thebicyclediaries | Montenegro / Albania

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Cameras: Canon 70D DSLR, iPhone 4 and GoPro Hero.

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: Lake Skadar, near Virpazar, Montenegro.

: Lake Skadar, near Godinje.

: Deserted beach on Lake Skadar, near Godinje.

: My favourite goat.

: ‘Let’s have a sniff then, darlin’.’

: ‘What’s your problem?’

: More goats. Such noble beasts.

: Tortoise.

: Cat on slippers.

: Man in lake.

: Winemaker near Virpazar. Both his red and white are delicious: fruity, fresh and smooth. He’s not a fan of Montenegro, though: everything is ‘problem!’ Or, if not: ‘catastrophe!’

: Painter on beach in small village called Buljarica, near Petrovac.

: Sveti Stefan, a beautiful islet acquired by the Yugoslav government and turned into an upscale hotel during the Tito regime. Now a 5* hotel resort where rooms go for thousands of euros. A big shame.

: The beautiful old town of Perast on the Bay of Kotor, where cars are banned.

: St George island, near Perast, with a lovely 12th century church.

: Kayaking to St George and the artificial island Our Lady of Skrpjela.

: Docking at Our Lady of Skrpjela island, created – so the legend goes – after locals discovered a painting of the Virgin Mary on a small reef and took it as a sign they should build an island there. People still take rocks and gifts to the island today to thank Mary for her protection.

: Bottoms up!

: Scary hounds near Perast – just a few of the many caged in small compounds in the area.

: One of several regular ferries arriving to bring hordes of day-tourists to Perast.

: View of the Tara River Canyon from Đurđevića Tara Bridge. At the time of its construction in 1937, it was the biggest vehicular concrete arch bridge in Europe.

: P enjoying the view.

: Canyoning – scary, chilly and fantastic fun.

: Taking the plunge!

: Thank god those cliffs got in the way.

: Rock gnomes.

: Catnap in Petrovac.

: A selfie after two months on the road. I think I look rather good.

: En route to the Albanian border from Podgorica.

: Note to self: best check border crossing has been built before cycling 18 miles to get there. No way back except the way I came. A bad day.

: Goats mock me on my way back to Podgorica. What a clown, they’re thinking. I can see it in their eyes.

: It is pretty crappy, to be honest.

: Finally discover the correct route to the border, near Lake Skadar, and try again. After the crossing there seems to be an awful big hill on the horizon, however.

: Halfway up the hill – part of the Prokletije range on the Montenegro/Albania border – and I’m already suffering.

: 22km and 2.5 hours later, I finally make it to the top – and what a descent is in store.

: Maud enjoying a well deserved rest.

: Me ruining a lovely view.

: Sheep! Just one of many throngs of livestock I am to meet today.

: In Albania, I seem to be some kind of pig magnet. Every time I stop I am surrounded.

: Road starts crumbling a few miles after I reach the bottom.

: Soon there’s very little road at all. And then the rain starts.

: Exhausted, hungry and wet, I eventually ditch Maud, barge into someone’s house and demand they take me to Vermosh (a mere 25 miles away) through the medium of Pictionary.

: They don’t – but they do drop me at the nearest village, where I’m handed over to a kind man with a truck who can take me the rest of the way.

: Maud enjoying a rare lie down while we wait for the road to be cleared.

: My hitch-hiking companions: an Albanian man currently working as a chef in Canada (left) and a young Israeli couple (centre).

: One of several road clearances we wait for en route.

: It’s dark and pouring with rain when the car in front gets a flat tyre. Our driver heroically sidles past with just inches separating him from the sheer drop to his right. What a hero.

: After 2.5 hours driving just 25 miles, we make it to the guest-house in Vermosh, where we are greeted with hot showers and delicious home-made food.

: Last-minute bike check.

: A feast of home-made goats cheese, beef stew, bread, chicken soup, chips, rakija and ‘boronica’ (a type of strong berry schnapps)

: Grandma, who can’t speak English (like our hosts), but has a lovely smile.

: The household is strongly Catholic, though the majority of Albanians are Muslim (approx 60%).

: Our hosts: a lovely couple.

: Another friendly pig.

: The charming guest house.

: Pumpkins!

: Onions!

: The çifteli, a plucked string instrument with only two strings, played mainly by the Gheg people of northern and central Albania and Kosovo.

: The mandatory dram of morning rakija.

: My attempt to leave the guest-house is scuppered by a very rickety bridge that splinters under Maud’s weight. Buggernuts..

: The shallow stream blocking my escape to the road.

: Moments before I take the plunge, shoes and socks in hand. Recorded air temp: 8 degrees.

: High in the hills, en route to Montenegro border. I need to re-enter the country in order to cross to Serbia and Kosovo.

: Cows. I’ve now learnt not to be scared of them. They never move.

: Albania-Montenegro border. Barely a soul in sight.

: A toy box church in Montenegro.

: There’s a definite tarmac shortage in Montenegro and Albania.

: Verdant hills on my way to Berane – just before a torrential downpour that soaks me to my very core.

: Building work near Rozaje, Montenegro. The country is basically one giant construction site.

: Rozaje: a very odd, soulless place centred around a preposterously huge and shiny hotel (now closed ‘due to issues with the government’, a local tells me). All the shops and restaurants have mirrored glass, which is strangely unsettling.

: My miserable hovel in Rozaje, with dirty carpets, no curtains and what looks like blood and hair on the walls. It’s called Motel Milenium (sic), for anyone keen for a stay.

: One of the many invitingly pitch black tunnels through the Montenegrin hills.

: A final goodbye to this stunningly beautiful, desperately dysfunctional mess of a country. I’ll miss you.

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