Bosnia, Croatia to Montenegro

Oh gee whiz, I've done a lot since the last blog post.  Checking in from Athens Greece.. I've finished Bosnia i Herzegovina, back into Croatia, another 16 km into Bosnia, back into Croatia again, and then to Montenegro.. (in this blog).. but since I have also ridden through Albania, Macedonia and now in of coarse in Greece.. where to begin!??  Medjugorje..!

Sunset from my little guesthouse on the outskirts of town..

Religion plays such a huge tourism role for every country I have been in Europe, which usually includes the high price for accommodation - including this small town.  So I found a place out of town that will suit my budget - cheap! Secondly, these out of the way cheap places always have the nicest people anyway with the added bonus of the beautiful countryside, rather than concrete buildings and traffic.

Morning walk to "Apparition Hill" and that wind is still roaring over the mountain tops!

A whole lot of praying going on..from people of many different languages. Mostly Catholic I would assume.  Speaking of, it is THE place to go if you need to buy a rosary, every shop was full of them!

Maybe become a priest while your here.. ? (I honestly had no idea you can just buy these robes).

I explored the area for quite a while.. whether you believe in the apparition or not, it is definitely a place with good energy and peace once you get past all the souvenir shops.

Making my way to Medjugorge to Montenegro was easier than I expected. My gps didn't recognize most roads in Bosnia. So I resorted to google maps on my computer, of which also refused to give me an idea of route. My last chance for a plan was the trusty ol' paper map - which again, did not show any roads to or from Medjugorge!  I don't understand as this small place takes many tourists every year.. but not to worry.   Once I was riding around, the roads are very well marked.  So I am really surprised at the lack of map information.

A little ride through BiH toward the coast and back into Croatia.. hello again!  Croatia sees me often!

After a short ride, it's back through a border post for Bosnia which has 16 km of coastline.  Needed fuel here, but I must make it back into Croatia because I want to use up my remaining Kuna (Croatia money).

I rode these exact roads in November last year through a dark rainy night.. so GREAT to see it on a sunny spring day!

A simple drive by of Dubrovnik, where I stayed for an entire week through the rain last year.. look at it now, so much better!

Need to keep moving though, because my goal is to meet Blazo Milic whom I met along with Nino and Vladimir during their round the world trip in Russia last July.  Here is a reminder photo we took from Vladivostok Russia.  I remember when these guys told me they are from Montenegro, and I didn't say anything at the time, but when I got back to my computer I quietly had to google it to find out where their country was..  had no idea! ;-)

But today is the day, and I get to meet them again and see how they have got on since they returned from their epic 3 month RTW journey... 3 months!  Wow, that is endurance... If interested to see what they've accomplished, you can have a look at http://www.theridearound2010.me/

Crna Gora is offical name, meaning 'black mountain'.  Monte Negro in Spanish means 'black mountain'..

I made it through the border gates at 11:58, for my 12:00 meet time... whew!

I waited for a bit, and then I hear the motorcycles in the distance... love that sound!  I was only expecting Blazo, and I get 2 for the price of one!  However, young Blazo is not here... it's Nino and Marko!

Now I understand the wait, Blazo's bike is not happy and it stopped about 2 km away.. so with a warm Montenegro welcome, thanks guys!  we head back to see about Blazo.

Something to do with the electronics of the fuel pump.. the guys are ingenius and rig a way to fix.. and luckily my little contribution is we got to use one of my tools.. I knew I needed to carry them for some reason! ;-))

The bike starts again and we start riding the beautiful Montenegro coast.  Oops, the bike died again.. this time they call in the mechanics..

These guys were so kind and concerned that I was bored stopped at the side of the road, but seriously I wasn't.  Have a look around, it's not a bad place to enjoy a gorgeous Montenegro afternoon!  I am truly loving this place, not complaining a tiny bit, so take your time!

 Nino waits patiently as well.. ;-)

The mechanics were good, job well done..to the music of Elvis..! So we go up around the corner for a celebratory snack and a drink.

The sun is getting low, so we pass up the plan for exploring and decide to head straight for Blazo's home in Podgorica, about an hour's drive into the mountains.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Dubrovnik Croatia - Part 2

Welcome back to wild and wooly Dubrovnik and my last Croatia post!  As mentioned before, I stay here for a few days because of the crazy weather.. so in my wanderings I took plenty photos..  How cool is it to park the bike here? Even after a few days, it still feels surreal to live inside those walls, I'm just loving it!

Views from my window.

Doesn't look too bad, might head out for a walk around old town.

 I like the little soccer field in this one.. ingenuity. You gotta do what you gotta do...!

I wander outside the city walls to check on my bike.. again..can't help it! ;-)

I made my way around the outside perimeter.  Not long after, a storm front just blasted through seems like out of nowhere, but if I was paying attention I probably would have seen it coming..

First, I noticed the leaves blowing crazy across the road and then the wind front hit me too.. everybody was running.

I ran as well through the fierceness, as I don't travel with an umbrella so I'm getting a bit extra blasted..

Back in my little 2nd floor homelette soaking wet, I make a hot cup of tea and continue to watch people squander from my window.  Really dark clouds rolled in and lighting got crazy.

Then came the Big Bang.. felt and sounded like lightning hit the building.. I screamed.. and lights out!

Easy to see which buildings have emergency back up.. a few! Completely dark in my place, I am manicaly ruffling around in my gear blindly with my hands trying to find my flashlight.  I get ticked off when I should have known better and had it out already.

 

 To compare with normal street lighting.. which resumed about 10 minutes later..

The 2nd story window with the shutters open on the far left of photo is my place.

Okay, another day, try this again..

More wandering at night.. First a quick check of my little bike tucked away under cover.

Traditional Christmas window decoration..

And back to my little green door...

It's finally time to get back on the bike to Split to catch my ferry to Ancona Italy.. I've enjoyed my Dubrovnik rain season hideaway.. and big special thanks to Dino for allowing me to stay in his property. It was a real treat..!

I don't mind that it's not summer or tourist season. Dealing with the rain is all part of the fun for me, and I go with the flow.. I love to experience nice weather like anyone else, but I also like the variety and challenges that come along with winter weather.  I think I got to know Croatia even more because of the rain, as I got to spend more time than I intended with the people and the culture.  I love that!

So long for now, Dubronvik!

On the way out, I see the effects of flooding in the growing fields..

Yes, this is the highway out of town, hopefully a better choice this time! But not the sort of highway I expected..

Aha, now I see, it's a work in progress..

Now, this looks more like it!  Even better, I get the road to myself.. nice!!  I think I've covered it in Croatia.. coastal roads, mountain roads and now the highway..

Croatian weather Gods treated me well on my last day in the country. Here is the last bit of sun (I'll take every little bit I can get!) before I pull in to Split.. where I meet Rakela and Dino for a farewell tea, and board the ferry.

Ogroman hvala moj novi hrvatski prijatelji! Imao sam najbolje iskustvo u svojoj zemlji zbog vas! Vi otišli tako daleko šire se podržavaju. Ne bih nikada očekuje toliko gostoprimstvo i ja sam tako sretan da su se susreli sve vas.

Next stop... Italy!!