next couple days. I also try a chardonnay that I can handle since it usually is not my favorite. I am also introduced to grapes I know nothing about.

The next morning I let myself sleep in so its too late to start and ascent up to the fort up the mountain. The heat gets unbearable to do the climb if you attempt it too late. I decide to take the day off today because tomorrow I have a very long day tour scheduled. I do go out to eat meals and walk along the city walls late in the morning but I am not doing any planned sightseeing today. In fact I use this time to pay bills and follow up on future travel arrangements. I forgot to schedule days off to do these things so days off have to be forced.