Balkans_2018...You Only Live Once!

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
It's a gem of a spot to watch the sun go down over the Dalmatian islands... :so:so



Balkans_0515a.JPG




The small village of Bol and the "Golden Horn" (spit reaching into the channel) lit by the last rays of the day...



Balkans_0517.JPG




Things are getting late....dark isn't far off and there's 20k's of twisties to go...



Balkans_0518.JPG




Balkans_0519.JPG




Milna had looked good on the map when riffling though the booking.com listings...and we got lots more than we bargained for!!

First the frantic search for the actual place which proved somewhat hidden and took some locals to find, then the family-like welcome by the lady-host who took to her "Australians" like a pack of strays... :so:cdle....the big carpark up top and 2 huge, super-clean and modern holiday flats, each a showpiece of luxury.

All that, before Milna turned out to be something real special!!
Not just the cute waterfront, good eats and cold beer...


Balkans_0520.JPG



LOVE IT!!


Balkans_0521.JPG




...but wandering up a narrow side-road, there's that unique and deeply haunting South-Dalmatian sound of a male choir sitting outside a small, local pub and raising their voices above the harbour and island....we stop dead and just stand there and listen, hair standing on end.
They call it Klapa-singing...not a single instrument, only harmonies...it's something I last heard 50 years ago and it brought instant tears then....
and does exactly the same now!!


Farkin AWESOME!! :clap::clap:

The voices and harmonies just tear you apart...






Balkans_0523.JPG




Standing in a little laneway for 10 minutes listening to THAT was worth the entire trip alone!! :lao:





Balkans_0522.JPG







WOWW!!....Sunny Days Apartments in Milna, Island Brac
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
map_24.jpg



Realizing that we would need an extra day to complete the "Island-hopping-Loop" via Split/Vela Luka/ Korcula etc. it's back the same way we came, this time with a little more time on our hands.


Milna...and the schoolbus has disgorged a bunch of schoolkids, while the deliveries for the little supermarket get unloaded at the wharf.



Balkans_0524.JPG





Balkans_0525.JPG




Trying for the coastal track past Pustinja Blaca.....



Balkans_0526.JPG



....and back at Vidova Gora for another dose of those glorious vistas.:woot:




Balkans_0527.JPG





Balkans_0527a.JPG




Balkans_0528.JPG
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
More memories of Yesteryear, a Renault R4...would LOVE one of those nowadays! Back in the ferry port of Sumartin...



Balkans_0529.JPG





Balkans_0530.JPG



Double-take...is that Marty on that scoot? :eek:



Balkans_0530b.JPG




Balkans_0530a.JPG



Markarska on the mainland...with Sveti Jure right above!




Balkans_0531.JPG




Balkans_0532.JPG




Balkans_0533.JPG
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Some inviting shade at Blato, along the coast.
Makes for a quiet and cool lunch spot, too.



Balkans_0534.JPG




Finally, a half-decent pic of the Dingac Tunnel at Potomje, followed by another "happy-cruise" through the vineyards and slopes
towards Trstenik.


Balkans_0535.JPG





Balkans_0536.JPG





Balkans_0537.JPG




The Bora has buggered off, Trstenik is back to its sleepy calm...and for us it's time to pack.
Another half hour of the Dalmatian Coast for the start tomorrow, then it's off into the mountains of Montenegro via a short stretch
of Bosnia-Herzegovina.


Orrite...I'M DONE HERE!! :bs



Balkans_0539.JPG




OHHH, Trstenik...we'll MISS you!! :sick:




Balkans_0538.JPG





The little Trstenik Hideaway
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Trstenik (Croatia) -> Dubrovnik -> a little Bosnia -> Niksic (Montenegro) -> Nedajno (Durmitor N.P.) Montenegro



https://goo.gl/L9jsJU



map_25.jpg




An early start to a long day of skimming along the water's edge for the start, before tacking into the hills of Bosnia/ Herzegovina and Northern Montenegro later in the day.
A couple of border crossings, spacing fuel and supplies so we don't need local currency in Bosnia and it'll hopefully also be a little cooler in the mountains, now that the Bora has lost its grip on the coast and temps are rising again.

The BYO lunch assembly line :so


Balkans_0540.JPG




Stunning Ston....
The ancient, defensive Walls Of Ston from the 14th century are certainly a stumping sight at the southern end of the Peljesac Peninsula.
All 5.5km of it! :wot:
Apparently it's visible from space...


Balkans_0541.JPG





Balkans_0542.JPG





Balkans_0543.JPG




Balkans_0544.JPG




Around the backblocks of Dubrovnik again and at the Bosnian border barely 5 minutes later...as is that group of German riders, one of which didn't have his insurance Green Card endorsed for Bosnia, causing a half-hour gridlock for traffic in all directions.


Balkans_0545.JPG



The road follows the Trebišnjica River through Trebinje and the vast vineyards along the valley floor towards the Montenegrin border to the east.


Lunch above the Slansko Lake, Niksic, Montenegro


Balkans_0546.JPG
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
...and straight back onto those singlelane twisties towards the Ostrog Monastery, the famous Built-into-the-Rockwall Orthodox cave-church.



Balkans_0546a.JPG



I had no idea how important this place is in the religious world:
The Orthodox monastery of Ostrog is one of the most frequently visited on the Balkans. It attracts over 100,000 visitors a year. It is visited by believers from all parts of the world, either individually or in groups. It represents the meeting place of all confessions: the Orthodox, the Catholics and the Muslims.
...and it was accordingly busy.

Even more gobsmacking is the location. It can be seen from far across the valley and occupies an "Eagles Nest" position very high up the slopes. From nearly any distance, access seems impossible....until one is actually on those last 3km of ultra-tight hairpins which are just about stacked on top of eachother. First-gear-and-feet-down tight and steep!!



Balkans_0547.JPG




Anyone for a waxing? Jump in!



Balkans_0548.JPG




I don't think they're camped here for the next Iphone release...



Balkans_0549.JPG



Balkans_0550.JPG




How deep and serious this is to some show the scenes of family groups or small circles of friends huddling and hugging eachother with tears and low voices trying to ease pain and despair.


Balkans_0551.JPG




Balkans_0552.JPG




Balkans_0553.JPG




Balkans_0554.JPG
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member

IMPRESSIVE
is only one of many words. :glu


One last look....




Balkans_0555.JPG




...before it's back to those roads over there...




Balkans_0556.JPG






Balkans_0557.JPG





Balkans_0558.JPG






Balkans_0559.JPG




Local produce only....fruit stall at the Zeta River bridge, just north of Niksic.




Balkans_0560.JPG




Those tomatoes look like red-ink-bombs....



Balkans_0561.JPG




Into the North we go....and into the mountains.


Balkans_0562.JPG
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
The servo at the former Hydro-workers town of Pluzine at Piva Dam is a welcome sight:woot:....there certainly won't be any fuel where we're off to next.
Pluzine in the back, Piva bridge at our feet.



Balkans_0563.JPG




Yes, that rough-hewn tunnel down there....the singlelaner curling up the hill...that's us.
That road is just...BREATHTAKING!! :doh::doh:


Balkans_0564.JPG





Balkans_0565.JPG





Balkans_0566.JPG





Balkans_0567.JPG




Getting onto the High Plains of the Durmitor National Park



Balkans_0568.JPG




Last sunlight on the Nedajno Canyon walls.... :thumbs:




Balkans_0569.JPG




Nedajno Guesthouse....


Balkans_0570.JPG





It's all a family-effort:

Baba (grandma) looking after the garden and baking the bread, mama doing the kitchen and household, dad is a National Park Ranger and does the heavy stuff and handyman chores around the place while Jelena, the daughter, doing all the face-to-face guest liaison and tech stuff (she's also a computer science graduate) around the place....and where ever else a hand is needed.

Mama is cooking her heart out as the skies clear, the cold falls like a blanket outside while the old woodstove glows with a roaring fire and the dinner table groans under the load of dishes, pots, pans, bottles and laughs....
what a place :lao:lao



Balkans_0572.JPG





Balkans_0571.JPG





At the Canyon's edge...Guesthouse Nedajno/ Durmitor National Park
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Nedajno Canyon and Durmitor National Park Discovery Loop, Northern Montenegro


https://goo.gl/c8iDCu


map_26.jpg




Starting the new day just like the previous one finished... :drool:




Balkans_0573.JPG



Nedajno's Main Street....tumble weeds would be too hectic....




Balkans_0574a.JPG




Just about to flip over the Canyon's edge.



Balkans_0575.JPG




Balkans_0576.JPG



Boy, this thing is steep...and tight...and fallen rocks everywhere....and chewed-out hairpins by the 4WD's, but it's one hell of a road :glu
Got a few corners, too...



map_27.jpg





Balkans_0577.JPG



That's the mob "that bought the bigger boooaaaat!!" :so

Looks like one of the rafting tours on their way to the Piva River.



Balkans_0578.JPG




Towards Zabljak, across the bare High Plains and there are little roads branching off everywhere.



Balkans_0579.JPG
 
Top Bottom