GRUDA TO Njeguši

80k/50m Elevation 3000’

The stay in Gruda was nice, however because there was no air conditioning and I had to leave the windows open, I got many many mosquito bites. In fact at about 4 AM, I had finally slapped the side of my head enough times that my ear was hurting, I picked up the comforter and a pillow and went into the bathroom and closed the door, laid on the floor and caught another 90 minutes of sleep in there, mosquito free!

Started this cycling day out great, I’m writing about it two days later so I may miss some details, but crossed into Montenegro and continued with the target of Kotor a medium spread out city mostly around the shores of the bay of Kotor, it was actually a great wonderful ride, mostly flat for quite a while as I rode around the bay, you have to take a ferry across a narrow part in order to save about a 25 mile go around the back end of the bay. Continued along the very quiet road right next to the bay, full of small villages and a few little shops and restaurants here and there, but mostly people just look like they’re really relaxing.

Sidenote, I look at people who are just enjoying relaxing and it always seems like such a good idea to me! Why don’t I do more of that? Ponder that one over the miles…

Came to near the end of the bay where the main town of Kotor and the Kotor fortress which is a fantastically beautiful old stone walled city. Stopped for a plate of pasta beside the water first. I knew I wasn’t going to end the day in Kotor as I arrived there way early in the day and had plenty of energy left. Well I did not know what was in store for me exactly…

So I think I’d mentioned that I was using Google Maps walking directions frequently to try and find the roads that are secondary and not the main roads whenever possible. I found some fantastic routes so far in using that strategy. But today, Google maps tooketh away, it didn’t giveth.

So I’m walking with my hundred pound bike with five bags through the narrow walkways of the Kotor fortress following the walking map, it says I should turn right, oh shoot I missed it already. So I go back and realize Google maps is sending me on a series of stairways, which with my bike and gear is essentially an impossibility. A few stairs yeah, but not a series of stairways. Just not gonna happen. So felt kind of deflated as at that point I knew I was going to have to climb over the mountain in the afternoon, part of my oh so sneaky intelligent strategy to try to get up into the mountains and stay in the mountains enroute to Macedonia, rather than continue with the up and down from sea level. Oh yeah, I am so smart! NOT!

Well I was trying to stay off the busy road as much as possible and I knew my target for the night was Njeguši and the road up to it was a very quiet series of switchbacks.

You know when you look at something on the map, you just sort of think, especially when you’re still feeling good, hey it can’t be that bad? Well, I started climbing up that mountain about 2 PM, and I finished about 6:30 PM, after climbing 3000 feet in about 7 miles. It was a constant grind up the hill, and am actually pretty proud of it. I will include a map screenshot of some of the switchbacks, they were pretty damn impressive! And as I was rising in elevation, the temperature was not as severe so that was a good thing! I drank 5 L of liquid this day, mostly sour cherry juice which is so refreshing even when it’s warm! But I coulda used two more liters, I ran out about an hour from the top which is never a good thing but survived obviously.

As I was going up the hill, two different guys handed me an advertisement for their restaurant that had rooms, so I figured well heck I’ll probably check in with those guys when I get there. But it was late and I was so exhausted at 6:30 PM, when I went to their little pub restaurant rooms place, the rooms were already full and they wanted to put me in a room five minutes down the road somewhere where there was no restaurant. And that wasn’t gonna work for me, I needed a room and a restaurant and like right now! So about a half mile back up the hill where I had passed another little B&B type place that had a restaurant attached and they had originally quoted me €40 for the room which was double what the guys with the hand out we’re going to charge me. So when I went back to them I said hey will you take €30 and they said yeah no problem, so was happy to be there. They said the restaurant closed at seven, it was already 6:30 PM and so I had to really hustle to get a quick shower and they stay long enough to cook me a meal at the BNB Njeguska sijela.

Now I must say it was not the best meal ever, but a mixed salad of chilled cucumbers, tomatoes, feta; that is always so refreshing! I’ve been eating those every day, more or less a Greek salad without the olives. But as I had eaten pasta for lunch I was looking for something a little meaty for dinner, and I don’t think I got a picture of it darn it! But it was called a stuffed pork steak, and it must’ve been 3 pounds (exaggeration) of pork cut into two large fillets, with some prosciutto and cheese in between. I was able to eat about 1/4 of it and that was all I could do.

With all of the physical effort every day, it’s really surprising that I can’t always just eat a big meal, sometimes I can only eat a small one, seems like when I’m not out cycling I can pretty much eat a big meal anytime. Probably because I can go take a nap anytime too!

As I was eating dinner, the only other guy at this hotel I had seen approached me and we started talking. He’s from Switzerland, his English was great, I told him the joke about who can speak languages. I can’t recall have I put it in this blog already? At risk of repeat here it is.

What do you call a person who can speak many languages? Multi lingual. What do you call a person who can speak two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person open only speak one language? American!

Anyway usually whenever I tell other people who are not speaking to me in their native tongue and they’re speaking in English, they always get a kick out of that joke.

So what he was doing is a organized unsupported hike basically. A taxi or somebody would come and get his gear each day and take it to the next place. So each day was known, destination was already set and a reservation at a hotel. So all he had to do is basically walk and carry enough water for himself. So as I was talking to him, the following morning he was going straight down to Kotor which I had come over. I told him once he gets to the top of the mountain here, it’ll be all downhill and it most certainly was!

Super nice guy though, we talked a little bit about European politics and American politics and Brexit and Trump and how there are several trump-types in various parts of the world right now.

He told me about some of the other trips he’s taking, occasionally does the cycling trip supported, sometimes these hikes, at some point he spent a couple weeks learning Spanish down in Argentina. His next trip is up to Nova Scotia. He gets around quite a bit!

After a great chat with him last night, then I got my laundry done and settled in for the night. It was probably 9 PM by the time I did laundry so fortunate that it dried enough to put on in the morning. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where I was going to head toward in the morning, I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments and many more to come. Finally asleep probably around 11 PM.

Btw, his name is Thomas, we met again for breakfast at 7 AM and chatted some more and then he took off and I took off. It wasn’t until now that I realized I don’t have a photo of the guy, and wished I had. I mean I guess I wish I had. It’s interesting when you travel and you meet people and you kind of want to think that you’re going to want to talk to them again sometime and so you’re sometimes forward about maintaining or getting a email or social media contact or something, but then other times it’s I think with experienced travelers just realize well probably never going to see the guy again so what’s the point. But a photo is a nice touch for the blog! Have to remember that next time…

Njeguši to Podgorica

55k/33m

After breakfast with Thomas, got everything packed up that seems so heavy and hit the road. As chance would have it, there was about a 1000 foot climb out of that little valley, but the road had recently been completely redone and the elevations in the couple of switchbacks were very smooth and despite going uphill didn’t seem that difficult. Of course it was the first part of the day too ha ha!

I was actually in a pretty remote area, so eventually got to the next town Citijne. It was a beautiful old town, historic as the former royal capitol of Montenegro. Actually I wished that I had been able to spend some time exploring that little town, I pretty much passed straight through it, the littlest hobo can’t stop at just any town.

Continued on towards Podgorica, joining more traffic as I got closer.

Sidenote: I thought that I had outsmarted the mountains and that I wouldn’t be going back down again today, but such are the risks of navigation using only one or two sources. To my knowledge there’s no app that gives you the perfect combination on your phone of distance and routing and elevation profile. There are several that give you parts of all of those pretty well, but no single one that does it perfectly with all components.

Anyway as my minimum target today was Podgorica, it got hotter and hotter and hotter as I descended. I had considered getting all the way to Shkoder today, which would be another 60k/36m past Podgorica. And by the time I got to Podgorica after about 35 miles, it was already 91°, so this was gonna be my end for today. That’s OK, give me a chance to catch up on the blog. It’s not supposed supposed to be a death march on this bike trip, right? Am I right?

Plus I also have to make some serious decisions about routing from here on out. There’s no way to avoid a lot of mountains as I continue working my way east towards North Macedonia. Gone are the Rolling hills next to the turquoise Adriatic Sea, for those sure were some nice days! Seems like so long ago!

Podgorica is a larger city, and as I came in on the outskirts, just amazing to see how much building there is going on, a combination of industrial and residential, many new roads and quite obvious this place is expanding quite rapidly.

But I had given up my quiet mountain roads for traffic again, unfortunately. I arrive near the center of town, found the first restaurant and got in some shade and had a Greek salad and a orange, papaya, cucumber juice.

Started looking for a hotel nearby and found one pretty close called hotel M, a small six room hotel on a side street not really near any attractions of the old town. Later in the day when it cools down a little bit I’ll go out and explore, get some dinner.

I do note that I have taken fewer pictures it seems. Photos really are an interesting thing. I realize that the photos I’ve taken to put on the blog, at least a few people are actually looking at. But for the most part, that’s all that ever happens with the photo. Somebody looks at it once in the blog, it’s on my phone for years, I rarely look at it again. So sometimes I do just appreciate while I’m on the trip just enjoying a moment, seeing something that is very photo worthy and just knowing that I saw it is enough.

On the other hand, photos rarely portray adequately the beauty or difficulty of what it is in the image. For example the photos I took of the hills I was on yesterday, yeah there’s no way a photo can show the hill in a way that makes it equivalent to the expenditure of energy it took for me to get up it. So maybe that’s my generalized reason for fewer photos as the trip goes on.

So I’m just hanging out In the air condition room knowing that it’s 91’ out there. I will get organized and get out for a walkabout later, but mostly just planning to finish this blog entry.

There are some photos from the other day that I could not upload, plus as usual photos of my food which always seems like part of the joy of these trips! I’m so happy to share my food with you!

There will be some photos of the Gruda wine country day Mixed in with the mountain climb day and today. They’re generally in order but not exactly…

So here are some screenshots of the maps, the first one is where I am now in Podgorica. Second one for emphasis is the serpentine going up the mountain yesterday. Third one is approximately my route, the blue dots, so far.