Dubrovnik

The last day of the trip.    :-(

The "summer camp phenomena" - you meet and bond with old and new friends, then after a great time in a great place, you all have to say good by and head your separate ways.

Two days ago we left Kotor Bay, biking into Bosnia for a one night stay.

In mountainous areas they usually place country borders on the ridges, which means checkpoints are at a pass. So we once again had the challenge of a climb (and once again the challenge of the heat), but then we got to cool off on a great downhill.

We stopped to visit a bee keeper and learn a bit about his apiary, followed with a honey tasting that included the chance to try a honey based Rakia (the honey sweetness did a lot for its palate).

The next day started with a van transit across the Croatian border for the final day's ride along the Mediterranean.

Our farewell dinner was inside the walled city.

The next morning I had an early flight. As I boarded, it started to rain.  Rain on Day 1 and then at the very end. It was nice to be able to keep the rain gear packed, but on some of those warm hills a little drizzle would have been appreciated.

Five countries, ~ 240 miles, 15,000+ vertical feet. A good ride. Farewell Balkans,

Zbogum  збогум (Macedonia)

Lamtumire (Albania)

Dovidenja! (Montenegro)

Zbogom (Bosnia)

Dovidenja (Croatia)

The google photos link to more pictures of the trip. 

Riding along Kotor Bay

Today we rode the edge of Kotor Bay.

The first part of the ride was very pleasant. It was warm, but flat. The road hugged the coast. And the scenery was classic mediterranean coastline.

Along the way there was a short stop at the Montenegro Naval Museum and a short cut through a bird sanctuary.

The last section of the days ride was the most challenging.  Steep and hot with no wind which made it a challenge to drink enough to avoid dehydration.

After we finished this toughest part of the day's day we stopped for lunch and a tour at an organic olive farm, followed by an olive tasting where the host/owner shared a few olive oil "pearls" with us. 

Here are a few points I found interesting.

1) Tips on tasting.
    - take a teaspoon or so, put it in a thin walled cup, and warm the cup in your hand.
   -  keep the cup covered with your other hand for a minute or so, then quickly remove your hand and take in the aroma (as you would with a glass of wine).
   - you should get two aromas.  First, freshly cut grass will be the strongest. And then you should be able to appreciate a green apple (think Granny Smith) scent in the background.

2) For the tasting itself, put a few drops on your tongue and move it from side to side several times over the tip and middle part of your tongue. Don't swallow yet.
   - it should be a bit bitter on your cheeks.
   - then swallow and if it is a good olive oil you will get a peppery feeling in your throat. Those are the polyphenols which provide the health benefits. Not peppery? Then it is either an old oil or perhaps an adulterated olive oil.

3) Harvesting and pressing
   - if the olives are crushed and pressed the same day as they are picked, it is a virgin olive oil. Wait even  a day and the olives will start to oxidize. Then it is no longer a true virgin oil.
   - "fiirst press" is not a valuable description for olive oil. All olive oil is pressed just once after being crushed. There is no "second" press, ever.
   - there is always a bit of organic material left in the oil after the press, so it needs to be left to settle for 20 days to attain clarity. This is not a taste issue, but an appearance issue.
   - the aromas (and taste) increase in complexity over 4 months or so, so tastings are typically done at 4 to 6 months. This can be aged before or after bottling.
   - olive oil will keep for 18 months at room temperature. As it ages, the peppery taste diminishes. It is still good to cook with, just not as healthy.

After the tasting, and meeting the 2 donkeys that keep the grass short in the olive grove...

... we proceeded on to the end of the road and then by private transport across the bay to our lodgings for the night.

The google photos link to all the pictures for this trip thus far. 

Descending the ladder - Kotor

We got lucky on the weather - woke up to a few clouds - and things got better as the day went on.

The it was off to descend "the ladder" into Kotor.  For perspective, that is acruise ship in the bay 3000 feet below.

Then on to the ladder.





The day before we had been on the bikes for 5 or 6 hours - this descent, with stops, took maybe all of an hour.

We got to our hotel in the old town area before noon, and since a couple of us hadn't had our daily fill of aerobic exercise, the guide, Bob, and I climbed the 1350 steps (per a google search) up the 1000 feet to the fortress behind the city.

This city has the most amazing wall and fortifications I have ever seen. You might have been able to starve the Venetians (who built them) out,  but no one could have taken this walled fortress by a direct attack.

Then a walk around the city before..

.... a couple of glasses of wine and an excellent dinner overlooking the harbor.

A google photos link to my pictures for this trip thus far. 

On into Montenegro

The van transfer from Tirana went by quickly and we arrived at our hotel on lake Skadarsko about 2 PM. We  checked in and then headed out on the water for a quick local tour and a swim.

.. and got to help a couple of locals whose ski-doo wasn't "doo-in"g so well.

It was nice to get into the hotel early and have a few extra hours to rest. One thing about this trip has been the fact that we always seem to be moving. I have a few minutes to look at email each morning, but not much more.

For orientation, here is a map of the area (and a link for those who want to zoom in for a bit more detail - https://goo.gl/maps/Czo5SiyrBbm) showing Lake Skadarsko, Tirana to the south (where we started the van transfer), and in blue the biking route for the next day. You can also see Dubrovnik to the north where we will end our trip in another 3 days.

Then it was time to begin the hardest cycling day of the trip. 5000+ vertical feet of climbing over 30 miles. Not excessively steep, just a persistent 5 to 6 % grade, and in the heat which made it even more challenging.

We stuck to the back roads instead of main highways, so only a few cars. But that meant some pretty uneven riding surfaces. OK for a hybrid/mountain bike, but it would have been a lot tougher on a road bike.

Our hotel for the night - a ski hotel. Not a big ski area as we are really in the middle of nowhere. 

After a beer, shower, and short nap we vanned to the mausoleum you see in this picture to learn about one of the legends of Montenegran history. A true renaissance man - arch bishop, chosen ruler, poet, and philosopher - and a key figure in the consolidation of multiple small fiefs into what is today Montenegro.

This is the view from the mausoleum looking back towards the area of our hotel. Ski runs are just beyond the small green patches.

It was an impressive structure. Apparently the original was destroyed during the second world war (he died about 1850) and just rebuilt about 50 years ago.

Before heading back to the hotel for dinner, we took a short side trip to check out tomorrow's route. A 3000 foot descent to the town of Kotor on the Adriatic sea via a series of switchbacks called "the ladder". We had some wine in the van so toasted the sunset and then back to the hotel for dinner.

A google photos link to my pictures for this trip thus far. 

Half Way - Tirana

Yesterday was a long, warm van transfer between hotels (the VW van air conditioning was not quite up to the challenge of the 90 degree temperature). No riding. I was so happy I was not on the bike. 

Tirana, the capital of Albania was about 200 kilometers, so I figured 200k = 120 miles = maybe 2 1/2 hours? But many of the roads have a speed limit of 40 k/hour, and even on the faster roads they have this unique idea that you should slow to 40 k/hr (from 60 or 70) when you go under an overpass. No change in the road, just a short lower speed limit.

In the end it took about 5 hours for the trip - plus a few hours for a visit to a winery and lunch inside an old fortress.

Albania has about 3 million people and a little over a million live in Tirana.

This is a bustling city with a lot of new construction .. plus a lot of buildings that still need major work. Overall unemployment is about 30% but our guide, and other young people I'm told,  are optimistic about the future.

Today was Sunday so I did my usual walk around before breakfast. 

Tirana Square is a great open space. On one edge is the oldest mosque in Albania. And there is the monument of the "George Washington of Albania".

He started the war of Albanian independence from the Ottoman Empire, and in the end Albania won. But the general was long dead...the war took over 500 years. Definitely the long view as far as history goes.

Here is the pyramid the dictator (came into power after WWII, died in late 1980s with a relatively peaceful transition) built for his legacy....now a TV media center. So much for his planning ahead.

This morning I visited the underground bunker of the secret police. Now a museum to remind people of the horrors of a dictatorship and to "never forget".

Today we van once again -  into Montenegro. Then 5 days of cycling to finish our Balkan tour.

A google photos link to my pictures for this trip thus far.