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The BalkansThe Balkans
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The Balkans

Julai - Ogos 2023
  • Jarrod Dietz
Pengembaraan 47hari oleh Jarrod Baca lagi
  • Jarrod Dietz

Senarai negara

  • Slovenia Slovenia
  • Greece Greece
  • Albania Albania
  • Montenegro Montenegro
  • Bosnia dan Herzegovina Bosnia dan Herzegovina
  • Croatia Croatia
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  • 4.4rbkilometer perjalanan
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  • Penerbangan1,462kilometer
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  • 46footprint
  • 47hari
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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    The Ice Cave

    25 Julai 2023, Montenegro ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Today was the 25km loop to the ice cave and around the valley that is shadowed by Bobotovs Peak, which we completed a couple of days ago. I once again woke up quite sore but was ready for the challenge. Once again, during our induction, Alex dropped some information that would have been nice to know sooner. Namely that the elevation gain during this hike is greater than that of Bobotovs Peak (1km vs 600m) because we actually leave from Zabljak rather than being ferried by bus. He assured us that it is much more gradual because the horizontal distance is significantly greater than that of the Peak. I had no choice but to believe him and ready to head off. This time, we had a crew of 11, 9 of which were Aussies. This was great. The last two hikes I did were either on my own or just with Zara. Having a big group meant that we could chat away to forget about the struggles ahead. We headed toward the start of the loop, and it didn't take long until we were taking in some deep breaths. Because we were a big group, though, we took regular breaks to ensure we didn't leave anyone behind. The first pit stop was the Sheppard's den. The journey here was quite difficult, but the next stage was going to be the most intense since Bobotovs Peak. We had a quick snack and began the steep uphill. The 6th photo shows a pretty good idea of the path we had to take. It was quite brutal for a good hour, but eventually did die off slightly but was still uphill pretty much all the way to the ice cave.

    When we arrived, the ice cave itself was daunting, to say the least. You look down a very steep drop to the beginning of some ice that then continues until the bottom of the cave. You then use a rope to shimmy between the walls and the ice to get closer to the bottom where you can stand. You then run out of rope and have to try and crawl down to the bottom. This generally just turns into a slide. We were obviously quite hot from the many hours of walking, but the ice was freezing (obviously), and our hands were numb from the journey down. We chilled (literally) down here for a while, enjoying the strange environment that we were in. Getting out was the hardest as you had to crawl back up the ice to get back to the rope, but it was slippery, and we had no gear suitable for the task. With numb hands, you once again had to pull yourself between the ice and the walls to escape. It was a really interesting place and a good way to mark the halfway point of the trek. Although I say halfway, the second part (by distance) was mostly a steady downhill, and so it went much quicker and easier. We were incredibly thankful that there was no more uphill because after 3 days of that shit, I was done.

    We eventually made it back to the Black Lake, where we could once again cool down. The water was lifesaving and such a nice way to end the journey. We could not justify putting our shoes and socks back on as they were obviously quite gross by this point. So in classic Aussie fashion, we all walked barefoot for the next 3km back to the hostel. As we were done with the walking for a while, we stopped off to grab some drinks and celebrate. That bring said, the hostel is not a party hostel and is normally quite keen for everyone to be asleep by 11 as many people still had hikes the next day and needed sleep. But it was still a nice night having a few drinks with everyone.    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Ulcinj

    26 Julai 2023, Montenegro ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    I had grown quite close with all of the people at the hostel in the few days I was there, but it was time to say goodbye. Unfortunately, most people were heading north toward Croatia, and I was heading south toward Albania. This meant we likely wouldn't cross paths again, but some were still heading south with me, so hopefully, we can link up with them. The benefit of this is that I got many, many recommendations for places to go and see while in Albania and so I'm sure I am doing the very best when I'm there. After gathering all our shit and getting ready to leave, we said our goodbyes, shared instagrams and headed off. Connor, a guy from Canada, was coming to Ulcinj as well, but I had booked myself a private hotel for a couple of nights to rest after a big few days and relax. Nonetheless, I said if he is doing anything to let me know, and we will see where my energy levels are at. After about 5 hours on a bus, we arrived and walked toward our accommodations before parting ways.

    I eventually found my hotel (once again at the top of a hill) and dropped all my stuff off before going on the hunt for some food. As these next two days are about recovery, I splashed and got a lot of food to help. I got some snacks and some noodles from the shops, as well as pasta and a pizza dish from a restaurant. This should last me a couple of days of good eating. Don't expect much from the next few entries as Ulcinj was my resting location.    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Private Hotel

    27 Julai 2023, Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    This was my only full day in a private accommodation, and I did less than nothing the whole day. I had planned to organise my trip as best I could, but even this was barely achieved. I had a huge sleep in to start the day, then the most productive I was included calling the parents and chatting to them. After this, I simply continued to stuff myself with food and have a nap. I awoke, ate again, and fell asleep. Although this sounds like I wasted a day, it was exactly what i had planned to do. I did not complain about sitting on my balcony, eating food, and watching the sun set over the old town and the beach of Ulcinj.Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Pirate Hostel

    28 Julai 2023, Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today marked the end of the private accommodation, which was sad, but I had heard great things about the pirate hostel and Coco in particular. Coco is the owner and truly a one of a kind character. Built to be a hostel owner, he is incredibly social and hyperactive with a superpower memory. Firstly, I had to check out of my current accommodation, but I was making a habit of not making it in time. So I messaged the owner, and he said I could stay until 1 if needed. In a good representation of my energy levels at the time, I was even late for the 1pm checkout. Nonetheless, it was time to get back to reality as life as a backpacker and head to the hostel.

    I caught up with Lewis, one of the Aussie guys I met in Zabljak, and met some other people in the hostel. They were having some drinks at the hostel, and I happily joined to meet everyone. They host beach tours every day as well as boat tours. So, as people arrived back from them, the drunkenness continued to escalate. Although they all hit the town, I still felt like I was recovering from the hiking (and may have been distracted by a female), so I left it for a night. I was sure to make up for it over the next couple of nights, however. Nonetheless, it was a great first night in the hostel.

    Once again, nothing particularly exciting happened, so I do not have many photos. A common theme at this hostel (I was lazy and didn't do much sightseeing).    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Boat Tour

    29 Julai 2023, Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today, I jumped on one of the boat tours organised by the hostel for 20 euros. Unfortunately, it was difficult to take pictures, so I am once again lacking in this department. As such, I will have to do my best to try and describe the experiences I had to the best of my ability. We started off by getting some beers and some snacks to keep us going through the day and headed to the dock. The starting location was a blue cave. Similar to the one I had seen in Croatia, this was a natural phenomenon in which clear water, sunlight, and a perfectly shaped cave structure turn the inside into a bright blue. This one, however, required us to swim inside rather than a boat, so I couldn't take any pictures. But this added to the experience as getting to swim in the water was really cool. Because it was so dark in the cave, you were unable to see the upperhalf of a person's body, yet the part below the water would be effected by the sunlit water and so would almost glow in comparison to their body. This was a unique experience, having to identify a person by the bottom half of themselves because their top half was completely black. After this, we were provided with an authentic montenegran breakfast, a shot of raki, and a cigarette. Most, myself included, simply took the shot.

    The next stop was a little beach that you have to be boated to in order to access. This was used for a lunchtime break and another beer. The heat continues to be brutal through Europe, so most of our time was spent in the water or crowding into the little bit of shade. We spent a good hour or so here before heading off to the final location.

    The final stop was a rock jump and a lighthouse. The first rock jump was 3m, but Lewis and I tried our luck at diving head first to add to the experience a bit. This made it far more exciting. The tour guide tried to get us to do it off of the 7m jump, but I wasn't that game. Although i call it a rock jump, it was a man-made concrete structure for boats to dock in the old days, so it seemed less scary as a result. After that, we explored a lighthouse that existed near the jump, and this was interesting as it appeared to have quite a bit of historical artefacts throughout, seeming almost like a museum. This was the end of the boat tour. It turns out I have actually zero photos from my phone, so I apologize that I have nothing to share, but I must have been having too much fun.

    I do, however, have photos of the night out we had that night, so just to include something, I will add those. Most don't make sense and don't remember taking it, but you can enjoy anyway. The only noteworthy thing to occur on this night was Lewis getting roped into jumping on a merry-go-round with a bunch of kids. They then proceeded to spin the thing so fast that the only way he could get them to stop was by playing a game called "helicopter." Despite the children being unaware of the rules, he proceeded to stick his leg out (the intention being that the kids have to jump over his leg). The kids quickly learnt as one of the poor children got flattened after his legs got taken out from beneath him. Only to be hit with salt in his wounds as eventually, Lewis' leg came back around for round 2, proceeding to kick the child in his ass before he understood the situation at hand and evacuated. The kids are clearly tough as nails here in Albania (makes sense as they are out on their own at 2am) because the kid proceeded to stand up and continue to play the game Lewis initiated.    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Nothing Day

    30 Julai 2023, Montenegro

    Today was just a throw away day as I recovered from the night before. Nothing really occurred during the day apart from the UFC and some Formula one that occurred on the Sunday. This ended up being the perfect way to recover. However, it does need to be mentioned that it got in the way of me being even slightly productive. There is a lake about 6km from the hostel that hosts many, many flamingos that I really wanted to see, but I got roped into sport instead. Then, as we drank watching the sport, we eventually became too drunk to be bothered to head to the national park and instead just continued to drink. Im not too fussed as i should see flamingos in africa, but it would have been cool to see in Montenegro as well.

    Today was my last night at Pirates, and although everyone was drinking, the nightlife in Ulcinj was pretty average, so most figured to stay in instead of hit town. There were raves that apparently occurred at the beaches, but they were quite far away, and I wasn't all that interested. This ended up being great regardless. The hostel had a great vibe, and the people were awesome, so it was cool to just sit around and chat. We had some drinks at the hostel, but this is as much as really occurred throughout the whole day. Once again, the photos I have reflect an equally boring or uneventful day.

    The only photo includes Tony, my favourite cat ever.    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Shkoder

    31 Julai 2023, Albania ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    After quite some time, I finally managed to leave Montenegro. I had only planned to stay one week, but 17 days later, I was still there. I had considered skipping Albania, but everyone I spoke to consider that sacrilege. As such, I will have to cut down time in other parts of my trip. This will likely end up being the French Riviera. The reason I made this decision is that Albania is cheaper, less busy, but with equally nice beaches, so I think I can rush through the south of France without feeling too hard done by.

    I headed straight from the Pirate hostel to Shkoder via a transfer organised by the hostel. It was little more than a van, but it got the job done, and within an hour, we had arrived in Shkoder. Shkoder is a cute little town near a lake, and I planned to spend most of time chilling out waiting for Lewis and Erin to arrive so we could complete the hike through a valley from Valbone to Theth.

    I dropped my stuff off in the hostel and began to wander through the streets of Shkoder to see what Albania had to offer. I met up with a couple of the other people from Pirates hostel that were in the transfer bus with us for a beer and continued to wander. It is very cute with lots of people selling items and knick-knacks on the streets. Mostly targeted at tourists, they sell cool Albanian items. I was tempted to buy some, but it doesn't look like the most high-quality stuff. Similar to the rest of the Balkans, it has an atmosphere that makes it feel like a small town regardless of where you are. Everyone seems to know each other and look after one another. Makes it an interesting place to wander through. They look after tourists and the locals alike. One of the first things I saw, however, was a man being pulled over (it should be worth mentioning that no other road rules seem to apply in Albania) because he had a monkey sitting on his rear view mirror as he drove. I couldn't determine much from the interaction, but the police officer seemed only interesting in meeting the little monkey and giving him a pat. This encapsulates Albania well, to be honest. I then got a feed in the main strip of Albania, and headed home to relax and get a good sleep.    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Waiting

    1 Ogos 2023, Albania ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Because I had left Montenegro a couple of days before the people I planned to do the Valbona to Theth hike, I was forced to spend a couple more days in Shkoder than I would have liked. So I was killing time around the main part of town and just eating while I wandered. The most exciting thing was the mosque that resides very close to the mains strip. A part from this I just ate and had a few drinks to let time pass.

    Even after all this time travelling, I still don't always check the hostels with much detail before booking. As a result, the hostel I booked doesn't have aircon and is blisteringly hot in Montenegro at the moment. It is, however, quite cool, with a pool table and a bar. Hopefully, I get to utilise these facilities and still get sine decent sleep despite the heat.

    The logs for the past couple of days have been quite boring, but they will get exciting soon as soon we begin the hike and the road trip. Stay posted.    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Hike planning

    2 Ogos 2023, Albania ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today, I met up with Erin in the morning to begin to organise our hike for the next day. The wanderers' hostel is normally where people who are backpackers go to complete the hike, but it was fully booked out when we wanted to go. So, instead, we found a shitty hostel down the road and simply paid a bit extra to go along with the wanderers. We had a bunch of mates doing it through them, and so we wanted to join them. It is also a cheaper option for the hike than the other places we looked at because it caters toward backpackers. A part from this we essentially just wandered through the town of Shkoder, venturing outside the main strip - which is basically all that I had explored the day prior. It turns out Mother Teresa is from Albania, so we looked at a few monuments to her and hit the town for some drinks. As we headed for some drinks, we ran into Lewis. Lewis has been without a phone for some time, and so running into him was just pure coincidence, but it worked out well. After this, we headed home for the night to sleep well before a big couple of days ahead.

    Shkoder is a beautiful place, but we didn't do the main attraction, which is Lake Shkoder. The reason for this is simply because of money. Hiring bikes wasn't as cheap as we expected, and I had to come down quite hard in my budget. To be fair, walking through shkoder was enough either way. It was a cool little town and was a food reflection of what Albania had to offer. I had expected to have sold my car before I left, and I hadn't quite accounted for that so far in my trip, so it's time to be a bit frugal with my money.    Baca lagi

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  • Jarrod DietzPengembaraThe Balkans

    Komani Lake Ferry

    3 Ogos 2023, Albania ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We had paid 105 euro each for the 2 days in which is spent doing the hike (1 day of transport), but by the time we had finished the ferry on our way to Valbone, we already felt as though we got out moneys worth. We spent about an hour and a half meandering down the Shala river. The enourmas mountains and crystal clear water made this such a beautiful experience. The landscape appeared to change multiple times from green forests and hills rolling into the water, whereas other times, it was sheer rock cliffs that fell straight into the river. In these instances, it felt as though you would squeeze through enourmas cliff faces. We entertained ourselves with beers and estimating the size of each cliff face, in case the views weren't enough on their own. After all this, we arrived in Valbone to a flurry of buses that transferred us to our accommodation. We stayed at a guesthouse that was your typical cheap ski resort. We were right along a slow flowing river, but given the altitude we were at, the water was freezing cold. Our estimations skills were once again brought into question, and we figured it lay around 5 degrees Celsius. You would have to walk in, which made it all the worse as your legs and feet would be numb before your body could even find water deep enough to submerge itself. A quick dip was plenty for me, as I then enjoyed the much less harsh sun that hit us in the mountains. After this, we played a bit of volleyball and got close with a bunch of the people on the hike. Although still mostly Australians, the proportions have dropped significantly compared to the rest of the balkans. Whereas Australians are used to representing about 70% of any group of people in this part of the world, in this instance, we may have only been about 40%. We had a few Canadians, some Irish people, a couple from the US, and a few other people scattered across Europe. This was a nice change from the usual. Eventually, we had dinner made for us to prepare for a big hike. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly big, and we had barely eaten that day, but it was enough to get by. To make things worse, it was a free for all to make lunches for the next day, and I and some of the guys chose to wait for it to die down a bit. This meant that we got the scraps for lunch the next day, but I'm not a massive eater, so it was enough. After this, we essentially just got ready for bed as we would be up at 5 am. to complete the hike. Although it was only about 7 hours of hiking, the earlier you start, the less of the direct sunlight you have to deal with during the steep incline at the beginning. Plus we were keen to have some celebratory drinks when we arrived in Theth.Baca lagi

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