Montenegro - Days 1-2 - Skardarsko Lake, Podgorica and Mrtvica Canyon

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For my next adventure, and really the first one with no work strings attached, my usual traveling group had an option called "Jewels of the Balkans" in Montenegro. I had been wanting to visit this tiny country for years, so I jumped on it, especially because it was the last one of the season. Our group typically goes to Asia or Africa locations, but they had started to branch out and I was looking forward to this 5-day adventure. And it did not disappoint!

There is a direct flight on Fly Dubai to Tivat airport. The flight itself was pretty empty giving us all lots of room on the flight and the flight attendants were so nice and funny - they seemed relaxed. We arrived, got through customs pretty easily, and came outside with our carryon only luggage looking for our Trekkup sign. I have the good eyes, but could not see it anywhere. So, I started to put my backpack down on the bench when I looked at the guy sitting there a bit hunched over and noticed his shirt - Trekkup written across the back. We all laughed because he said he did not expect us to get through for another half hour based on the last group. Soon, 8 of us, plus our guide Milan and driver Beco got on a yellow mini-bus/van and were on our way.

Along the way, our guide gave us some historical and geographical information, such as informing us how difficult a place it was for others to conquer due to the mountainous terrain and lack of water. The Austro-Hungarians did try and built a line of forts along the many ridges to keep the people from communicating and rising up. Our first stop was to get a great view over the coastline and the popular city of Budva, with one of the forts also visible int he distance. It was so cool to see the paragliders that were catching the wind just over the coast, staying aloft for a long time. I was quite jealous actually! It was a great first stop, but then we continued on to our first activity.

Skadar Lake National Park

We were to catch a boat for a sunset ride on Skada Lake, a huge lake on the southern border with Albania. It was going to be very tight, so Beco and Milan were trying to get us to hurry. The roads were winding through the mountains with already amazing views the whole way, so it was a pleasant ride, about 90 minutes. We arrived at the fishing village, Rijeka, to catch our boat which we got on, where we noticed many of the buildings were deserted and were told that there was a major earthquake in 1979 and many of the residents left due to the damage. We had a traditional welcome snack of Prigavica bread with honey - delicious! There was also a layout of beef carpaccio and cheeses, along with local wines. Only half of us were able to drink the wine, so we had plenty! They also call their red wine 'black' as it is very dark in color. But we started with three bottles of cold white wine, all yummy. We only got through one bottle of the red wine before we turned back because it was getting too dark. So, we did not quite get to see the lake, but we enjoyed the ride as well as all the wildlife (mainly birds) along the marshes at the edges. The views of the mountains in the distance did not hurt either.

After getting back on the bus, we headed to Podgorica, the capital, where we would stay the night. I had my own room in a very nice hotel (I forget the name!). It had a nice bar downstairs and we had a good breakfast included. So, a great first night in Montenegro.

Mrtvica Canyon Hike

The next day, we left Podgorica by 8:00 and were on the move to our first hike, which was supposed to be the easier one. As we drove, Milan showed us the changing roads, including a huge highway under construction that currently goes to nowhere and is supposed to link up with another in Serbia. He said it was a whopping 26 million euros per kilometer and was at least over 40 km!!!! Apparently, this is a huge scandal as American and European banks and investors did not recommend the massive project, so the Montenegrin president got a billion dollar loan with the Chinese and now is in debt to them. There was also a huge bridge under construction that was just jaw dropping. However, it is now known as the "Bridge to Nowhere" or even the "Bridge to Hell" because it is potentially causing massive monetary, environmental, and corruption problems. Including that it was supposed to create jobs, but instead, the Chinese brought their own people. Ugh, I won't go into it any more, but you can easily find more information about it online...

Anyway. We stopped at our first road viewing spot in the winding canyon, but Beco knew of a secret place that was not as touristy (two large buses with their passengers were taking photos as we drove by). Instead, we went through a small tunnel, veered off the right, and had the whole access road to ourselves to take some great photos of this beautiful, narrow canyon.

After, we got back in and drove until we met the two guys that were going to drive us in 4x4's up the mountain, where we would start our hike from the top and work our way down. These were small windy roads again, with some great views, again. We had a small break at a meadow near the top where we were able to look down into the massive canyon and get an idea of how high and steep it was. There were also views of the small local (and mostly abandoned) villages near the top. I guess they come up with their cow and sheep to graze in the summer, but it is mostly abandoned during the winter where they can get up to 2 meters of snow cover. Milan said the trail we were going to walk was made by the government in the Soviet era so that people in the village above were able to get in and out if needed, especially when the roads were covered with snow. Supposedly, even children would take this trail to hike to school in the closest village below - that seems like a long walk!

We drove a little on to the starting point, in a tiny little village. The hike was mostly downhill and we covered about 18 kilometers I think. It was fairly pleasant, especially at the beginning. There were wildflowers and green everywhere, then it quickly became high, sheer cliffs to either side and the water was nowhere to be seen. We started to hike in the woods, so between the trees and the cliffs, there was no sun and it was a pleasant day. The path was pretty easy to follow and often went up well above the river bed, giving you great views up and downslope. Once we heard some big rock falls and Milan said those were most likely mountain goats who got scared away when they heard us coming. He had also warned us about snakes and to be careful if we went off trail or to alert everyone if we saw one as there were two poisonous snakes we could expect, vipers. About two hours into our hike, we saw our first full grown viper on the trail and it quickly moved downslope out of our way - we carefully observed and took pictures.

Almost three hours into our hike, we decided to take a nice break at the riverbed, where water was just starting to flow and forming some pools. We had packed very large sandwiches, juice boxes and an apple. I ate half my sandwich and had my juice, but saved the rest for later. Then I walked around, looking for photo ops and a nice spot to put my feet in to cool off a bit. We had noted tiny little vipers swimming in a couple of the shallow pools, so I stepped carefully, including once where there was one very obviously coiled up on my path, and while I was distracted by another nearby, this one moved away and I had to take a moment to locate it! Going to the bathroom was a bit unnerving! Then I took some photos, carefully surveyed the pool I selected, which was full of large tadpoles, and put my feet in one at a time - it was freezing!!!

After about half an hour we continued on and it started to get a little more rugged, but still not difficult at all. In fact, this seemed to be the more popular areas for hikers as we started to encounter people, at first just a couple walking their dog, but about another hour down people became more frequent. We saw a large waterfall where people were hanging out with that view. There was a really cool section where the trail was carved into the rock above, just at the right height for people to walk.

A little further on Milan told us there was a popular spot near the river where there was a 'gate' - you select a rock (which we did upslope before we got to the busy site), and throw that rock through the gate while making a wish. If you make it through, the fairy queen will grant your wish. If you make a wish to bring harm to another, that wish will bounce back onto you. We were expecting something small and challenging, but the gate was easy, only an idiot would not make it through. Oh, we had one in our group who did not throw his rock correctly! haha! Besides the story, it was a beautiful little spot, a clearing in the middle of moss-covered trees and the beautiful blue water pool below. Heavenly. Here there were many people constantly coming, so we knew we were getting close to the end.

We continued on and the cliffs started to turn into rolling hills and a luscious valley. More signs of civilization came as well, such as farms and random buildings. We continued down to a stone bridge crossing the river and picked a spot on the other side for our promised swim. We hiked with our aching knees down to the rocky beach where we tried to decide who would swim and who would not. I got into my swimsuit, Luke and Gavin did the same and hopped into the freezing water. Watching Luke's face as he got in.... yikes! But I made myself go - I had been looking forward to this all day. Oh dear god it was cold! I got in to just over my waist and picked my way over the rocks back out and wrapped my towel around me for warmth. We hung out for a bit, had some wine, I gave Luke the rest of my sandwich and I ate my apple. We took photos. Noted the girls next to us we saw at the wishing gate and who had adopted a stray puppy we had seen earlier where we had met the 4x4 cars - they called him Johnny. Haha! They needed help finding how to get to the end so joined us for the rest of the walk back to the bus, which was waiting for us in the meadow. The girls were confused when Johnny abandoned them, probably getting a new family tomorrow, and then another one the day after!

Additional sight seeing

After getting into the bus, where Beco met us with some plums, we made our way to a nearby monastery where we had a quick look around the beautiful landscaped gardens. The church was also nice and seemed to be fully functioning as people were coming in and out constantly. No pictures unfortunately, but it was very pleasant. Then we traveled to Kolasin, a ski resort in another town. We were driving for about an hour maybe, they took us around town which is near to where they are from, and dropped us at the hotel (Milan was having sinus issues and wanted a good night's sleep at home). The hotel was very nice and it was very easy to get around the small, adorable town. We went to the restaurant that was recommended to us, and we were allowed in as we were all vaccinated, but ate upstairs. It was nice to sit and get to know everyone well, and also eat some good local food. I just had some grilled chicken with potatoes, while others had either fish, veal or lamb. Then we walked back to the hotel and passed out after an amazing day!

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[D MJ Binkley]

Montenegro
We are eager to go to Montenegro.... maybe next year.