Day 60 : Bye Montenegro, Hello Albania

Today is very much a day just spent for travelling. Ideally I would had loved to take the 8.30am direct bus from Budva to Shkodër, but since it doesn't run everyday during low season, I just had to settle for a less direct route via Podgorica.

Leaving Budva on a 10.55am bus, I arrived at Podgorica by about 12.15pm. With more than 3 hours to while away and having spotted Ramada Hotel not far from the bus station yesterday, I decided to just settle at the restaurant for the next few hours, grabbing lunch and dessert.

Dessert - Date Cake with Ice cream, was highly recommended by the waiter and although a little on the sweet side, it was sooooo good.

3 hours went by very quickly and I slowly made my way back to the bus station.

Here I met Brandon, a British currently living in Cologne, and have a bus ticket on hand to Tirana. We both took the same bus and when he heard my plans to Shkodër and how I will be doing the Lake Koman crossing into Kosovo, he decided to change his plans and joined me instead.

Immigration clearance on both Montenegro and especially Albania was super smooth, no questions asked, just scanned my passport and stamped and I am through! 

The arrangement with the Koman Ferry with pick up from Shkodër from the hostel also came through and I got confirmation that they will be doing the pick up at 6.20am tomorrow. 

I had picked a hostel (Hostel Central Shkoder) that had road access, though it did mean climbing 4 flights of stairs to get to the hostel. Stairs are my nemesis at the moment especially with luggage! Not the nicest hostel even though its said to be fairly new. Mattress was also the least comfortable. 

The town of Shkodër surprised Brandon and I, as we were both expecting it to be a really small town. But it was bustling and lots of activities going about. There were 2 pedestrian only streets which we walked through but was not overly exciting. The shop houses architecture could easily be passed off as something from Singapore / Malacca or some parts of Asia. 

We also spotted a huge mosque and a church located in close vicinity with one another. 

I was craving seafood and we found a restaurant Rozafa Seafood and ordered a few dishes to share. The food was yum! We cleaned out almost everything on the table with the exception of the olives in the salad 😂

With an early morning start tomorrow, we headed back early to get rest. Looking forward to tomorrow's trip as it comes highly rated by Clemens! And he just confirmed he might be able to join me around Albania! Yay! 

Day 59 : Podgorica - Ostrog - Kotor Bay

Last day of driving around Montenegro. I've covered off most of the key sites which I wanted to go, and was originally wanting to also visit Herceg Novi, but it was too far out to be included within the time I had, before the car needs to be returned.

So today's route was with very little stops but covering lots of distance : Podgorica - Ostrog - Bay. 

I started the drive at 8am and the first key spot for today was Podgorica to buy my bus ticket to Shkodër. I tried to get mine from Budva yesterday, but I was told they don't run daily, not even from Podgorica. However the bus schedule found online states otherwise. 

I did want to be certain, so since Podgorica was enroute, it worked out well to make a quick stop and secure a ticket in hand.

Now I am at ease, as I have a definite seat on the bus, and my trip plans aren't screwed up. 

The next stop was Niagara Falls which was located about 10 mins drive from the bus station. The name is deceiving - although I have not been to the one in Canada, I am sure the Canada version is way more impressive. 

The drive to Ostrog was about another 1+ hour away, and approaching the monastery were more windy roads, and I had to take more vigilant care as there were occasional oncoming traffic. 

Established in the 17th century in the honor of Saint Basil of Ostrog who was buried inside and is believed to have miraculous powers for many pilgrims who come to visit Ostrog.    

It was built in the 1600s by literally carving into the face of a cliff. The work was overseen by the Bishop of Herzegovina at the time, who would go on to be known as St Basil of Ostrog.

In the first cave, he built a church. The second cave he made a bedroom for guests. And the third cave was where the religious artefacts would be held.  

His decision to build this monastery in Montenegro into a cliff was probably in a large part for protection, because this was the time when the Ottoman Empire was causing havoc in the area.

The Upper Monastery consists of the Church of the Presentation of the Holy Mother of God, where the relics of Saint Basil of Ostrog are being kept, and the Church of the Holy Cross. 

One of the most interesting appeals in that area is the vine which grows out of the rock.

There's also a Lower Monastery which I did not visit. 

Entering the Upper Monastery, there is another smaller entrance at the end of the steps, which was one of the smallest door in a church I had seen!

Going through this entrance leads to the 1st chamber, and then going through another small door led to another chamber. Both chambers were completely painted with frescoes in a bluish base.

In the 2nd chamber was a coffin with "someone" lying in it (I presume St. Basil of Ostrog), with a priest standing beside the coffin giving blessings to each person that one-by-one queued to "interact" with the coffin

I stood back and admired the frescoes and then slowly retreated my way out. 

And then starting driving back down again with more windy road. 

It was time for lunch and having tried a couple restaurants on the way (which weren't open), I went into a random spot found on the highway. 

I was hoping to order fish / seafood, but they specialised in meat, and suggested this Veal dish.

The Veal was really good, very tender and even the fats are melt-in-your-mouth type of texture. 

It was then a drive towards the Bay area, which took over an hour. It was drizzling on the way down, and then suddenly cleared, just as I was to get to a panoramic view spot. What perfect timing. 

I later landed up at a spot that is outside the Vertige 65 restaurant, famed for its views and it didn't disappoint. It's just directly opposite Perast, but because of timing, I couldn't really stay to order a dessert. 

Also did a brief stop in Kotor to pick up a postcard, and found some spots which I had missed on my 1st trip to Kotor.

And then the final drive back home, which I reached at 5.15pm, with 15 mins to spare before the car gets picked up from my place. 

I would had thought there would be 2 people driving a car up and then 1 of them will drive this car back, but no! The poor guy had to walk all the way up the slopes just to collect the car. He was panting as he walked up, and I felt bad, but also relief I didn't have to do the climb. 100 points for customer service. 

I clocked over 750km (started counter about 10km in trip) over the 4 days of drive, using almost a full tank of petrol.

It's been great seeing the diversity the country has to offer. 

Day 58 : Lake Skadar (Montenegro)

3rd day of driving around Montenegro and I decided to cover the span of Lake Skadar. 

Lake Skadar lies on the border of Montenegro and Albania, and is the largest lake in Southern Europe.

I took a wrong turn near the National Park, but it was a blessing, as the view was fantastic, and I got to see more fishermen in action here.

Also saw the train passing through the area, which was great timing. 

I then found a scenic viewpoint nearby which had amazing views. Lots of changing landscape within a very small 50m radius too! 

Then back to my original course - with more scenic views. 

Also did a quick stop at the Besac Fortress but it was really small and only partially opened. 

The roads within the National Park were again very narrow, and on a number of occasions I had to gingerly nudge my way through when going past an oncoming traffic. 

I am so glad I am travelling during low season, as I would likely have a nightmare driving during high season with a lot more oncoming traffic. 

The views along the way changes quite dramatically, there were some spots which I found really pretty and had to quickly take pics from within the car, for fear of oncoming traffic.

At one point I came across a couple of hunters taking a smoke after hunting down a boar. I stopped a short distance away and walked back and asked if I could take pics of their kill. 

They seemed very proud of their kill, and shortly after, one of them took a rifle out of his car an handed it to me, and asked me to pose with the boar. 

My first time holding a real rifle! I did find it strange that hunting was allowed within the National Park. 

At the tail end of the National Park is Cafa Stegvas - this is where you can see Albania, which also has its border at the lake. 

I was also trying to find a place to grab lunch, but they were either closed, or Google Maps chose to bring me to a cemetery on one of them. 

Only managed to get lunch after I exited the National Park, near the town of Vladimir. The menu options were really limited, so I settled for a hamburger. This was surprisingly just €1.50!

The route back requires me driving back via the coast, so I took a quick stop at one of the beaches of Dobra Vada. 

Before going through Bar for sunset and another ice cream. 

Today's sunset was marred by heavy clouds at the bottom, so I didn't stay too long, but I did get to see the Church litted up. 

I was also keen to see what Kotor looks like at night and drove an additional half hour away to check it out, before heading back. Not as nicely litted as I hope for.