26 September Bar – Lepetane ferry

After a healthy breakfast with gluten-free bread – bought by the kind B&B Villa Jadran, I carefully plan my trip and look for the smallest roads possible. However in Montenegro along the coast there is not much of an option than follow the road that all thru traffic takes.

The weather is fine, around 25 degrees and the roads are smooth. But this is not like following the Danube! There are climbs up till 8% and more than once I have to climb more than 200 meters. After a full day this can add up to about 800 meters height gained. By now my cycle condition is good enough to do so. But the disadvantage of this route is all the traffic, some very dark tunnels and the constant diesel exhaust. At the end of the day I feel my throat and I have a headache.

But the scenery is beautiful. The dark pink and purple Bougainville is still blossoming. There are also lemon, tangerine and fig trees. The palms and other statue conifers make the scenery really Mediterranean, in contrast with the abundance of plums, walnuts and apples and peers along the Danube in Serbia.

Montenegro has certainly grasped the approach to a consistent tourism policy along the coast. The branding looks professional, with posters along the road expressing pride and beauty.

Still in many smaller towns it seems to me that the ‘pig cyclus’ of too much of the same and the vulnerability on depending on its current attraction of low prices, is already touchable. Haven’t we seen this before in Spain, Greece and other coastal areas? What is Montenegro adding that others did not have?

In 5 hours I ride the 75 km to Lepetane – Kamenary ferry crossing and check in. It overlooks the bay of Kotor and the busy ferry traffic. I take my first swim in the Adriatic and decide I will cook my own meal. Five kilometers back there is a small town, where I do the shopping. The earlier bought gluten-free package of spaghetti comes in handy. One bottle of local red wine some veggies and spicy sausage and I am all set.

On my way I passed the ‘ Montenegro port’, a gated community, where the filthy rich come to harbor their vessels. Or better to say, tie down their over-sized ‘cruise-ships’. Handsome body builder types in smart looking outfits – obviously the crew – hang around on the ships and quay. Owners are just the hosts of their guests. They do not interfere with sailing their ships, nor serving, cooking or any kind of household duties.

I am just an ordinary bicyclist and after washing some clothes and cooking, I enjoy the harbor and ferry traffic on my balcony, as one big cruise-ship leaves for open sea.

Tomorrow I will travel by bus to Dubrovnik and in the days thereafter by bus to Mostar, Sarajevo and back to Lepetane. I will leave my luggage and bicycle in the B&B.