Durmitor

aug 25

this morning we walked to the Black lake in the Durmitor park. wooden cabins and chalets lined the initial part of our trek to the lake. Zabljak is indeed a very pretty ski town. Being early in the morning and out of the central part of town, the air was crisp and the outskirts were quiet. We got peeks of bobotov kuk, montenegro highest peak on the way to the lake. the views of the mountains were great but not spectacular. Was a bit disappointed as I've expected Montenegro to be more stunning. The lake was turquoise and it had an 8 shape. The trek around it was gentle, mostly flat with a few ups and downs. the water was cool to the touch, murky by the shores but deep blue and clear at the center. lunch was provided by a local family in the Podgora village, veggie soup, 2 types of local cheese, goat and cow, tender lamb, yellow potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad and local apple pie for dessert, washed down with domestic pomegranate juice (too watered down), all traditional montenegrin mountain food. The Podgora village was tiny and looked deserted but the view of the mountains all around gave us the feel of 'the hills are alive...'. We stopped at the Tara bridge over the tara river canyon. The bridge was very narrow and there were ziplines on both sides of the bridge and river rafting (only a level 2). Hit all the souvenir shops that were by the bridge but found nothing to my liking. Still hunting for the illusive montenegro fridge magnet. so far havent seen one I like. In fact, the only souvenir I liked was an orange cup showing different montenegrin cities, purchased in the kotor old town. Didnt want to do the lousy buffet again and not being hungry, decided to forego dinner and just stayed in my room to read 'I am number four' series last book 'united as one'. So far it's slow but building up for the dramatic end. Snowie still on the window sill looking out at the montenegrin mountains in the Zabljak night.


aug 26

today was the day that proved montenegro a gorgeous mountainous country. we drove through the durmitor interior with impressive limestone peaks, chasms, valleys, got a peek at triangular Bobotov Kuk, the highest peak in Montenegro, past small settlements with sheep grazing while imperial eagles soared above, drove past a sheer vertical rock face with horizontal strata, erratic boulders with "karst erosion so tortured that one can almost feel the stone writhing and moaning". then winded down in and out of tunnels along the piva lake to the piva gorge with the stunning blue river, now on the left, and now on my right. I was mesmerized by the views. They reminded me of the rides in and out of mountain tunnels in Austria. this drive was one of the most scenic I've ever had although the day was smoky due to the forest fires. we stopped at the Modra rijeka rafting campsite where they offered alpine wooden cabins of different sizes (the hippo would love to stay there) and walked down to the piva river with crystal clear water running smoothly downstream. we crossed the old suspension bridge which connected the 2 river banks, bosnia on the other side. after lunch, we crossed the border at Šćepan polje into bosnia, and drove the rest of the way to sarajevo.

Durmitor photos:


Podgora photos: