Train to Guca!!!

Early wake to catch the bus to Podgorica in Montenegro where we take the train back into Serbia to join our friends in Guca! The bus ride is hot and uncomfortable, the night was short and we are a bit tired. In Podgorica i see the man who rented my his room back then. He is quite surprise to see me again :)

We get train tickets, 15 euro for some 400 km, it is the cheapest way to get around in the Balkans, but we soon find out why... it is also the slowest and the most unreliable. The train is one and a half hour late and when it finally comes in we are really happy to have made reservations. It is packed with people. Most of them only go the Bielo Luka, the most northern town of Montenegro. I leave my seat to an older man, to dig a bit the view and the people on the corridor. Two young boys are yelling songs and banging on the windows. By the way all windows are big opened and everyone smokes there. Big changes from silent air conditioned swiss trains. Soon two police officers come around to apprehend them and take them out for interrogation and god knows hat else...



Despite the slow rhythm, I am happy we chose the train, the track is the most beautiful train ride I had so far, trough mountains, tunnels, bridges along magnificent cliffs and gorges. This old track from the seaside to Belgrade is probably full of history and its construction most have cost lots of lives and mens sweat. We stop in the middle of nowhere numerous times for different reasons. Mostly because the trains from the two directions can only cross in given places the rest being single tracked. the other reason is the waiting at the boarder.


We arrive a Pozeda with about 4 hours delay, they also had to change the locomotive... In the general wondering during the one hour stop in Uzice i meet a French couple going to Guca, they are traveling the Balkans, mostly by bike. Since the night is falling, they cannot get there by bike anymore and will organize a taxi together with their Serban friend met on the train.
In Pozeda we struggle with a serial bullshiter promising us a cheap taxi... We finally stop counting on his help and get a ride with a conventional taxi, skipping on the drunk bunch of youngsters i met on the tracks and who are taking the bus with a local. Anyhow... off to Guca!!! Finally!
there we are slowly taken over by the drums all over the plac and meet Niko at their improvised camp. On the car park, in a field, they build up their two tents and a shade area between them. We quickly drink a beer, buy a couple more and get into the festival area. No entry fee, no security check, we walk in with our cheap beers.





I am sooooo please to meet Lorin, Pj and Marcel again!! I really missed that crazy band! The music is going, blowing and bangng, the people are crazy, you can smell roasted meet everywhere and the beer and Rakija is flowing in great amounts. But the real madness starts as Boban Markovic comes on the scene and everybody is once again dancing like mad and singing to all the songs! We get to sing a bit as well as him and his brass band plays some of the most famous Balkan songs. The trumpets blow on late into the night and we get to hear them as we exit the festival ground and go into the town where they are playing requests and walking around the place. Soon i loose my friends in this craziness and meet a Serbian bunch. Later i am tired of searching for everybody and pretty tired i head for the tents. I am quite happy to get there as it starts raining right away... good night. Lucky i have nice friend how think abut bringing tents :)

Kotor, Budva and Bregovic

We head to Kotor first, getting an easy ride with a delivery man. Delivering beer and soft drinks to beers along the bay is his summer job, in winter this job disappears, low season, no tourists, less bars... This is the life in the Kotor bay. Kotor is still as nice as two month ago when i was her but it is noticeably hotter. The walk up to the castle is not easy under this sun. We regularly feel like in an oven, the heat coming from above and hitting back up from the stone ground. The view is beautiful, the old castle impressive. Reminds me of last time, funny to be twice in the same place with two month interval. Major difference, under the sun, the 1300 stairs are not so easy than at 6 am...






After a slice of pizza, we head for Budva where Bregovic is playing tonight. This is the last hitchhiking ride with Judith since we will take the train to Guca and then the bus back to Belgrade. For this ride, her wish is realized, we get a ride with a truck driver.


Fun guy, driving his empty truck like a madman through the mountains roads. He drops us close beach which turns out to be the ugliest, most dirty and frequented beach in the Balkans so far. Also as i noticed two month ago, the city is horrible, hotels everywhere, all concrete... Like we say in French c est plein de beauf. I was warned not to stay in Budva... but hey! Bregovic is playing! So after resting a bit, we look for a room and find nothing but a 40 euro room with no towels, no hot water, no kitchen and no toilet paper... Of to Jaz, the beach where the concert is held. It is not really on the beach but just behind on a big empty area of stone and concrete. The drive there in an overcrowded 1.5 euro bus is worth a couple words, we stand right into the door way and as we slowly progress trough the car jam we get plenty fresh air from the opened doors. Beers are tuborg only, a bit like at the police concert. Disgusting beer, and at 3.5 euro for 0.4L it is also the most expensive in the Balkans... Poor barman is paid 25 euros for the night. And I cant imagine how people coming here with their 300 euro monthly pay can afford to buy beers...The concert however is long and great, the whole crowd sings along and the show goes on for hours.



Back to Budva, we are starving and very surprised as it is impossible to find hot food, no Pleskavica! how is this possible in the Balkans?? this looks more like overwhelmed, fancy European coast... we content ourselves with self made sandwiches from the last opened market.

Perast

Herzeg novi

After visiting the castle and buying tickets for Goran Bregovic in Budva tomorrow night we head for Perast, a nice little village recommended to me by many. The hitching is nice and easy, our 3 rides get us there in no time. We find a nice small place where every construction fits in, they are no modern great concrete buildings or hotels, everything respects the local older architecture of stones and red roofs. We find a nice room with a view on the see since Milinko, a couch surfer who hosted Alain and is a good friend of Mina and Natasa has no more couches available.
I swim to the Island out there in the bay. there are actually two of them, one natural with a catholic monastic and one artificial with an orthodox church. The later is said to be build on hundreds of sunken ships. I swim to th first and as rest there, i find a small black diamond shaped stone I fist think it is plastic but putting it in my mouth i feel it is at least glass. It is the second find in two days after finding a golden ring yesterday in the bus. I love to find things, it is always exciting and compensates with everything i loose :) It also nice to imagine what this unknown object has been trough before ending where you find it.
At night after a good pasta plate in a restaurant, we meet Milinko and his hosts for a couple glasses of vine. They are very warm and welcoming, listening to various types of music, always enjoyable, How nice to hear some of my favorite reggae tune again! Milinko is all fascinated with Perast, it was the Pirate capital in Europe, was or still is?? We have a great time amongst him and his host, speaking about music, food, vine, travels and work. The later subject along with visas come up often with young people in the Balkan but this time it is a bit different, we are talking about ideal jobs, moving around and having enough free time. My dream too. And i most say the idea of it is very seducing and i keep trying to figure out a way. The best i found so far to live a simple and fulfilling life would be to be seasonal worker in some sport or in tourism and travel the rest of the year. Night brings advice doesn't it?

Perast:

Montenegro,here we come.

Since we have bit of a planning and want to be in Guca to meet Lorin, Marcel, Pj and Niko we spent the morning in Dubrovnik, as i said it is something different and except for the main street and the regularly arriving flood of people from the massive cruisers it is very enjoyable. After some picnic in a park, we catch the bus to Herzeg-Novi, we have just enough money to pay for it and an ice cream :)

Dubrovnik Fort.

and bay and other part of the fort

and an other beautiful Adriatic bay.


Leaving Dubrovnik.

In Herzeg Novi, we are welcome out of the bus by a middle aged man offering his room, I say maybe and he takes us to visit it. Judith is very skeptical and feels like a pigeon getting riped of. I am talking with the man about his family and keep kidding him about his notion of distances. He tells us his flat is 500 m from center and 100 m from the beach. As we get there Judith is not so keen to stay because we are in his home and would be sleeping on the couch. We go to the beach and keep our eyes opened for something else. Nothing to be found, we sit down and have an ice cream, a bit of sun and a swim. The place is a bit crowded but feels ok. We now really have to start looking for a room to stay in. After some failed trials at different places and walking around, we end up in the very same block we visited before (it is actually really 100 m from the beach and 500 from the center) and stay at a womans place. She already rented her room to two girls and now her living room to us. She sleeps in the kitchen on a camp bed.

Meeeeeeat

We go out for dinner. After a big week in Croatia eating salads, fish and sandwiches, we are beck in the country of grill and order a plate of mixed meat. 600 gr of meat, specialty of th house. As my mom whom i m speak to on the phone as we order says, this is more than what she uses for a meal for the 5 of us. It is a little to much... Herzeg-novi by night is quite nice, old town, church and view on the bay. Unfortunately we cannot get on the old castle, there is a open air cinema tonight.

Leaving Tara and getting stuck once again

I spent most of my Sunday chillin, sewing my back pack and a small leather wallet.

I was expecting ot get a good night of sleep but my hosts had other planes, we went to Nevenas cousins place, the Ring bar and had some drinks until late, I got to hear some singing and some jokes. I real appreciate the people here, so simple, easygoing and welcoming. Also i learn the the mad man who drove us up to the bridge with his combie a week ago is a cousin and actually gave us a visit card for the very same camping i m staying at!

Leaving on the next day is not easy, I really like the people here and Slavko even told me i d be his Kum on his wedding. Don't know the word for this in English but it something like the Temoin in french. I get i Tara Rafting t shirt, hugs from everybody as they leave with a French couple to go rafting. I also say goodbye to the dog who follows me out to the entry of the camp.
After half an hour, no car picked me up, Slavko shows up again and drives me a couple kilometer further. There i get a sandwich and coffee, listen to the angry talk of Gile about the politician and mafia in Montenegro... Gile then takes me to Pljevlja were we have a beer. It is 1 pm and i am a couple kilometers from the Serbian border. But hitchhiking does really not work well today...

And that is one of the reasons why... there is a huge waiting line :) and i seem to be forgotten every time someone stops... First time i am confronted to this, i remain calm and chilled :)

I use the time waiting to make this beautiful gravure.

After 2-3 more hours nobody stopped, i engage conversation with a young guy at the fence next to the road, watching me with a smile. Where are from he asks. And we start chatting, it starts raining so he invites me in their garage where him and his brother are painting cars. They are real friendly and offer me chocolate, juice and some Serbian lessons :)
I get back on the road but still don't have any succes for an hour so i give up and joined the brothers for dinner, get the best burek i ve eaten so far, a potato, cheese burek made by their mother. I am really tired from this night and take a nap in their car. We then have coffee, wait for the car to be painted. They show me a nice small hotel and we go out for a beer. They tell me about the cities history, the culture and the people. They also tell me about Serbian education, about N Tesla and Einsteins wife who was Serbian and supposedly is the author of everything Einstein said :) They are very proud of Serbian education and actually have some reasons to be. As simple car painters their know much more about French history, math and physics than many university students i know...

Mystical moutains rafting and culinar specialties

My hosts at the camping place Kamp "Kljajevica Luka" are the kindest people i came across so far. Rada is always preparing me something small to eat and for today she wants to make sure i don't get bored so she organises that i come along on the pick up trip for the rafters. The rafters left his morning for a longer trip. The trip starts as always with one or two glasses of rakija :) They then go down the river until it joins with the Piva river at the Bosnian border. This is where we drive of to to at and pick up the tired rafters...

The road is full of mystical landscapes.

The end of the rafting parcour

Rafters getting into the end of the parcour

During the dinner, a guy is playing guitar and ever body sings along. The atmosphere is great and the rafters are getting fired up :) Then the guy playing guitar, slightly more drunk then the other i guess decides to throw the guitar into the river.

Enjoying a cold beer with Slavko!

Dinner time, soup for starters, around the table starving drivers crew : (clockwise) Me, Rada, Radko, Ilia and the forth brother from whom i forgot the name :(

Mmmm that soup IS delicious! and so is the goulash we get later

First night and day at camp Kljajevica Luka

After making myself comfortable, exchanging some words with the owners with my minimal Serbian, making friends with cats and dogs who are actually also real good friends!)

Like cat an dog in a good way...

My sweet little hut and my 2 new friends.

The dog is going to be the guardian of my hut and sleep in front of it every night from now on... After some while of righting in my journal and playing with the cat and dog, a car drives in. A girls comes out, chats with the owner (her cousin actually) and they point to me. The new girls comes over and asks if i speak German. Sure do! Her name is Nevena, she is coming from Germany to visit her family. She is a smiling, energetic, curious and very welcoming person. She really doesn't want me to get bored and invites me to go to have a couple drinks tonight with her cousin. The discussion with Nevena is very interesting, she had a tough life between immigration and war. This once again certainly relativizes the problems i might have or the problems i hear from people around me in Lausanne.

The view ou t my mini window on my first moring in the camp.

On the road to Belgrade, you have to raft!

Next morning, our ways go different ways... Alain is going back south, going for Albania (check out his blog, its in the link list!) I m going north, to Belgrade!

Some of the most amazing story happened this day!! (13 June)

Out of the village.

I rapidly get a ride with a Belgian couple, on their way to rafting. They drop me on the bridge from where i look down and think i have to get closer to this beautiful clear water! So down i walk, drop my bag at the restaurant and after getting slightly lost, a dirt road gets me down to a small not so nice beach from where i decide to continue trough the jungle.

So i manage to get closer to the bridge, take some pictures, see some rapids and some rafts going down them... but i walked some hour in this jungle and dont want to turn around...

A bit further i find this nice bouldering rock, where are you Alain!

A lost boot by the Tara...

This is when the crazy stuff happened. As i was making my way up some snake infested, way too steep stones (ok i dramatised this a bit), i hear some yelling behind me... Its the Belgian driving down the river and making big signs! The tell me to get closer, I run down, jump from stone to stone and catch up with the raft. The raft main rower invites me on board, I jump in!

And their i am, i a raft on river Tara! With the two Belgian,

And Slavko, my saviour !

he is very nice and we exchange two three sentences. He proposes to take me down to the end and then drive me back to the bridge where he has his camp site! Of course i agree and as we get to the end of the raft tour, i offer him a glass of rakjia to celebrate this improbable encounter! I then share the Belgians meal, my first task of authentic local food, some smoked ham, fresh cheese, fresh tomatoes and lamb meat! Odlicno! Delicious!

We the drive back and i talk with the Belgian about the mountains, it turns out their are the ones who left us some bred and this ridiculous red bandanna they found on their way! what a small world!

And i soon realize the camp we are driving at, is the one recommended to us by the mad driver some days ago! I i also rapidly realize i m not going to Belgrade anymore...

And this is where i ll stay tonight, and my new friend!

Leaving the Hut, day III

So after this very short night, the sky looked like we expected it... grey... we make a last picture in front of the bivuak before the goats surround us and pack the bags. They are lighter than when we got up, we finished all the food last night mmmm delicious pasta, food always tastes beter in the mountains :) and the breakfast stuff this morning.

Two o so tough guys!

We walk down at a sustained pace but still look for one more bouldering spot which we wont find, all too easy or to small... As we get back into Zabljak, it rains, pours down and hide in a bakery, called "Pekara Bakery" by the way, and have an other classic meal of burek and yogurt, the best burek so far... We then get to an internet caffe, i fix some posts for the next days, write emails and forget to look for a couch in Belgrade... It is still raining, we spent 3 hours there... We then meet a couple of Australians, Rachel and Jared who are doing a bit of Europe after visiting India. We chat a while, about India, travels, locals... We have a beer and they invite us to shower at their place, What a blessing to get a shower tonight!!! after 4 days of sweat and dirt :) Then it is shower and dinner and finally we stayed the night over in their rented room. If you read this, thank you so much again! It was real nice to sleep in a real bed again after so many uncomfortable nights!

Cosy little place, happy, clean walkers and their hosts!