February in Montenegro - Road Trip to Kolasin, MNE; Hiking to the abandoned church in Tivat; Life in the Marina

Road Trip!:

One of the perks of staying in Porto Montenegro over the winter was the free use of their "chalet" that is located in Kolasin, northeast of the marina, about a 3 hour drive through the Platije canyon, north of the capital city of Podgorica. Kolašin is located on the bank of the Tara River and, when there is snow, it is the skiing centre of the region. 

View from the top of Kolašin 1600

Neil, Finnegan and I were invited to accompany Alison and Randall (SV Tregoning) and Vandy and Eric (SV Awildian) to Vila Rakoc (the chalet in Kolašin) for a three-night stay February 18 - 20th. Unfortunately, Vandy and Eric were unable to attend, so it was up to the remaining 4 of us to take in the sites and enjoy the area. Having already rented two vehicles, we headed off separately, planning to catch up along the way for lunch in Cetinje. 

Our route, shortly after leaving Tivat, was along what is known as the Kotor Serpentine Road which zigzags back and forth up the mountainside for 12 kilometres with 25 hairpin turns and an average width of 5 meters. In some areas there is not enough space for two cars to pass comfortably, so one must give way to the other by backing up, usually in some rather treacherous-looking area. Many of the old concrete barriers are damaged or missing completely. It is not for the faint of heart! The road, originally completed in 1884, was built to replace the donkey trail that was the only way to travel between Kotor and Centinje prior to that time. Thankfully for us, it was a beautiful sunny day with very little traffic, which meant that visibility was amazing and we did not have to yield to many other cars. Neil was an excellent driver and tolerated the odd screech or two coming from the passenger seat.

The Serpentine Road

View of the Bay of Kotor from the Serpentine Road

We met up with Alison and Randall at the entrance to Lovćen National Park, one of the five national parks in the country. The others are Durmitor, Biogradska Gora, Skadar Lake and Prokletije. Lovćen is a national park and mountain range in central Montenegro between Kotor and Cetinje (the old capital of the country). After a quick conference with our traveling partners and payment of the park entrance fee, we continued on our journey. 

Neil, Randall and Alison

Snowy road on the way up to Njegoš Mausoleum

Neil and I took a short detour on the snowy roads up to Njegoš Mausoleum, the mausoleum of one of the most prominent political figures in Montenegro, Petar II Petrovic-Njegoš. He ruled Montenegro from 1830 to 1851. According to his wish, he was to be buried in a chapel on Mount Lovćen, but due to war at the time of his death, he was not originally buried there, but in a chapel in Cetinje. It was not until 1855 that his remains were moved to the mountain. During WWI, the mountain chapel was partially destroyed so his remains were moved elsewhere. After the war and when the chapel was rebuilt, his remains were returned. The chapel was damaged again in WWII, but the authorities in communist Yugoslavia decided not to rebuild the site, but to turn the mausoleum and burial place into their own representative symbol and it was completed in 1974. It is built on the Ezerski Peak at an altitude of 1657 meters. On a clear day, you can see a good portion of Montenegro and into Albania. At the time of our visit, the mausoleum was closed and the steps up to it were too covered with ice and snow for us to climb, but the view was spectacular from the bottom.

Doesn't look like much, but it was impressive when viewed from the base of the mountain

View looking out from the Njegoš Mausoleum

Meeting up with Alison and Randall again in Cetinje, we had a lovely lunch at Caffe NYC. We learned from the owner that he had spent some time in New York City, hence the name and the yellow cab theme. I ordered a club sandwich and it was excellent, which I have since learned are very tasty in many restaurants in Montenegro. Lunch was followed by a brief tour around some of the sites in old town, like the Cetinje Royal Palace. It is a small palace and was built from 1863 to 1867 for Darinka, Princess of Montenegro. This was the official residence of the royal family of Montenegro in the mid-1800s. Maybe it didn't impress me much at the time because I don't seem to have many photos from our visit.

As the day was starting to get away from us, it was time to get on our way and complete the remainder of the journey to Kolašin. We decided to take the scenic route, traveling through the stunning Tara river valley. Every bend in the road gave us another breath-taking view of mountains, the river and trees. 

By late afternoon, we had arrived at the chalet only to learn that no dogs were allowed. As I always do, I had checked with the marina staff to make sure that Finnegan was permitted to go to the chalet before we booked our stay, otherwise we would not have embarked on this journey. After a phone conversation with the marina staff back in Porto Montenegro, it was decided that we could stay since we had already arrived. I gave them my assurances that Finnegan would behave himself as he always does! The accommodations were basic and clean and each room had is own washroom. Thankfully we had been warned that the place might be rather chilly (and it was) and we had brought along our own electric heater that supplemented perfectly. We enjoyed an evening eating in and teaching Alison and Randall to play Triominos and completing a puzzle or two.

The next morning was fresh, sunny and cold! Neil and I were beginning to wonder what we were doing in Montenegro, since our plan had been to escape the cold weather in Canada. However, the scenery was stunning and it was fun to wander around the town while we took Finnegan for his morning walk. We found Café Napoléon and had delicious croissants and cappuccino. The decor in the cafe was completely dedicated to Napoléon. Since the waitress did not speak much English, we were not able to determine the significance, if any, of this theme in a small town in Montenegro. 

Café Napoléon

The rest of the day was spent touring the area in the car with Alison and Randall. We drove to the base of Kolašin 1600. It has an altitude of 1,600 meters and a six-seater lift takes skiers and sightseers up to see the Troglava peak at 2,072 meters. I volunteered to stay in the cafe with Finnegan, since he was not allowed on the lift, so that Neil, Alison and Randall could go up to enjoy the view. However, upon their return they all insisted that I absolutely had to go up and see it for myself. So after lunch, Neil and I went up the lift while they stayed behind with Finnegan. I am so glad I listened to them because the view was incredible! Mountains for miles! But, was it every windy and cold up there!!! After a few photos and a good look around, we were ready to head back down to escape the wind. We decided to return to the chalet to warm up before dinner. Since I was not feeling up to it, I did not join Neil, Alison and Randall for a traditional Montenegrin dinner at a nearby restaurant which from the reports, they greatly enjoyed. 

Mountains of Montenegro

Randall and Alison (and a friendly stray)

Our last day in Kolašin was spent on a walk in nearby Biogradska Gora National Park. Arriving at the park, we found that the gate for car entry was closed in the off-season, so we parked the car and decided to walk the 3.5 km into the park to see Lake Biograd. The tree branches were covered in thick snow and, with the sun shining, it was a gorgeous walk. Finnegan made it all the way there and back. It was quite evident that he much preferred the journey down the hill as opposed to the upward climb. Smart dog! 

Good little hiker!

At Lake Biograd

Dinner, made by Alison, was a delicious pasta with smoked salmon.  Alison and Randall taught us a new game, Mexican Train dominoes which we greatly enjoyed. Much to Alison's dismay and chalking it up to beginner's luck, Neil and I won every game played. But, it was great fun!

For our drive back to sunny (any much warmer) Porto Montenegro, we decided to take the faster route on the newly constructed motorway since we planned to stop in the capital city, Podgorica, to do some shopping for supplies we have a hard time getting in Tivat. It had been a great trip away from the port.

Other events in February:

Earlier in February on a gorgeous, warm sunny day, Neil, Geoff, Elise and I met up to hike to the "abandoned church" that many others had told us about. Since we did not want to miss out on this experience, we decided to give it a go. Little did I realize how out of shape I had become after sitting around on the boat since the beginning of November. Gone were the days of hiking up steep cliffs to see the sights when on tour around Turkey and Greece! Neil and Geoff quickly left Elise and I behind. Thankfully, she chattered away as we walked so that I could forget about the agony in my legs and the sorry state of my fitness level! After about an hour of climbing, we made it to the top and were rewarded with beautiful views of Tivat Bay and the Adriatic Sea beyond. 

Overlooking Porto Montenegro

The abandoned church

 

Bay of Tivat

                     

Geoff and Elise

Time in February was also spent with friends at our weekly darts night and curry night, along with Ladies Lunch every Friday. Gina and I braved rain storms to go to yoga at the fitness centre. We were making new lifelong friends with our shared experiences while living in the marina in Porto Montenegro.

Valentine's Day in Tivat

Some of the regulars at Curry Night

front: Piia

left from front to back: Al, Geoff, Alison, Neil

right from front to back: Eric, Vandy, Elise, Randall, me and Jim

Braving the rain with Gina to go to early morning yoga

After the rain

One of the brave cats up high in Montenegro...

... and another

Former Yugoslav submarine in the marina