Four recent events have become so interesting and eye opening that I felt I must write about them. The first is a fabulous tour I did with my American friend, Becca! We met in Kotor and over coffees, dinners, lunches and lots of walking, became fast friends! Becca is fun and just wonderful not to mention pretty and intelligent ! (She lives in Spain). So we decided to do a tour. Over the mountains to a Mausoleum of great pride to the Montenegrinis, breakfast, tour of the old Royal Capital – Centinje, then onto Skadar Lake, late lunch, boat ride…all excellent.
The mountains of Montenegro are stunning, no matter where you are. Just overwhelmingly beautiful. In fact, the country is mostly mountains! From the Mausoleum of Njegos that is interring Peter II Petrovic-Njegos located on the top of Mount Lovcen. The Mausoleum was built in 1974 and is quite amazing. The views are simply beyond belief. Peter II was a beloved ‘Prince Bishop’ of Montenegro. Driving up and over numerous mountains…is a feat not for the faint of heart. Somehow there are never enough guard rails for me! But we had a good driver and a very knowledgable tour guide – so the tour was off to a great start. We toured the ‘old royal capital’ Centinje. Numerous old empty embassies are there and a Presidential Palace as the capitol of Montenegro is now in Podgorica. A long street hosting restaurants and shops is there and the trees that create a beautiful canopy border of the street (both sides) is something to behold.
From Centinje, onto Skadar Lake and a late lunch. Followed by a quiet and very enjoyable cruise on the lake. With some sampling of local wines and the national drink, ‘Rakija’, a ferocious powerful brandy that is served ‘neat’! No ice, no added liquors, and a high (150%) alcohol content. Yes, a small taste…yikes! A small choke on the severity of the strength of this stuff…do they really drink it by the shot glass? Way too much…but I digress, the many birds on Lake Skadar, (over 280) is amazing. We saw a few and they were lovely as is the lake. After lunch, heading home through numerous mountains…no I did not like it and the rain was overwhelming! But we made it and it is a great tour. The history of the invaders of Montenegro is amazing and worth this tour.
On the mountains are wild goats, donkeys and wolves. Only 250 wolves though. And rarely seen by the natives or campers. Lots of backpacking going on in this country. Hostels everywhere. I saw a couple young kids sleeping on the beach but I doubt that they were left undisturbed, the police are evident here. Kotor is definitely a tourist city and I think the best place in Montenegro. Shhhhhh.
Next was my birthday week. Pondering the meaning of life, love and adventure…I managed to hit those three areas heavily! The morning of my tour, very early, I walked into a large piazza in Old Town and sitting in the middle were 2 tiny puppies. Few folks were there and they were taking photos – ‘not their puppies’ they said. Someone dumped them there. A local waiter said he would call a woman nearby who does rescuing and ensure the puppies would be okay. I thanked him and departed. My Tour time was shortly beginning, I had to go.
And then the puppies…next day and the next, they were missing. Apparently the ‘rescue woman’ failed to get them. A Facebook page was blowing up on where are they? Since I was staying in Old Town, I offered to look, search for them…they were gone. Picked up by the local dog shelter. So I called there, then went to see them. Scared precious babies. I adopted them and then another rescue couple offered to drive me and the puppies to an animal sanctuary an hour or more away on the outskirts of Podgorica! Yes! We did it on my birthday and it was a very cool present to myself!!!!
Then on Sunday I took a walk by the bay. Boka Bay in Kotor which is stunning…walking past a local (and very old) fisherman I had seen many days in the bay – but now he had caught an eel. A large black eel. At least 3 1/2 feet+ long and a body circumference of at least 7-8 inches. Clearly a big eel! I gave it a quick glance in its wire cage. As I walked on I realized this eel must be an adult of some older age to it. Was it a Moray eel? Did it bite? What was it doing in the bay where I had been swimming????? Yikes. Info needed.
I should have bought the eel from him when I walked by, but didn’t think of it til I was 1/2 mile away…on my return, the eel is now wrapped in a wet tarp. I offered to buy it, how much? 40 euros. Stiff price but okay ONLY if it was alive. I planned to have it released back into the bay. It wasn’t moving, oh no. He rolled it on its back, light thump on his belly…no movement. Then he carried the eel in the tarp to the water – no movement. My heart sunk but when he pushed it into a bit more water, covering its body…it moved. Pushed out even further into deeper water…it took off! It was a good day. Will he catch it again? Hoping the eel left for good. Would he have gotten that much from a restaurant for the eel? Doubt it, but he makes his living/life by catching what he can and selling it everyday so if that one day, he did really well on the money, good. That makes me happy too. No I am not special or a do gooder, etc…just doing what I can when the opportunity presents itself. Humans make the decisions for animals…and many are deadly decisions. So the eel lived a bit longer or maybe a lot longer. I think it is a species from the Moray eel family. Yikes…never swimming in that bay again!!!!
A lovely friend asked me out for a gelato or drinks or both somewhere very very special…of course I said yes!! Up the mountains to a very private gated development called Lustica Bay. Okay I’ve been to some pretty ‘swanky’ places in America and overseas…but this place may take the cake!! Apparently built by the ‘Saudis’ in the last few years…just a huge wow. The yachts anchored in the marina there are so huge. One right after another…I was dumbfounded. The place is unadulterated luxury. High end shopping, restaurants, golfing and the marina! The condominiums look stunning. Every detail was carefully thought out and even more carefully installed, from lighting to decor. If you come to Montenegro, try to see it. Worth the short trip from Kotor. Clearly the builders had a huge wallet.
Is Montenegro worth a visit? Yes. The mountains are stunning. Having visited 7 of the largest cities and towns, Kotor gets my vote for the best!
