Durmitor

Once in Zablijak we asked 3 or 4 places for room prices, all being €30, we settled for a private room at a hostel (Hikers Den). A welcome shower, beer, late lunch and a nap was followed by a meal. €20 for a shared starter, 2 huge mains, 3 beers and a litre of wine. The menu although in English, was vague, a steak was in fact a meat roll with a cheese filling and battered coating.

Day 7

The hostel, run by an Australian and Montenegrin couple, was informative, as well as a chance to enjoy some creature comforts. Bears are not a problem at the altitudes in Durmitor at the time of year, as they go lower down. There is a well stocked supermarket, were resupplying light weight food is not too difficult. There was also pierce gas canisters. Small street stalls had the local 1:22000 map and behind the supermarket, a farmers market. By looking on the internet and a recommendation from the hostel, we walked 2km to Camp MlinskiPotok near Black Lake (Crno Jezero). We were greeted by the family, offered schnapps, coffee and biscuits. We had a long chat in the shade with both the son and daughter who spoke very good English. Yet again, amazing hospitality.

A 20 min walk took us to the far side of the smaller of the two lakes, amazing blue water at the foot of the mountains and surrounded by coniferous forests. We spent the afternoon on the rocks and in the water- perfect. 

During the evening the family lit a campfire, this attracted several people. There are so many different nationalities staying here - Dutch, Russian, German, Australian...  The owner can speak 6 different languages! It feels this campsite have it right €3.50 per person, showers, toilets, undercover and outdoor seating, fridge, hobs, sinks and the fire pit.

Day 8

A 4 hour slow pace, uphill walk through trees and onto the rocky slopes around the tallest mountains, led us to the ice cave (Ledena pecina). A map was needed, signs were there but sometime written in Cyrillic. The spring marked on the map was barley flowing, water purifying tablets would have made us happy to drink it. Leaving the tablets in the tent, we found that 1 litre of water was not enough for the day.

Highest mountains - Bobotv kuk on the right

The cave still had some ice in it, even at this late summer stage. An ice column and a couple of stumps from stalagmites. There was a fixed hand line part way into the cave, then down a slab of ice was a knotted rope. I decided this looked too slippery so traversed across, which also ended up being slippery. It resulted in a fast bum slide to the bottom. The coolness of the cave was a welcome break from the heat outside and the muddy shorts were cooling!

Taking a different route back to the valley, water having run out, we ate as many raspberries and strawberries as we could find. Getting the most expensive bottle of water ever from the lake cafe (€3.50) we had a quick dip in the lake to wash the shorts.

There was a €3 a person charge to enter the national park, we got caught out this day, but the campsite owners told us how to avoid them in the future.

Day 9

A walk into Zablajk to find bus times for different options for the rest of the holiday. Accommodation costs on the coast made that not an option. The guidebook had some interesting routes in Prokletije in the north east. It would take a day of travelling, but looked viable. Balkan viator provided accurate times. That being the plan, we checked our finances over an amazing hamburger from a fast food cafe and resupplied with food from the supermarket. A large bottle of yoghurt with a slightly sour taste was a favourite.

The afternoon spent by the lake, with a couple of jumps from the rocks into it.