An Unexpected Reunion & An Unplanned Stop In Montenegro
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Published: August 31st 2016
Limun I, Ulcinj
Spectacularly set beach pebbles beach almost next to the old town that was surprisingly quiet.I didn't learn from
last time and so I spent all of my remaining Bosnian
marka before leaving the country - only to realise that I had to pay for f*cking luggage again! Luckily I still had a 10KM note (about 5€) on me that I was going to use to try and change for euros but now that I had to break it, I wasn't sure if any
bureau de changewould now take my Bosnian coins. FFS Derek. Again! But some blame must lie with the fact there is a luggage fee in the first place. Why not make things easier and include it in the price of the bus ticket like every other country in the world?
I was on an overnight bus for a seven hour journey - so probably not long enough to warrant taking an overnight bus - although I didn't have to take it. However there was a 16€ saving to make by taking it plus the saving of a night's accommodation, so I didn't really have a choice.
I was bound for Ulcinj, Montenegro, which was right on the border with Albania, which was my ultimate destination.
About two hours after I bought the
Pizza & The Sunset, Ada Bojana
The pizzeria we ate at on Ada Bojana had a treehouse - this is the view from it. ticket however, I discovered that my friend Anna - my old travel buddy who accompanied me to
Russia and
Israel - was going to be in Kotor, Montenegro, on the day my pass was passing through the country.
It would be nice to see a familiar face again on my travels, so I thought I'd get off the bus a few stops early to spend a day and a night with Anna and her friend Nicola, who I'd also previously met in London, in Kotor.
Sleeping on overnight buses is difficult at the best of times but even harder when the bus makes so many stops, including an unannounced half-hour one for what appeared to be a beer break. The bus wasn't stopping in Kotor en route either so I needed to get off in Budva - where the bus arrived at the ungodly hour of 3.45am. The first bus back to Kotor wasn't until 5am.
Going up to the ticket counter at 4.50am, I then discover that the 5am bus was a phantom one - the next bus was actually at precisely 6.18am. Tired and sleep-deprived in a Montenegrin bus station with a two-and-a-half hour wait was far
Perast, Bay Of Kotor
Cute waterside village near Kotor. from ideal. Part of me was wondering if making this unscheduled stop in Kotor was all worth it...
Good friends as they are, Anna and Nicola were kind enough to let me crash on the sofa bed in the apartment they had rented for the night - so crash for three hours in the morning was exactly what I did while Anna and Nicola climbed Mt St John - something I did on
my previous trip here.
Indeed the fact that I had been here before was the main reason I had originally planned on skipping Montenegro altogether.
What I didn't do last time however was a boat trip over to the Lady Of The Rock, a man-made island (so they say) with a church on it, and to Perast, a cute, shore-side village.
We had lunch at a shore-side restaurant where the setting was probably better than my food. The water-side setting had echoes of Lake Como or the French Riviera; take a photo here and tell someone that you were at either of the aforementioned wealthy holiday destinations and anyone would've believed you. The same thing, but for half or less of the price.
Coming back to Kotor,
Me, Anna & Nicola
Great to see some familiar faces in Kotor after a long time away! I had forgotten just how beautiful the place is - the old town has an ambience and character the equal of any old town you'd find in Croatia, be it
Dubrovnik,
Korcula or Split.
Overall, the day out and the evening was amazingly pleasant and I managed to get a fix of two things that I'd really been missing of late; familiar faces and the finer things in life - like great food and wine.
We had some grilled octopus at an
al fresco wine bar in the old town, which was crispy on the outside - something I've not experienced before - and the best pasta I've had in a long time. To top it off, there was a violin, accordion and box-drum trio who artfully played some classical classics as well as some more contemporary numbers by artists such as Sam Smith. They were really good - almost as good as the best street band I've ever seen,
">Tonimontaña, who I saw when I was in
Buenos Aires.
In the end it was totally worth the trouble of changing my plans as we all caught up on old times and the last year since we had last seen each
Lady Of The Rock, Bay Of Kotor
Church built on a 'man-made' island in the Bay Of Kotor. other. I wonder where I'll see Anna again next?
If the previous day was wonderfully pleasant, then the next one was not.
I made the most of the midday checkout at the apartment to catch up on sleep but it meant I missed the most convenient bus to Ulcinj and now had a three hour wait ahead of me. So I decided to go back to Budva instead where there were more frequent buses to Ulcinj and ended up with a one-and-a-half hour wait there. In that time, I attempted to change my leftover Bosnian marka to no avail, getting short shrift from a couple of rude, unhelpful taxi drivers along the way.
"You don't buy from me, I don't help you" seemed to be the order of the day. Budva seems to have changed massively since last time - even more hotel resorts and developments have sprouted out and the place was now covered in the garish sheen of mass package tourism. I didn't like it and to top things off, I got caught and saturated in a heavy shower, something that happened the first time I was in Budva too. Over it.
I wasn't planning on
Streets Of Ulcinj
Beach from the town centre to the town beach. staying in Ulcinj if I could help it but the price of the hostel, the glowing online reviews of the town and the hostel by other travellers and the town's 14km of beach nearby changed my mind. Besides, it would've been a bit of a shame to simply zip through Montenegro. I've been needing a break to rest, regroup and catch up on a few things for some time now - could Ulcinj be the week-long admin and relaxation spot I've been looking for?
My first impressions of the town was that it had a bit of a Soviet feel to it. And being right on the border with Albania, 72% of the population here are ethnic Albanians apparently, and so there were mosques and call to prayers that made me feel like I was back in Bosnia again or indeed, Albania.
My first couple of days in Ulcinj were dominated by storms and rain - which meant that I did nothing but blog, drink and play Scum, probably my favourite card game that has made a welcome return from my days in South America. For one afternoon, even the power went out meaning that I literally couldn't do
Gjiri I Ranes, Ulcinj
Bay that is home to Ulcinj's town beach. Taken from the old town. anything, as my laptop, phone and camera all just happened to be completely dead at the worst time.
Not that I really minded - I was getting the R&R that I had been looking for.
Diyana, who runs Hostel Pirate, was really cool and actively encouraged hostel guests to mingle and socialise, making it so easy to make friends here. More often than not, Diyana would also participate in the socialising herself where we got some insight into what it is like to live in Montenegro.
For example, the power outage was actually a deliberate action by the power company despite Diyana having already paid her bill. It was obviously a mistake and the power company then said that the power would be back on within twenty-four hours - clearly not acceptable if you're running a hostel. Basically, there seems to be a leftover Communist work ethic from the Yugoslavian days and the bureaucracy makes trying to run a business here frustrating at best.
I really liked it at Hostel Pirate; I had friends there and the place didn't feel like a hostel but more like a holiday house you're sharing with your mates. Heading to the beach during the
View From Ulcinj
Looking south along the coast towards the pine forest, which eventually leads to the longest beach in Montenegro. day, drinking and socialising in the evening (which may or may not have led to the playing of drinking games). Life was good and I was feeling lazy so as a result, I kept extending my stay there by one night here and two nights there. Like a few others in the hostel, I just couldn't get away - I didn't want to get away.
I've had good luck with hostels in the Balkans so far and Hostel Pirate was no exception - the hospitality, like everywhere else in the Balkans so far, was exceptional. From Diyana herself to the free nightly beer and to Don the dog - everything was just super-chilled, super-friendly and super-helpful and I just felt completely comfortable there. It was about as close to a home as I've had for a long time.
On my fourth day at Hostel Pirate, I finally got out of the house and went to the longest beach in Montenegro via a wonderfully scenic coastal walk through a pine forest with Austrians Simon and Frido and Aussie Emma - who I had actually previously met in Hostel Majda back in Mostar.
The beach was...disappointing. It was just full of
Our Swimming Spot, Ulcinj
Between Ulcinj and the Long Beach. The Austrians climb the cliff to jump while Emma watches on. people and sun-loungers as far as the eye can see - much like
Rimini. The sand was similar to Rimini's as well - brown, hard and more like silt than sand, and the water was knee-deep for about 50m out from the shore and then it was cold and slightly murky. It was good for a few games of Scum though.
"It may be Montenegro's longest beach, but it's not its best", remarks Frido.
"I feel like I'm in a swamp", says Emma.
There were however, some wonderful swimming spots on the rocky coast en route to the beach. We stopped at one on the way back which had its own rock pool and a nice 4m cliff to jump off. Inside the rock pool were these interesting tiny crayfish things that "looked like something off Transformers" according to Emma. They would nibble at your feet and sometimes bite! A bit like those fish spas for your feet that you get at beauty clinics.
Ulcinj itself has a town beach which is extremely crowded and naturally, backed by nightclubs and shops. You can't see the sand on it because it is all covered in sun loungers and umbrellas. Urgh.
There
Gate To The Old Town, Ulcinj
One of the entrances to Ulcinj's old town. are also many nice, cliff-side houses behind the beach, with flash cars out the front whose licence plates are from all over Europe, which hinted at overseas Montenegrins having come back to their summer houses here for the holidays. There was a slight vibe of pretentiousness in the main centre of town, which I didn't really like.
Where my special version of Scum has well and truly gained a following at the hostel, another game I have introduced to many hostel over the last ten months has also caught on - the dice game, which of course has its origins in
Brazil. Fun as it always is, it also leaves players with severe hangovers, like it has always done. Some more than others. Urgh.
On my fifth day in Ulcinj, I opted to go with Lithuanian Brit Roman to explore Ulcinj's old town, which sits proudly atop a cliff overlooking the town beach.
It is unlike many other old towns in the sense that it is so quiet and non-touristy, with most of the buildings within the old town walls being residential ones. There were however, some amazingly located restaurants with amazing views of the coast.
Around the
Ada Bojana
The best beach in and around Ulcinj. corner from the old town, are two beautifully set pebble beaches; Limun 1 and Limun 2. Limun 2 had annoying music blaring from pretentious beach clubs with pretentious white furniture - so we opted for the peaceful, family-oriented and surprisingly-not-that-busy Limun 1. The pebbles weren't overly comfortable but I still managed to get some kip; while the stones in the water made things slightly annoying when going swimming.
It was a really nice and relaxing afternoon - until the mosquitoes started savaging us...
On the sixth day, I decided to extend my stay by one more night to coincide with the Austrians' departure for Shkoder - where I was heading next too.
I was meant to use this last day to write more blogs but got major FOMO when the entire clan planned on going to Ada Bojana, an island right on the border with Albania that apparently had the nicest stretch of sandy beach in the area. So of course, I went to the beach - and it was a bit of a mission by Montenegrin
colectivo to get there.
We enjoyed playing volleyball both on the sand and in the water before getting on the beers. The
Bonfire, Ada Bojana
Things actually got a little chilly after dark - thus bonfires were very welcome. strong winds were perfect for the hundred of kite surfers out that day but annoying for us; Portuguese Joao thought that he'd get out of wind by getting us to bury him in the sand, much to our amusement.
Time flew by as it does when everyone starts drinking and before long we had decided to stay out at Ada Bojana for the sunset and then pizza, where we all got trashed on more beer and wine as well as getting eaten by mosquitoes. It was an enjoyable afternoon and evening for sure. Apart from those pesky mosquitoes.
Only that it was an afternoon and evening that continued into one of the wildest nights of the entire trip so far.
After settling our bill with the arsehole waiter at the pizzeria - and he really was an arsehole - we then found a beachside bar complete with bonfire nearby, pumping out old school jams (think Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Oasis and Pulp). But the bonfire and the tunes weren't even the best thing about the place; the generously drunk owners of the bar were mixing experimental cocktails and using us as guinea pigs to test the results - so as
Techno Hut, Ada Bojana
People off their face still going hard as the sun comes up. a result, we were basically drinking for free!
The generosity however, emphatically did not extend to letting us choose the music!
As tends to happen on Hostel Nights Out (TM), the group splintered somewhat as the night went on - some went for midnight swims, others went home - but Swedish Klara and decided to try and reach the other side of the river to join the nightly beach party that they had over there.
Joao then by chance picked up a puppy and then by chance managed to find us en route, before Roman and his mate English Giles found all three of us at the party later.
With people passed out in front of bonfires, or off their faces in either the techno beach hut or the alternative-rock, live-band beach hut, there was definitely an air of Glastonbury about the place as we arrived completely smashed.
We got talking to a few locals who actually turned out to be Serbs; the whole area around the island is dotted with modest, mostly wooden holiday cabins that were rented mostly by young Serbs on group holidays. They seemed friendlier than Montenegrins and spoke better English too.
On the subject
Sunrise Over Ada Bojana
Taken on the way back to Ulcinj after a crazy night out in Ada Bojana. This is the river that leads out to sea, with stilt houses on either side of it. of Montenegrins, I've met some real arseholes. In Ulcinj anyway - and given the number of Albanians here, they could well have been Albanians - Diyana apart, the people there (like in the shops and stuff) have been really rude and unhelpful. It also seems that they have this sarcastic sense of humour that just comes across as "go fuck yourself" to anyone from a Western country.
Anyway, I'll leave the details of the rest of the night to your imaginations but like a festival, there was something liberating-ly naughty, exciting and debaucherous about being with a whole lot of drunk and high people dancing to the break of dawn on a beach in the middle of nowhere. Crazy night.
By 6am however, we were tiring and we now had no way of getting back to Ulcinj. It is pretty chilly at sunrise too!
Unable to call a cab to pick us up in the middle of nowhere, we resorted to walking all the way to the main road and hitch-hiking. A pair of grandparents with their young grandkids in the back kindly, if a little reluctantly, picked Klara and I up and took us to the next town;
Swimming Cove, Ulcinj
One of the many swimming coves we passed on the way to the Long Beach. Joao, Roman and Giles would have to continue walking and hope to hail down someone just as generous.
It was a little awkward in the van that we were travelling in; the grandparents spoke no English at all and we were sitting in the back with the grandkids, reeking of alcohol. In the town we were dropped off at, we then managed to find a cab to take us back to Ulcinj.
Needless to say, I was absolutely shattered. The first proper all-nighter I have had since Barcelona.
It probably wasn't the best idea to pull an all-nighter the night before leaving - especially since I had six other opportunities to do so in Ulcinj - but these things happen on the backpacking trail.
And there does seem to be a distinguishable Balkan backpacking trail, with Ulcinj a major stop. From here you either continue north into Montenegro or south into Albania - which was where the Austrians and I were heading.
I hadn't even heard of Ulcinj before my trip let alone planned on coming here, but it has some beautiful spots to relax and have a good time and I ended up having one of the
Dinner With A View, Ulcinj
Restaurant in the old town of Ulcinj. most enjoyable stops on the trip so far. And as a bonus, I even managed to smash out some blog entries!
Where I couldn't seem to buy a friend in France or Italy, here I was making friends like it was going out of fashion. A great crew is essential to a great tie and I certainly had that here in Ulcinj and Hostel Pirate.
But after a whole week here, it was definitely time to move on again...to perhaps the most anticipated country of my European leg - the intriguing nation that is Albania!
Dovidenja!
Derek
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