After picking up my bike from the bike shop in Dubrovnik, I set off for Montenegro. Leaving Dubrovnik is a leg-breaker with a lot of traffic. In a quieter area I spotted a pheasant that was running away from me and my looks.
The tyre lost a little air but the sealant did its job. A short while later I had to climb back up to the border with Montenegro, which was quite easy to cross.
After the border a long descent to the coast. I stopped in Herceg Novi and I was a bit disappointed, maybe I passed too quickly. I did buy a Telekom SIM card that would be useful in Albania and North Macedonia as well. The price was 10€ for 15 days and 500 GB, a figure that is impossible to reach even with 3 parallel lives.
Then I continued along the coast to Kamenari to take the ferry across the bay of Kotor. In winter only locals cross, so they let me on without paying.
I had to push the pedals harder as the area of the bay where I was sleeping was shady due to the surrounding mountains and it was already very cold at 5 pm. Luckily, I found a room at a very good price.
The next day I had another long stage crossing the whole of Montenegro along the coast and with a lot of elevation gain. Early in the morning I left for Kotor and visited the city, which is quite beautiful.
The cathedral with the imposing mountains in the background makes quite an impact and I highly recommend visiting the city even though it’s quite touristy.
Leaving Kotor it was quite a climb but luckily it was relatively smooth and steady. Besides, the views were spectacular every time I turned my head.
The climb ended in a small village from where the famous Kotor serpentine begins, which I didn’t do, because with so much weight it would have been a bad idea. The views of the bay are incredible and reminiscent of some Swiss lakes. At the top of the climb I came across a flock of sheep resting in the shade, including the newborns.
Then a beautiful descent followed by a climb under a blazing sun to reach the town of Budva. I walked around the old town which is walled and can be visited in an hour at most. It’s beautiful but compared to others I’ve seen in Croatia I was a bit disappointed.
On the way to Bar there are many apartment areas, some of which are quite curious.
Other sections have a bit more charm, especially this one with its peculiar stratified rock formations.
Continuing on to Bar, the most remarkable thing is the island of Sveti Stefan, which I was told is private and you have to pay to access it, although I didn’t check it first hand.
After a day with many climbs and quite steep slopes I managed to reach the city of Bar where I was welcomed by Igor and Oxana and their dog Chucky. He is Russian and she is Ukrainian.
They treated me great from the beginning even though there was a language barrier, but Igor spoke English and Oxana spoke Italian, so we all understood each other. They, like so many other people, have left Russia because of the war. They knew each other before the war and lived together in Moscow, from where they took the car and went first to Albania and now Montenegro. Their goal is to get to Spain, but the truth is that it isn’t easy for people fleeing the war, especially for the Russians. I hope they make it and can rebuild their lives because they deserve it.
We shared a lot of music and I had a great time. The next day we took a selfie before continuing on to Albania.
It was time to cross the border into an unknown country that I was eager to discover. I decided to treat myself to a good pizza before crossing into Albania.
I only spent 2 full days in Montenegro and I really enjoyed the scenery. I would have liked to discover the northern mountains, but it was too cold. I will come back in the future to learn more about the history of the country, as I wanted to. It’s quite overcrowded and that takes away some of the charm. Too many flats and second homes for my taste, but it’s worth discovering!
