MONTENEGRO - Ring Road

DURMITOR NATIONAL PARK

Next up… Some interesting driving! A narrow wooden bridge takes me to Montenegro where I then cross over the Piva River on a more sophisticated bridge. The road turns away from the river canyon and leads to the village of Trsa, which is the western entry point to Durmitor National Park's Ring Road.

What can’t be captured in a photograph is the really stressful drive up the mountain to Tsra. Right away there is a steep climb and sharp curve just as I enter a tunnel and before before my eyes have adjusted! While the road is paved, it’s a single lane road. When vehicles traveling from the opposite direction show up, someone has to back up to a pull out - which barely makes room for two normal size vehicles to pass! Thank goodness this is a weekday without much traffic. When this type of high stress driving finally eases up, I pull over at the first possible place for a break.

I meet this lovely couple from Romania with their very cool convertible, which surely is more fun to travel in than a big heavy van. We quickly make a super connection and they invite me to visit them when I get to Romania. This makes for a relaxing break and I feel even better when I get to the top of the mountain and take another break in the village of Trsa.

The Ring Road opens up to views of expansive plateaus and canyons in places. Mostly, the road is through a Conifer forest with steep climbs and sometimes hairpin turns. I end up at Suscko Lake, pay my entrance fee, and the ranger says I can park overnight. I didn’t even have to ask! Photo #6 is the view from my van for the night. I have time for a walk around the now dry lake (until the summer rains start) and can even walk through the mostly dry river bed. There are lots of wild flowers to enjoy, and a type of local ramps that scents the air.

The second day on the Ring Road unfolds with many scenic views. I get a really early start and see several deer and not much traffic. I meet motorcyclists from Greece, and find out one of them is a farmer!

I am headed for a hike up the Curevac Trail - which offers an excellent view of the canyon and surrounding area. It is such a lovely drive through the conifer forest to get there that I completely fail to stop at the trailhead parking lot! Instead, I continue to what ends up being a steep drive down into Tara Canyon. The asphalt road turns into a dirt road - usually not such a good thing in a van. At the first possible turn-around spot, I empty my water tank before I reverse course and start a steep climb back up the mountain. Two times I re-negotiate hairpin turns... glad to have ditched the extra water weight.

Since I am now proficient at smoothly downshifting the van, it is a non-stressful ascent. Reaching the trailhead calls for a coffee at the little cafe by the parking lot. I take the hike up to Curevac and enjoy the view. I meet Harold, who is from Belgium, and has traveled to over 120 countries. The United States is his favorite, because of our great national parks! On the hike back to the parking area we join up with a couple and their baby, who are from the Ukraine, now living in Poland. We stop at the cafe for refreshments and Instagram exchanges.

I ask the cafe owners if I can park overnight and they respond with an enthusiastic "Yes!". I adopt a very sweet big dog to feed since I am carrying a bag of dog food. I feed him four times as I don’t want to give him too much at once since he is clearly underfed. The next morning he is very happy to see me! I give him his next bowl of food and leave a note, and the rest of the dog food, for the cafe owners. I head out early again to avoid traffic.

My route takes me through the tourist town of Zabljak, and afterwards the terrain changes dramatically. The northern side of Ring Road was forested, moist and steep with sharp turns. The southern side is dry, treeless and smooth curvy with high elevation undulation. The cool thing is that I can see oncoming cars long before we meet, and have time to find pull-over spots.

It is a day full of joyful interactions. I stop for bicyclists and am curious about where they are from and where they are going. I meet Helen, who is from New Zealand, and has bicycled over 4,000 kilometers since starting her adventure in Greece. She has unlimited time and no final destination in mind. Helen is riding a mountain bike with the most compact long distance cycling set-up I’ve seen. She wild camps and has yet to pay for any accommodation! What a pleasure to meet her.

I meet a couple from Austria who are on a short vacation, and spending the day biking. They have a dog in a bike carrier, and they let the dog out to run around while we chat. There is also a couple from Germany who are traveling for four months (notice the difference in their set up from Helen’s). After the Balkans they want to head east to one of the Stans countries. These are happy people - they feel free! I even meet a friendly, happy horse! I jump out of the van to video a passing wild horse parade and this one comes up from behind to greet me.

In the third photo from the last, if you look close, you can see a little structure at the bottom left. When I get closer, it is a stand where Natalie sells honey products, homemade cheese and liquor. She works for a large company, and only has to go into the office one day per week. The other days, she is tending her business along with her young son, mother-in-law and husband who is a beekeeper.

All this calls for a stop at the only coffee shop on the southern side of Ring Road. I chat with a taxi driver over our drinks and when I go to pay, I learn he has paid for my coffee. This is what I love about traveling... everyone is so hospitable!

After a bit of driving, I’m ready to break into Natalie's cheese and I find a spot with a view to pull the van over in. I happen to have an organic pistachio nut spread that is just a perfect pairing with the cheese! There is a sign at the pullover about Stecci Medieval Tombstones at the top of this hill. They are said to have an energy field similar to Stonehedge, and are located where the Durmitor and Piva collide. There are 14 Stecci (structures), 13 of which are of ridged forms, and 1 coffin form. I go up to the site and meet a young man who gives me a tour. I learn the property has been under his family’s ownership for generations. He and his uncle are now developing the property as an eco-tourism business with camping sites, and a restaurant scheduled to open next month. I notice he has a harvest of local mountain Thyme spread out to dry and he offers me mountain spring water to drink. Their place is called Kanda Camping Mountain Resort.

The young man from the Stecci site gives me directions to the mountain fed spring that provided the water he shared with me. Its a detour from the Ring Road on a steep narrow road down to the bottom of a canyon - easy peasy as I am now an expert at handling such roads with my van and end the Ring Road through a straight flat tunnel. It has been another great day in the Balkans!

Can this get any better???