Montenegro heights

We are off from Ostrog before 7:00, with no other breakfast than just a coffee and a hot chocolate from the vending machine. Good news: the tough climb to the Monastry has turned into a wonderful descent (is that the miracle?).

The road next hugs huge limestone cliffs on one side, climbing gently towards a horizon of higher mountains. There is nothing better than a great view on an empty stomach. Finally, we arrive in the wide upper valley of the Zeta river. A superb bridge, a gift of the Russian emperor Nicolas II to Montenegro, will finally allow us to sit for breakfast in the sun.

Now begins another world. On a little country road, we are in the bush, uphill as most of the time. We meet groups of hunters, the occasional tractor, very old and stinky cars. As we get higher, the views open until we arrive on a high steppe, with some fields of potatoes, windmills, but mostly wide expanses of grass and rocks. Here be goats and sheep. They think we need a rest from pedalling and tangle nicely with us, bringing everything to a complete stop. The shepherdess, classic with scarf, a long black skirt and a stick, comes to the rescue with her big white dog.

After the pass around 1500m, we discover, in the far distance, a landscape of deep gorges and high bare peaks, the Durmitor mountains. Our foreseen accommodation in Šavnik is closed. With no alternative, Alain asks at the grocery shop, where only Montenegrin is spoken, and gets the name of a campsite written on an old receipt. After 200m of climb too many, we have a wonderful meadow for ourselves, a cold-cold shower (also only for ourselves!), and ice on the tent in the morning. This is cycle touring at its best.Read more