2009 was a watershed travel year for us because it was the first time we planned to be away visiting multiple destinations in the northern hemisphere over 2 months. it was also the start of using previous lessons and refining new skills, quite often honed through mistakes, of how to plan much longer trips.
This was the year when we fully utilised the benefits and power of the internet, to research, plan, refine and book what follows in the posts covering 2009.
So 2009 was the start of some forays through parts of the world which took us out of our previous comfort zone.
For awhile, all 3 of our children had been living in the UK, and before returning to Australia, Callan had been travelling extensively throughout Europe. He knew we were heading to the UK and during a Skype call, suggested that his other 2 siblings still in the UK, our daughter in law to be, and ourselves all meet somewhere.
"Where, what would you suggest?" we asked and Montenegro was the reply. "Sure" we replied, talked a little more and then finished the call. "Where the ^&%$ is Montenegro" I asked Rob as we scrambled for Google maps. Well this was going to make our planning interesting.
Montenegro is a very small Balkan country of only 600,000+ people and is sandwiched between Croatia, Serbia and Albania, and was really part of Serbia until 2006 when it gained true independence.
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| Our route whilst in Montenegro |
Rob found a promising website describing an apartment available when we required it and as importantly, where English was spoken, so she contacted the host to get further details and to confirm prices. Whilst the hosts written English in emails was humorously interesting, after a little negotiation a booking was made and deposit paid.
As our trip to Montenegro got closer, we started thinking about how to find our accomodation using a GPS so we went looking for the actual detailed address as the website simply had what seemed like a general address.
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| The family in Montenegro |
It showed some key landmarks like a railway crossing, a corner store and some other notable buildings, but didn't even tell us where to get off the main road from Dubrovnik.
The only way we could find our accomodation before we left Australia, was to open Google Earth in satellite mode and literally follow the main road from a distance outside Bar literally looking for a road leading off with the same characteristics as the mud map.
We did find a combination of visible sites which looked very similar, so decided this must be it and printed out some maps. If we became lost, we did have a mobile no. for the host.
After arriving into Dubrovnik which will be discussed in another post and collecting the hire car before crossing through no-mans land at the border, the rest of the drive was very straightforward apart from other drivers. They are a bit haphazard in their style and we were very surprised at the number of memorials along the roadside, adorned with photographs of people killed in road accidents.
Our research efforts paid off and we found the apartment, met our host who spoke very little English and settled in before doing some initial exploration of the area. Callan was arriving by train from Serbia the next day but the rest of our family would be driving to Bar at night, so we had arranged to wait for them on the highway and guide them from there.
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| Rach (daughter in-law) complimenting a 2,000+ yr old olive tree |
This became very evident when searching for a local landmark, a 2,000+ year old olive tree.
The GPS was useless so we had to 'ask' people, and the only way we did that was to show them a picture off a brochure and wait for them to point, then drive a little and repeat the process. It worked!
We really enjoyed Montenegro because at the time it was an 'innocent' tourist destination in the world. They weren't really set up for it, with a serious lack of signs tourists could use to find the many beautiful sights they have available like these...
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| Stefan, Montenegro |
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| The coastal town of Budva, Montenegro |
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| Stari Bar Old Town, Montenegro |
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| Tenielle with her new found friends |
Tenielle thought it would be a great photo opportunity, so got out with camera in hand.
Little did she know she would become the photo opportunity after the farmer handed her a lamb to hold, a friendly but wry smile beaming across his face.
Montenegro's beauty is in its authenticity no matter where we went, including the people who whilst a little cautious about our presence, were still very welcoming and warm.
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| Walking through one of many old towns |
One of our favourite destinations in Montenegro was visited as we all drove back towards Dubrovnik.
It came in the form of the town of Kotor, hemmed between mountains on the Adriatic coast of the country.
Kotor was first mentioned in 168 BC when settled during ancient Roman times and is located in the Bay of Kotor, sometimes referred to as the southernmost fjord in Europe.
It isn't a fjord but is instead a submerged river canyon.
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| Looking down the 'fjord' from above Kotor |
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| Kotor viewed from its fortress wall |
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| Small part of the rock wall of Kotor |
Kotor is a very old fortress town with its rock walls snaking its way almost miraculously up and across the tall mountains and is a living city not a tourist city.
The cobblestone paths throughout the town were not 'polished' as a result of hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting it.
There were none of the famous brand stores to be seen but there were lots of washed clothes hanging precariously out of apartment windows.
Throughout the little alley ways could be found small restaurants or cafes to eat in, or coffee shops, bakeries of little supermarkets.
The local population were going about their business as we enjoyed this very beautiful old town before heading off towards the border.
Montenegro had been a great choice by Callan as a place for us all to meet, not just because it was so unaffected by throngs of tourists... yet, but because it took us all out of our comfort zone... just a little, which is a good thing.
Go well!
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