Day 234 – MONTENEGRO: Ulcinj to Budva


Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 63.42km
Average speed / 平均速度: 12.2km/h
Time on bike / 走行時間: 5h 11m
Total distance to date / 今日までの積算距離: 929.44km (plus 8400km)
Ascent / 上り: +840m
Descent / 下り: -865m

Look Mum! I’m on TV!

Rob on TV BUdva

This just goes to show that you should always repair your trousers when you have the chance, as I did last night, because you never know when you might get interviewed for the TV news.

Repairing my trousers for the fourth time near Bar, Montenegro

The ride from Ulcinj to Budva was amazing, as is the whole coast here. Just spectacular. I never expected it to be this dramatic. Massive rocky outcrops (like, outcropping to 1,500m high) drop down to the crystal clear water of the Adriatic, leaving people to build where ever they can. Below is Sveti Stefen. That one took me by surprise.

Sveti Stefen, Montenegro

Churches and monasteries built where ever land was flat enough to allow.

Monastery near Bar, Montenegro

Old olive plantations in Bar had trees up to 2,000 years old.

Ancient olive trees (up to 2,000 years old) in Bar, Montenegro

Now, as I was innocently cycling along, trying to keep my jaw from dropping on the ground due to the magnificent scenery, I was called over to the side of the road by a guy washing his car. He spoke good English, and was impressed with my journey and mode of transport.

“Can you wait for a while here? I have a friend from the TV news who would like to speak to you.” he said, while stabbing his mobile phone, dailing his TV news friend.

Fifteen minutes later, Dado, an announcer on the news, arrived with his cameraman. We arranged to meet in Budva, an amazing small town with an enchanting old section of the town meticulously upkept.

Dado from TV Budva in old town Budva, Montenegro

Many many thanks to Dado, who, after hearing that I wanted to stay a night in Budva, offered for me to stay at his place. We did the interview (you can watch it by clicking on the small image at the top of this post), and we arranged to meet up again after he had finished work.

This gave me a chance to have a wander around the old town. The streets are narrow, the tops of buildings, if any higher, seem as though they would meet.

Old town Budva, Montenegro Old town Budva, Montenegro

Old town Budva, Montenegro

Old town Budva, Montenegro Old town Budva, Montenegro

Basically, the coast of Montenegro has taken me totally by surprise. I had been expecting great things from the coast of Croatia, and Montenegro was just another country to pass through to get there. But what a place. A rather well hidden secret.

Old town Budva, Montenegro

After work, Dado and I drove to Kotor, a little further along the coast. Kotor is even more impressive than Budva. A massive fiord (the biggest in Europe, apparently – yes, even bigger than any of the fiords in Norway) creates a massive bay, with rocky peaks towering over the town.

Descent into Kotor, Montenegro

Man, if Croatia is supposed to be the most impressive coastline in Europe, then it must be something out of this world.


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9 thoughts on “Day 234 – MONTENEGRO: Ulcinj to Budva

  • Daniel

    Wow. You seem to have had a really interesting day. The fjords in Norway are steeper (as I recall from my memory) and most often not that rocky. I actually didn't know that there are fjords anywhere else – Douglas Noal Adams actually didn't either as he didn't write so in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

    Keep exploring this nice planet and don't forget to tell everyone about it!

  • malcolm

    Rob – love the photos looking up. they are quite "purefocusesque". I am at my sister Jeans place. Her and her husband David and I are loving traveling vicariously through you.

  • Tim

    hey Daniel, I gather you're not a Kiwi. The south westen part of New Zealand is called Fiordland.

    @Rob, you need to get your hands on some No 8 wire to make a grate for your cooker.

  • Satoshi

    Rob,

    your next trip will be from Alaska (or, say, Greenland) to Ushuaia, right? You will see some fjords in the southern tip of South America, I don't know the scale of it but also has glaciers a la NZ (there's a scene in that great film "the Motorcycle Diaries) if you haven't watched it you should, really!!

    and yeah i think you can remove those scary warnings which have no effectes on you but do on your mom instead! it was not my intention to scare her sorry if i was careless..

  • Chris J

    Hi Rob,

    That video of the news report is great. Your white shirt and hat makes you look like an Englishman on safari in central Africa. It must be difficult to ride slow enough that someone can walk next to you, but it sure makes for a hilarious little scene.

  • Daniel

    @Chris: to me the white hat and white shirt let him look like a drugs baron or someone from the mafia 🙂 – looked really great.

    @rob btw: did they want to know what's in your bags?