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Another blog referencing 5am. This time wake up rather than come home.
I was picked up by Janko in an old landrover discovery to make the 4 hour drive to the Tara canyon for some White Water Rafting.
Yesterday, I arrived back at Slobodan's, kicked my bag into my old room, which was fast becoming my Montenegron home, and relaxed at the beach in preparation for this morning.
We picked up a family, Chris, Caroline and their daughter Timara and headed on into the mountains.
Montenegro is a lot like Scotland. There are towering mountains and rolling lakes and as we climbed the steep mountain paths, we broke through the clouds and could watch the sunrise from above.
Four hours drive in Montenegro gives you a lot of contrast. We saw rocky coastline, limestone mountains, vast black pine forests and empty plains of lush green grass. Apprently parts of Montenegro are the wettest in Europe ( hard to believe it beats Scotland).
The best part of the drive was the Albanian style stretch of road which wasn't finished. This was the quickest way, though not finished, so why not head onto a narrow track then onto the rubble of the unfinished road as a short cut? That went on for 5 or so miles before we rejoined a fully tarmaced road.
After a few leg stretches and photo opportunities, we arrived at a little town called Piva. This was a strange little place that sold Turkish coffee and green tea ( four cups cost £1) but its crowning glory was its position on the banks of the Piva river resevoir.
The water that filled this was indescribable. To try my best, it radiated a colour between torquoise, topaz and emerald. This was apparently due to the sheer clarity of the water and the colour of the sky reflecting on the stones underneath. Piva was so quiet and the water so still, you could hear the breath of a mountain goat in the hills above.
We carried on and passed through 36 tunnels chisseled through the rock of the mountain to allow the road to pass. This took us to the dam that held the water back. The biggest in Europe. I looked over the edge and - though not scared of heights - the plummeting drop made me feel dizzy.
We finally arrives at the rafting site in no man's land between Bosnia and Montenegro. We were greated by three pups who were loving the life of outdoors rafting dogs and a family of three from Northern Ireland.
The Tara river radiates the same colour as the Piva resevoir but is shallow enough for you to see the bottom. Having changed into a wetsuit we had to take another jeep ride off road to hit the actual start point.
Both families were fantastic at indulging me in my educational views whilst also not minding my water pratting around and threats (sometimes carried out) of throwing their kids into the icy water.
The water was a constant 15 degrees and was beautiful after some hard paddeling. The river soaked us in icy showers of rapids and allowed us some swimming and rock jumping. The guide had even rafted past a bear yesterday though we weren't so lucky today.
The water was so beautiful again I can't do it justice with words. After 20km of rafting we popped up at the Bosnian border.
Lunch was outrageous! This was definitely the most I've eaten on this trip if not all year. It was 4 courses starting with local meats, cheeses and freshly baked bread. Then soup and more bread. Stewed hunks of beef with local spicy beans and potatoes followed by more bread. Lastly - fit to burst -was as much watermelon as it took to stuff you.
On the drive back I found out that Janko was taking me hiking tomorrow and as he had seen my pratting around and enthusiasm for adventure sports, he is taking me to a cliff he knew to do some free climbing with him.
A leisurely 7.30am start tomorrow!
- comments
maw Sounds fantastic Make sure you come home in one piece!!
Nanette Beaton I'm your mother's cousin in America. What an adventure you are having!