Boat Trip!


One of the most lush adventures I had this summer was a boat trip I took with Emil, Youlia, Martin, Ivan, and a host of other Russian hedonists. The beautiful Montenegrin coast, the jubilant company, and a spectacular sunset made this excursion a definite summertime highlight.

Of course, like all good things, the trip did not start off very well. Originally, we set sail on Martin's catamaran sailboat. A very cool ship, piloted by a very cool guy. Unfortunately, the trip didn't last long. After about an hour we had to stop, as one of the propellers had spun off! A little impromptu scuba diving turned up nothing, so we had to turn around and putter back to port. Bummer.


The boat that did not sail


The view from Martin's boat, just before the propeller flew off.

we spent that night at Ivan's apartment. Now, at this point, I was ready to give up and turn tail and go home, because Ivan lives - and I kid you not - in perhaps the dirtiest hovel of a home I have ever experienced. Pictures cannot do justice to the reek. We tried to cook dinner, but found we were lacking in basics like knives, salt, oil, etc. (I had to use an overturned utensil drawer as a cutting board.) Well, nothing a little well-deserved wine couldn't fix. After a night "sleeping" on the floor, my towel draped about me, we set off to rent a boat the following morning.




I took a little swim while Emil looked for a boat, to check out the view! ;)

It took a little doing, but Emil finally located a very nice boat with a nice crew to take us out around the coast until sunset. (Thank you Emil!) At first I was feeling a bit shy as everyone was speaking Russian. But, as the alcohol began to flow and the spirits were raised high, we were all laughing and swimming and acting like a bunch of goofballs together.


The boat!









We may have been partying a bit too heavily. One girl started behaving very risque. She would always stumble before my camera and pose for my pics!

Eventually, the captain of the baot got in on the action too :p


One girl had to get off the boat, she was feeling so ill. That caused a bit of chaos as we sailed to the jetty in Petrovac, a big tourist center where people were fishing and dining and swimming.



Once the craziness had subsided (or at least became steady) we were able to enjoy the climax of our trip: a spectacular sunset. Again, pictures cannot do justice to the vision of that gorgeous orange bloom sinking gently into the azure sea and the boat's own frothing wake.







As dusk shadowed the sky we returned to port, exhilerated and exhausted from our wonderful boat trip.

River Rafting

One of the last adventures I took with Angel while she was here this summer was a river rafting excursion up in the northwest of Montenegro. (Actually, the rafting starts in the "no man's land" between Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina!) The drive up there, along the Tara River Canyon, was perhaps the highlight of the journey. The terrain around us was beautiful: towering verdant cliffs around the azure ribbon of river twining in the canyon below. It was also surprisingly cool and misty for the summer, which gave everything the edge of fantasy.








Although the river rafting istelf was not particularly exciting (no really big rapids to speak of) it was nevertheless an aesthetically rewarding experience. I didn't take my camera with me on the raft, but if you can imagine being in the bottom of the canyon looking up, observing the towering cliffs glide gently by as we rowed and drank beers in turns, you might be able to imagine the experience.







On the return trip we passed through roads taht went through labyrinths of tunnels carved directly into the cliffsides of the mountains around us. Afterwards, we stopped at a famous church set into the side of a mountain, a very popular pilgrimage destination in Montenegro.





All in all, though the whitewater rafting itself was not terribly exhilarating, the excursion itself was one to remember and a welcome break from the hedonistic beach life of the rest of the summer.

Return to Rijeka Crnojevica



As difficult as the name is to pronounce, I couldn't stay away long from this locale of tranquil beauty. This time, together with visiting friend Angel, Youlia, and Emil, we hired a puttering motorboat to take us down the winding river and between the looming verdant mountains. It was a relaxing and sublime experience for all.









Despite the awesome beauty of the place, though, I believe the aesthetics of the area were eclipsed by the beauty of our companion Youlia. Thank you, Youlia, for gracing my summer with your exquisite presence!

Lovcen



Lovcen serves, not only as the highest peak in Montenegro, but also as a tomb to ... okay, must show my dumb-foreigner colors here, but I'm not really sure to whom. Someone really special to the Montenegrins, though, apparently. The tomb sits within a large, statue-guarded structure complete with eternal flame, statue of a man with an eagle on him, and about 200 knee-busting steps. So, whoever this Montenegrin Ozymandus was, somebody put a lot of work into boxing up his corpse.



Regardless of the lack of historical context, however, I found the trip to Lovcen be quite exhilarating. I went together with my visiting Moldovan friend Angela, Emil and Julia, and two new friends Martin (from Sierra Leone) and Ivan (from Russia).



The drive there, through the mountains and farms of rural Montenegro, offered great views, serene mountain climes, and the opportunity to buy homemade cheese, smoked ham, and honey wine. The views from the top of the tomb, however, were the "highpoint" of the trip. You could see all the way from Skadar Lake to the Adriatic Sea.








Driving down, we descended along a steep, windy road to Kotor, thus offering unparalleled views of Kotor Bay. All in all, a magnificent experience, and a great escape from the heat of Montenegro's summer.