...............previously, Communist trains and bugs in central and northern Albania.......
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| Happy to be together and travelling |
Missing the Thailand beach time we normally have for several months every year, we found ourselves craving some sun, swimming and a tropical-style relaxed pace of life. Montenegro in summer was a good place to choose to try to replicate this experience in Europe, as not only did it's beaches look intriguing, the Montenegrins themselves talk about their own reputation as the most laid-back of the Balkan people. Our sort of place! The lethargy can definitely be put down to the heat at this time of year. It was sizzling during our June/July visit, the hottest summer in years- 50 years said one man, with temperatures in the high 30s every day.
As no bus was running from Shkoder in Albania to Ulcinj on the Montenegrin side, our hostel arranged for a vomit inducing taxi to take us there (well, the hostel didn't arrange for the vomit part, that was purely Sal's bad luck!). The first major town in the south of Montenegro, Ulcinj (pronounced "Ool-tsin") was an ancient port on the Adriatic Sea and one of the oldest towns on the Adriatic Coast. A tiny old town still remained there high on a hill over looking the main bay. It is now full of tasteful and expensive restaurants and hotels.
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| Posing again, Old Ulcinj, Montenegro |
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| Exploring the laneways in Old Ulcinj, Montenegro |
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| Contrasting stones, Old Ulcinj, Montenegro |
The road left the bustling modern main town area and climbed steeply to the old town and the area we were staying in, accompanied by glorious bursts of colour from oleander bushes, pomegranates, fig trees and a multitude of other lush greenery growing in peoples delightful gardens.
Ulcinj's main beach was a fantastic, busy mix of happy, sweaty bodies- we will never complain about crowds again! Mainly Balkan tourists lazed around under umbrellas and played in the water. Once again we were struck by the wonderful novelty (for us) of locals having their own beach culture, and very much enjoying catching some rays. In most of South and South-East Asia, the hot and sunny beach is reserved only for crazy Western tourists- locals prefer to cover up and sit in the shade. As an aside, another novelty for us was being less reserved in our clothing. Since we arrived in the Balkans, it has taken some time to become used to the European sensibilities regarding clothing. After so many years of travelling around Asian countries in modest clothing, it seemed shocking at first to be free to wear almost anything we desired!
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| Summer on Ulcinj beach, Montenegro |
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| A chilled man watching the spectacle, Ulcinj, Montenegro |
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| Fisherman sorting their gear, Ulcinj, Montenegro |
As we walked further along the coast in Ulcinj, exploring little coves, we came across a sign for Lady's Beach. Curious, Sal walked down through a lush jungle-like garden to a tiny beach that looked like a scene out of the movie Sirens. Women of assorted ages and sizes lay about in various states of undress, sitting on rocky outcrops like mermaids, swimming in crystal clear water, chatting and enjoying a private space with no male onlookers- paradise!
Even further along was another small sign declaring "Organized Nudistic Beach". They are keen on signs here at the popular beaches, to show the designation of the beach, the hours of the life guard on duty and the rules. Of course we had to have a look, and found an agreeable large area set up on the rocks, with various ledges, some in the sun, others in the shade. A laid back mixed group of mostly local people lazed round, and we decided it might be a cool place to hang out (literally!). Hilariously, there was an elderly, leathery brown lady in a chair with a handwritten cardboard sign "office" leaning on it, who seemed to be the boss of the beach. She was welcoming to us, but we never found out exactly what her duties entailed! The freedom to be comfortably naked was fabulous, and we learnt that in this part of the world there is a traditional of bathing in the nude for health reasons that goes back to before Communist times. Croatia, in particular, is apparently famous for it's naturist spots, but elsewhere in Eastern Europe and in most of the less conservative Balkans countries it's a perfectly acceptable practice considered helpful for wellbeing. We very much embraced this cultural aspect during our time in Montenegro!!
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| Taking a dip in the Adriatic, Ulcinj, Montenegro |
Along the coastal path shaded by pines that ran between the beaches, little stalls sold health products, such a honey, fruit and a mix of potions. Intriguing steps led down to the various bays and beaches, some had big restaurants with loud music and sunbeds, other were low key and natural. A lot of Kosovan tourists holiday in Montenegro, and we were struck by the contrast of the scarved and robed Muslim ladies with other women walking around in what seemed to be a popular fashion of long loosely crocheted robes hardly covering their bikinis. Rich called it the beach negligée, and it left nothing to the imagination!
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| Small beach on the Adriatic coast, Ulcinj, Montenegro |
Our accommodation in Ulcinj was a long slog uphill from the beaches. Although the heat made this activity an unpleasant and sweaty experience, we tried to think about any recent weight we had gained, and motivated ourselves up the hill. Having a beautifully cool and rather luxurious mini apartment waiting for us at the end also helped. The private balcony was surrounded by fig and orange trees and a lush grape vine, and we were very happy there. Our hosts lived in an adjoining house and were generous, leaving us little presents of food every few days- some fresh figs from the tree in the garden, raki in the shady courtyard at 8.45am (!), some pancakes late one evening, and best of all a BBQ fish dinner with fish freshly caught in our host's boat, accompanied by home-made red wine! That was a surprise and tasted unbelievably delectable. We haven't eaten a lot of fish in the Balkans, due to high costs, so it was very special to eat some straight from the Adriatic Sea, cooked in the local style.
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| View of old town from our balcony, Ulcinj, Montenegro |
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| Amazing fish dinner, Ulcinj, Montenegro |
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| Local kitty, Ulcinj, Montenegro |
Montenegro is a tiny country, and looking on the map our next destination, Utjeha, seemed to be a short distance further up the coast. It wasn't until the bus dropped us in the village 15 minutes after departing Ulcinj, that we realized quite how miniscule the country is!
A complete change of scene, Utjeha ("Oot-ye-ha") was a sleepy village with one small supermarket, two fruit stalls, one bakery, a few tourists shops selling blow up beach equipment, and three lovely beaches. One big, one small and one nudist. This was becoming a common theme! Unlike the "organized" nudist beach in Ulcinj, with it's opening times and office lady, this one was tiny, pebble-covered and completely natural and informal. People breezed on and off the beach, sometimes without a second glance at us, sometimes with a friendly greeting. Families, single people and couples all took advantage of the blistering days and the cool and refreshing sea water. Our time in Utjeha was almost entirely spent simply enjoying relaxing on the beach and on the balcony of our great little basic apartment, which was a blissful five minute walk from the beach. Oh, and hiding inside with the AC in the heat of the afternoons, for the days continued to be sweltering. The cicadas chirped in our garden and there were even a few mozzies around.
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| View from our garden, Utjeha, Montenegro |
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| Local shop, Utjeha, Montenegro |
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| Entrance to our fav beach, Utjeha, Montenegro |
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| Our lovely quiet tiny beach in Utjeha, Montenegro |
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| Rich enjoying the sunshine, Utjeha, Montenegro |
Happy to be on the coast and making the most of summer in Montenegro, we continued north to Sutomore- such a bustling place after wee Utjeha! There were quite a few beaches around the town to choose from including the extremely swamped main beach, which stretched out seemingly for miles into the distance. Keeping up our new Montenegrin habit, we first headed for the Ratac peninsula, where we had seen on the map there were two official nudist beaches marked. What we didn't realize until we arrived, was that these were also gay cruising hang outs. Gay men in the Balkans are not particularly well accepted in society, due to the extreme macho culture here. Of course it's important they find a location where they feel comfortable, and we were happy to see them gathered without inhibitions, but it did result in us feeling a touch out of place, and the next day we moved to the main beach.
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| Secluded beach at Ratac, Sutomore, Montenegro |
Sutomore main beach was a classic European beach holiday spot, and the busiest beach by far we had ever seen. It is apparent now why, when European tourists arrive on Ko Fruitopia, our favourite beach spot in Thailand, they are often totally amazed by the empty beaches and lack of crowds. We've never really known anything else, and it's normal for us. Sutomore was a completely different world! We began to notice the interesting, and sometimes amusing beach culture of the Balkans. Firstly, we felt inadequate turning up with our simple sarongs. When locals go to the beach for the day, at the very least they have cushioned beach mats and an umbrella. Optional extras include anything that will float, including man sized flamingos and king sized blow up mattresses. The umbrella really does makes sense if wanting to spend the day on the beach- we could only take an hour or two, before we started flagging in the intense heat. The other curious aspect we noticed was the lack of personal space. The proximity of bodies was dense, to say the least- people didn't seem the least bit fazed to be inches away from fellow beach goers. It was quite refreshing, actually! We watched two fat old ladies squeeze themselves into a tiny space behind a group of youngsters, and proceed to push sand onto their towels and place their feet practically in their faces. None of the group seemed the slightest bit concerned!
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| Bird's-eye view of Sutomore's main beach |
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| Hanging out in the heat, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Packed out, Sutomore main beach |
The shady lanes leading down to the beaches from the main road were filled with flowering oleanders and bougainvillea, abundant figs in every garden, and most of all what seemed like thousands of "apartmenti" (rooms for rent).
The accommodation we had chosen in Brca (a village within Sutomore town) was a huge bustling place but our level was like a small community, with everyone sharing a kitchen and terrace, and a couple of rooms sharing a bathroom. Mostly Balkan families, our fellow guests were very friendly, as was the gregarious host and his family. It's definitely a Balkan traditional to gift the guest something- often we have received fruit, this time a couple of large, cold beers on arrival were very welcome after a walk uphill in the midday sun. We immediately had good vibes upon arrival, and enjoyed our stay, especially the atmospheric night of the Eurocup final, where the entire town seemed to be barracking for Italy to beat England!
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| Bakery making burek in Brca village, Sutomore, Montenegro |
The absolute highlight of our stay in Sutomore was an early morning hike up the hill through the prickles and long grass to Old Brca, where we found a wonderful lost world, miles from the crowds and heat of the beaches far below. Seemingly completely devoid of life, this abandoned village had apparently survived for such a long time due it's hidden position. What had once been thriving stone gardens were still visible and little paths led to charming tunnels of flowering greenery and vines. A secret hideaway, the stone and wood ancient buildings mostly still stood complete in a fascinating setting. Some soul must have been there at some point, as the paths were cleared, and padlocks shut off a couple of dwellings. Others lay open and derelict and accessible for exploring. With the sparkling morning light flickering around the shadows and the only sound the insects, we felt we had stumbled upon a parallel universe.
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| Old Brca tucked away on the hillside, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| An abandoned barn, Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Surrounded by oleanders and fig trees, Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Steps leading to the old village, Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Moody window, Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Wood, Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Interior of dilapidated dwelling, Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Perfect spot for a rest, Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Morning light in an overgrown part of Old Brca, Sutomore, Montenegro |
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| Exploring the paths of Old Brca, Montenegro |
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| Old bits of wood, Old Brca, Montenegro |
After returning for a few more days at chilled out Utjeha, we left the coast and our superb summer beach "holiday" behind, and headed inland to find a different aspect of the country, this time by train. The next blog will include more general information about our route through Montenegro, costs, impressions etc. Stay tuned!!
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| Another beautiful day, Utjeha beach, Montenegro |
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| Loving the Montenegrin beaches! |
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| Where Montenegro sits with the Balkan countries |
.......next blog post, continues north on our travels around on Montenegrin trains........
