Durmitor National Park, Montenegro - Saturday June 9

We woke up this morning to a beautiful mountain setting. James had already gotten up and driven all over the town and found some great hiking spots by the time I had woken up so he was very anxious for me to eat breakfast, get ready and head out hiking.

We parked the car and headed through the woods, then above the tree line and into sheep pasture. Then we headed up a steep incline and finally into another upper alpine meadow. James continued on because the elevation was making it a bit harder to breath. On our way downwe heard some voices. A group of about 10 young fellows though they were in the middle of nowhere and all the sudden they're greated on the trail by a cheerful blond girl in a pink shirt and an American no less (James was exploring a cave). It was a group of Serbians and I think they were a bit bummed that they thought they were the trail blazers out in the mountains and it had already been claimed my an American woman skipping down the trail.

James and I then headed for the coast, the Montenegrin Riviara, or the Budva Riviara. First we needed to drive from the top of a canyon down to the bottom. I don't know how many feet or meters it was, but we smelled burning breaks from the trucks for miles and miles as it felt as if were were driving all the way down to the center of the earth. After this we drove though Podogic (???), the capital. It was the smallest capital city we have ever seen. And it was very easy to drive through because there were so few streets. Of course there were not many road signs, so we had to ask directions. Then getting to the coast was mostly nice and easy, over some rolling hills, until we just came upon the coast and had to drive down yet another high descent. Some cars get very impatient and take the risk to pass on those busy roads. One time James had to hit the breaks because there was a car in our lane headed into us. The truck he was passing slowed and he was able to merge back in front of the truck barely missing us. Before we got to the bottom we did see the police at the scene of a small accident from somebody having to force themself back into their lane.

The Budva Coast is amazing. There are wonderful beaches and incredible mountains as the backdrop. James and I found a room to stay in. The rooms are pretty expensive so I ended up picking a horrible room. Sometimes I still think I smell the horrible room. At least we were up early the next morning.