Showing posts with label Montenegro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montenegro. Show all posts

Monday 5 August 2013

Zabljak, Montenegro

The bus ride from Kotor was interesting as it goes through a few mountains. The driver was speeding and breaking every few seconds because of the numerous airpin curves. We were lucky enough to have some kind of AC so we could handle the almost 4 hours trip. We arrived in Zabljak in the early afternoon and were suggested to go and walk around the Crno Jezero, the Black Lake. It took about 3 hours round trip from the hostel, a walk a little over 8 km. The lake is beautiful, not sure why it is called black lake as it is a nice blue shade. It seems to be a very popular spot for tourists to step in the water to take tons of pictures of themselves. We came back to the hostel were we attended the nice barbecue offered to us by the hostel owners.

View from the bus
View from the bus
View from the bus
Tight corner
Crno Jezero (Black Lake), Zabljak, Montenegro
On our second day, we walked 15 km in a not so easy mountain terrain and were rewarded by an amazing few from the top. The mountains are very nice. There was still snow in a few places. Zadljak is located at about 1490 meters above sea level and we hiked our way up to 2191m. We did what they call the difficult loop, and some sections were indeed fairly difficult, especially the last part getting to the cave as we were almost rock climbing. We were gone for about 7 hours and had a lot of fun. We definitely enjoy more being in the nature than in the city which is why we will be looking into more hiking destinations. When we arrived back at the hostel, we showered right away as we weren't sure we were going to be able to stand again if we sat somewhere!

At the beginning of the hiking trail to the ice cave
View from the trail
View from the trail
View from the ice cave. Zabljak is in the clear spot in the middle, 7.5 km away
The cave's entrance
Still some ice in August
Us, nice background
A few minutes outside Zabljak
Nice mountains
After spending all morning trying to figure where we are going next, we decided to go for a walk to the Tara Canyon viewpoint. While we were getting ready, a German guy that arrived in the morning at the hostel asked if he could tag along. We all got ready and headed toward the viewpoint. The walk consisted of mostly paved road, except for the last 1 to 1.5 km where it was back in the mountain. A total of another 15 km. The view of the Tara Canyon was wonderful, lots of mountains are surrounding this pretty turquoise river that is really deep in a curved canyon. There was also lots of butterflies and even a not so shy salamander. Our legs are really tired though so a bus day tomorrow will probably be very appreciated!

Tara Canyon viewpoint
Tara Canyon viewpoint 
Tara Canyon viewpoint 
Tara Canyon viewpoint
Tara Canyon viewpoint

Friday 2 August 2013

Kotor, Montenegro

The bus from Bar to Kotor had great views of the Adriatic Coast and the ride itself was worth the bus fare. After a good night of sleep in the Old Town Hostel, we left to climb the 1350 steps to the top of the fortress. It was definitely a satisfying exercise for the amazing view of the fjord. It was really hot but at least we went up in the morning, while there was still shade on most of the path. The fortress is partly in ruins now and looks amazing. The fortifications are impressive as they are built right on the mountain. We also walked through the wall to get to a small church on the other side of the fortifications. On our way back we were even happier to have gotten up has a lot of people were walking up. The small old town of Kotor is like a little Dubrovnik, a city we visited a little over a month ago in Croatia, not very far from here. We love to get lost in all the old cobblestone streets.































 

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Bar, Montenegro

We took the train from Belgrade, Serbia to Bar, Montenegro. The train took roughly 13 hours to get there and it was late on arrival, just like the past 2 weeks of trains. The view was great from the train as it went through the mountains between Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, and the coastal town of Bar. There are a few beaches but the ones we saw were rocky and pretty crowded. We also visited the old town. We walked from the apartment we were renting to the old city, a good 14 km round-trip. The old town is still being worked on, and not developed for tourism quite yet, so we could walk everywhere in the ruins without restrictions for a small entrance fee. It was very interesting and we had a nice view over the city and the mountains. We had a great few days in Bar and relaxed a lot.