Stunning scenery, Epic even!

Day 14

Albania to Dubrovnik in Croatia via Montenegro

On route out of Albania the randomness continued, baby cow spotted in the back of a hatchback car!!!

€15 for insurance to skim through Montenegro but we soon realised it was money well spent. Initially I was reminded of Turkey but soon the landscape changed and became greener with large mountains and winding roads. We headed through and over the mountains. Crossing a large lake along a road with water either side, stunning( a word I will use a lot in today's blog. We were heading for the southern tip of Croatia and there was an option to dip into Montenegro via a motor way route. We all agreed that although longer we would take the coastal road. The right decision! 

The view that greeted us as we came over the brow of the winding road was EPIC, stunning, awesome and unbelievable. We felt privileged to be able to drive along this coastal route.  Nik wove round twists and bends hugging the rock while the coves lay out before us. I could have jumped out the car at every turn to take pictures but we had to press on to make it to camp before dark. We had had a late start after chatting with Joseph at our campsite in Albania. Camera in hand I tried to capture some of the views but from a moving car they will not be great. The pictures in my mind will have to suffice. 

The sea was crystal blue with the sun shimmering on the water and bouncing off the cliff's descending into the sea. Along the shore line and stretching up into the cliff's were clusters of houses. Some looked as they had stood the test of time and nestled there over the years. Some looked much newer and had sprung up to meet the demands of the tourist's coming to explore the stunning vista. A friend is heading to Montenegro a week today and she will not be disappointed by what she finds. We even came across a Vineyard, she'll like that! We decided that our journey along the coast line had given us a taste of somewhere we would like to return to. Another to add to the growing bucket list! 

I suppose that part of what our journey has given us is the opportunity to explore places we would not normally consider for an annual 2 week holiday. Although it's a whistle stop tour there are some definite's so far and some others that I am glad to have experienced but I'm not in a rush to return to. Swapping stories at camp in the evenings as we compare each others experience's is interesting as we get to see what impact a place had had on each of us.  Some have really challenged the stereotypes we had formed before we arrived in the area. Some lived up to these and some completely blew these out of the water. Albania was one. If anything, experience it for yourself before making a judgement you might be surprised by what you find. 

We crossed the border from Montenegro into Croatia at which point we were unsure on the position with our car insurance and comes to think of it now our travel insurance. Nik phoned the car Insurance company who were also uncertain. Croatia is currently a non EU country but from Monday it joins the EU. Our travel insurance is an annual European cover so we are presuming that Croatia is covered as it doesn't distinguish between EU and non EU. So we press on as there is nowhere obvious to buy insurance cover as there has been at other non EU borders. Thus far we have had to produce car registration documents and insurance bought in the registered keepers name. Craig hasn't been able to drive. At the border on leaving the non EU country we have had to show our insurance or face paying a fine. Steve had said there would be some non EU countries on route and it all adds to the experience but check your documents to bring in you decide to drive in non EU countries. 

We continued along the Croatian coastline, Nik tired by now. It was looking like a 7 hour driving day. Made challenging because of the winding roads and the need to nurse the breaks. However, it was well worth it because it definitely wasn't a monotonous drive along a bland motorway. We drove along towards Dubrovnik which lay out before us as a cluster of peach coloured buildings with the original old town encased in the city walls.  It was nestled within an outcrop of land surrounded on three sides by the sea but tethered to the mainland. The new buildings were in keeping with the old town and from the road above it looked stunning. We would have liked to have descended to explore but the streets didn't look Olly friendly. Not a place to explore with a 23 year old Limousine. Another one to add to the bucket list, although some who had walked within the city walls said it had been spoilt by tourism and was busy and commercialised. I suppose that that's the price paid when somewhere of beauty and historical significance is exploited but on the other hand with it comes a boost to the economy to keep such areas alive. 

Our camp site was nestled in the hill side of the cliff's along the shore line 20 minutes north of Dubrovnik. Due to it's location it was built in grassed areas stepping up the hill side. The Mowlems warned us that the incline and turns where steep and we would have trouble getting Olly up there. Camp was made lining the road entering the site, almost like a welcome party! We had found a nice supermarket along the way so a great BBQ dinner was enjoyed, cooked by Craig. He was craving a meaty beef burger and we found some.

 They were tasty and fuelled our empty stomach's, once again we had forgotten to stop for lunch. The Albanian twist on a cooked breakfast had set the boys up for the days long drive.

Tomorrow we're off to .... ........