Kotor to Durmitor National Park, Montenegro

Tuesday, May 13

We expected to awaken to rain this, but instead found a bit of sunshine, so we opted for the scenic route out of town.  We climbed Black Mountain (the country's namesake), switchbacking via a series of hairpin turns up the side of the rocky peak.  En route, the views of the bay, towns, and wispy clouds draping the mountains like gossamer veils were spectacular, but as we were literally climbing into thicker clouds, by the time we reached the summit the scene below had disappeared from view.

We continued into Montenegro's interior on VERY narrow roads, up and down the sides of mountains, passing tiny towns, flocks of sheep, and small farm plots.  We moved in dread of encountering any oncoming vehicles, as the laws of physics pretty much ruled out the possibility of happy outcomes.  We were headed to Ostrog Monastery, the country's most important Orthodox Christian pilgrimage site.  There are actually two monasteries, the lower one, a small church richly decorated with vibrant frescoes. 

The upper monastery is impossibly perched on a rock mountain face  and fitted into a cave.  The areas we could enter were quite small, though obviously the object of strong devotion.  There were few visitors today, but on a large plaza in front of the upper Monastery, there were hundreds of blankets and sleeping mats offered to pilgrims who spend the night outside during the summer months.

It began to rain as we left the monasteries and made our way to Durmitor National Park.  Upon our arrival at the park, the rain stopped, so as we walked the one kilometer in to Black Lake, it was cloudy, windy, and chilly, but not wet.  We took the trail around the large and small lakes, about 3.5 km before exiting the park.  At the entry station, when we asked the attendant if he could direct us to our lodging, he said that the owner was one of his good friends, so he called him for us.  In five minutes, our host was there to lead us to our little chalet!  After quickly establishing the fact that Russian would not be our common language, he mustered his best English and we got by.  Our bungalow is spacious and new, but has a few challenges.  There heat source for the downstairs living areas is a wood/coal stove, and the Internet (our lifeline!) is currently not functioning.  With a dicey forecast for tomorrow, we may move on instead of spending a second night here.  We shall see...