Iljegošev Park

Today I rode from Dubrovnik (Croatia) to Podgorica (Montenegro). In the morning I said my goodbyes to Tess, Emily, and our hosts Danny and Don. Would love to see them all again at some point. Then rode back into the old town to look around Fort Lovrijenac - 15 euros was a bit much for the trip. Should have gone yesterday when it would have been included on the Dubrovnik pass. Oh well.

After that returned to the hostel, packed and set off. Only 120 km to Podgorica but the estimated journey time according the various sat nav apps I use was about 3 hours. So averaging 40kph. Twisty roads were anticipated! Good times.

After about half an hour I crossed the border into Montenegro. Had to show my passport and bike docs which I was not expecting, having gotten so used to the ease of crossing borders in the EU. Damn Brexit.

Anyway, about an hour later I was surprised to find myself at another border post. I wasn't expecting this. I actually thought it was a toll road, so the customs officer looked at my like I was an idiot when he asked for my passport. It turns out my satnav had taken me through Bosnia and then into Montenegro. I had no idea. It might be a good idea if the developers you know told you when you were entering a new country and even told you what country that was. To be fair to the developers, they didn't seem that keen on advertising it at the border either. No "Welcome to Bosnia" or even, "You are now entering Bosnia, but you are not really that welcome. We will however put up with you because you bring tourist money". Just a barrier and customs post. Basic stuff really. Anyway, I was now in Montenegro. The first 80-90 km of the journey was in stifling hot sun but as I neared my destination I could see a mountain on my right and a valley on my leftt and a curtain of cloud/rain across the whole vista that I was approaching and had to ride through. No avoiding it. Then there was the lightning. Then there was the thunder. Then there was the rain which felt like bullets on my jacket it was so heavy. Got stuck behind a car doing maybe 30 kph and was happy to follow it as couldn't see well enough to safely do an overtake. Big, big puddles. Lake sized puddles. Then arrived into Podgorica. Big sigh of relief. Check into hostel. Private room. Lie on bed for rest of evening and watch netflix. Heaven.Les mer