Montenegro here we come, ready or not..... arriving here on 10th May 2016

Ok so after all the regrets of losing photo's and my mind while travelling through Albania has now been digested, lets move on.....

While winding our way down the absolutely stunning mountain passes I could only thank God we never needed to reverse our journey. I'm quite convinced the Old Lady (OL) would never have made it. A memory which remains distinct in my mind was negotiating  those many hair pin bends while trying not to miss absorbing any of the surrounding countryside. If we were to retrace our steps in the future I'm absolutely convinced it would be as if seeing it for the 1st time. So much to see and so many experience's along the way.

Another clear memory was us filling our water tanks with spring water, but this time being parked over the road from a fancy Hotel nestled high in the mountains. Meanwhile and all this time those tourists dining at the Hotel restaurant were discussing the madness taking place in front of them.

ULCINJ
Our first stop in Montenegro. This lovely hamlet of a place become our home for the night. Having arrived about 3 pm in the afternoon we parked (OL) below the Old town within the free Harbour parking and went about our tourist endeavours. After extensive walkabouts it became apparent that daylight was fading and that indeed we had become extremely fond of this location. Having surveyed the area in the day, we now wished to absorb the views and atmosphere again at night so after making a quick decision we setteld in fro the evening / night. What a wonderful experience it was ..

Ulcinj`s Old town is a lot like many other medieval towns on the Montenegrin Coast. It is encircled by big stonewalls and fortresses, which for centuries have been the keepers of the Ulcin`s: history, culture, and tradition. 
Up to the year 1900 a total of 100 black people lived there. The arrivals of the slaves from the Med had a huge impact that even today the main square carries a Slave name.  Funny enough, this was only a pirate asylum at the time.

The following day and having by this time worked out that although we wished to check out the "not so old town" , it too had its up and downs. So instead of unhitching the Bicycles we would alight early and view the town by driving through it.


He, he,  this was not to be as it had its enticing magnets drawing us in. Luckily we found a small but suitable parking and went about our business of perusing the buildings and alleyways, getting happily lost for hours.

Yep, and as we soon discovered, most of these romantic and otherwise enticing towns / villages had their spacious and their narrow roads.

Not only this but one should never assume that those roads in, are equal to those leading out. Another thing to remember is that wonderful mountain type rustic villages never conform to any norms. They in fact almost always incorporate sharp hairpin turns while having ridiculous road signs adhered strategically just above normal eye-view.  Not only this but to top it all, those damned residents take pride in parking within these restrictive angled streets. The mission I'm convinced relates to their need for extra excitement at the expense of those big spender tourists. ( Not us mind you). Needless to say I managed to attach myself to one of these signs and only then did the driver appear to move the offending car.

Here were the local gentry eagerly taking photographs while discussing ways of fleecing the unfortunate. ( I must have been imagining it, as although many pic's were taken we were allowed to leave without much fuss.)