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Jun 25

Montenegro

After Veliko Tarnovo we decide that there isn’t much more in Bulgaria we want to see and plot our route to Montenegro.

Perhaps we are suffering from sensory overload, because there is a Monastery, Castle, or Fort on almost every corner.  After Turkey and Greece we are a bit over them, for as beautiful and historic as they all are (well some of them are a bit lame), they all becoming a blur to us.

However, as we leave Veliko we discover there is a new road side attraction; prostitutes.  We pass a number of scantily clad (it is summer), young attractive girls. At first we innocently comment on why they are standing on the side of the road, in what we would describe as the middle of nowhere?  After about the 4th or 5th girl, it starts to become a little obvious this is prostitute alley.

It’s a full day of driving and we would like to be in Montenegro for the night.  That’s two border crossings; Bulgaria to Serbia and Serbia to Montenegro.  We don’t care about the crossings, but we do care about the currency. We’ve used up all our Bulgarian Leva and ideally don’t want to get anymore. We certainly don’t need any Serbian; we don’t even know what they use.

After our little incident crossing into Bulgaria we are relieved to leave the country with no problems. Who knows what black marks sit against you on their system?  We are in Serbia for only a few hours and then we cross into into Montenegro.   It’s interesting how as soon as you cross into another country you can feel a change; you quickly ascertain some sense of its economic state.  Serbia appears more miserable and harder done by than its neighbours; the roads, the housing, the clothing; all are a little more worn and unkept.

We are driving down the eastern boundary of Montenegro, skirting Albania, which is a no go zone for us.  Even the GPS has omitted this country from its maps.  It’s up, over and through, the mountains. It’s a majestic landscape, though the drive is somewhat treacherous along a narrow road. It’s one we decide to complete in the morning.

We stop in Berane. There does not appear to be much about this town to like; it looks like a working town. It has potential, sitting on the banks of a river, framed by mountains, but it’s the housing-commission looking apartments that dominate the view, which ruins a potential gem.

We pick the best of only three hotels in town and bunker down.  We skip the hotel breakfast for fear of suffocating from smoke inhalation and look for a coffee before we hit the road.  The one and only decent looking café turns out to be the hidden gem.  It’s the only building in the town that has been beautifully resorted.  Coffee is €0.50 (new record for the CPI). Breakfast is sumptuous eggs for only €2 more. There is no reason to visit this town again, except for this one café!

Whilst Montenegro is not a member of the Eurozone, or even an EU member, it has unofficially adopted the Euro as its currency, yet it still remains a little behind with prices.

It’s 150km to the coast. We thought it would take a couple of hours at most – It took us three hours to cover a 100km!!  The route takes us through more mountains and is spectacular, but we’ve never had so many switchbacks on a road. There are parts where the road has washed away and we cross a bridge that looks like it’s collapsing at any moment (we actually got out and had a look before we drove over).  On the positive side, there are few trucks to deal with, either to overtake, or squeeze past as they hurtled down the narrow road coming the other way, at which point you pull over as close as you can, stop and hold your breath.

We get to the capital city, Podgorica, and decide to take a break. It turns into an overnight break. The weather report is not promising, so why be on the coast? Podgorica appears to be an old town quickly becoming a modern city, showing further evidence that this is a flourishing country. I suspect the unofficial use of the Euro is helping, though I never did well at economics, so am not going to attempt to understand how.

Our decision to stay the night is influenced by the weather and more importantly, we find a cinema playing movies in English. We haven’t bothered with TV anywhere. On the off chance you might find something in English, its usually a well out of date soapy. So, to find a cinema playing the new Tom Cruise movie in 3D is a treat.

Other than the shopping mall with the cinema, there isn’t much else to see. Or I should say, we didn’t see much else. We find the ‘historic old town’, which is a run down part of the city, that we quickly exit.

Our hotel is modern and slick, though oddly located on top of a Honda car dealership. We ask for dinner recommendations and are disappointed, but the movie was great.

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Jun 23

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Veliko Tarnovo

We rely heavily on our GPS to get from A to B, to date it’s been fairly reliable.   It has three options when you set a destination.  Economic, Short or Fast.  In the many hours we’ve spent in the car, we’ve pondered the algorithms which differentiate the three.  I know, some of the things we talk about!!

We quickly worked out to avoid Short, this is short by km’s, that does not correlate to time, especially when you find it directing you through narrow village roads, not built for a car, rather than going around.  We’ve had to reverse out of a few tight situations.  Kay and Dave; it reminds us of a similar instance finding the town of Beaux de Provence in France.

Economic, we assume defaults to highways and main roads, as does Fast.  We haven’t noticed a difference between these two, until today when it choose a fairly rugged route.  By the time we grew suspicious we didn’t have an option to turn around and just had to keep going.

We have barely begun our days journey when we come across Varna Winery. Being impressed with Bulgarian wines, we have to stop in and check it out.  A dozen bottles later (purchased, not drunk), we set off again!

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Our next destination is the coast of Montenegro.  We plan to take 2 days to get there.  On the way, we thought we should check out a bit more of Bulgaria and are heading for a town called Veliko Tarnovo, rated Bulgaria’s most beautiful town.

From what we passed on the way, I don’t think there is much competition.  Previously the capital, the old town is charming.  Nestled in the mountains it has an alpine feel, you can imagine it being covered in snow during winter.  The well worn cobblestone streets are lined with Ottoman style wooden houses with steep timber roofs and overhanging balconies, that protrude into the streets and window boxes filled with brightly coloured flowers.

It is picturesque and there are a couple of monasteries and a castle, but if this is considered the highlight, I’m not sure how much more of Bulgaria we need to check out.

We stayed: Hotel Gurko

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Jun 23

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Thracian Cliffs

We thought we had indulged ourselves in Varna, but Thracian is another step up!  And so it should be, for the price we are paying!   The things we do to indulge Don’s passion for golf!  We have an apartment with spectacular views, and a bathroom with a bathtub (I don’t remember the last bathtub we had) and most exciting; a washing machine!  Who thought I would ever get excited over a washing machine.

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Our tee time is for 8:45am, as we want to play before the heat of the day kicks in.  However, when we turn-up to collect our golf clubs and cart, we are told the course is still too wet for carts.  You would need to be a mountain goat to play without one; the course is not designed for walking, even though some are braving it, I’m certainly not!  Without hesitation, Don rescheduled for 12 noon, when carts should be usable.

We return and are waiting for our cart and clubs.  We have read feedback on the resort in regards to poor service.  Until now, we had no complaints, but it takes impossibly long for them to organise the cart, which was made ready in the morning, to reappear.   Whilst waiting, Don is chatting to a group of English blokes who have been golf holidaying here for the week.  In conversation with them, he discovers that only 11 holes are open on the course.

We’ve spoken with the pro-shop twice today and at no time did they mention that the entire course is not playable.  They are also still charging full rate, the compensation being you can play twice.  Rarely, perhaps not ever, have I seen Don get mad, but he is mad!  Though he quickly realises that complaining is futile.  Whilst he would like them to understand that communicating the course condition earlier would have been appreciated, the language barrier suddenly widens.  Any understanding and conversing in english diminishes to “yes, no, sorry I don’t understand.”

The course is spectacular and challenging.  Forget looking for a golf ball if you don’t make a fairway.  We came prepared, having bought a box of 24 golf balls in the pro-shop.  We both go through a few.  A good game is a quick game and a cart makes for speedy golf. Only playing 11 holes, also helps.  We make it around in under 2 hours.

We are keen to play again, but would prefer to play as late as possible.   Clearly the starter thinks this is unusual. Don points out its still light until after 8pm, so he reluctantly agrees to let us play our second round at 6pm.   I think the only reason he is reluctant, is because he wants to go home.

We swap golf gear for bathers and head down to the resort beach to cool off in the black sea.  This is turning out to be my ideal game of play golf: 11 holes, couple of hours at the beach, 11 more holes.

The following morning Don got to play all 18 holes whilst I lazed by the pool.  For those who want more in-depth details and a hole by hole description, contact Don directly: don@callander.net.au

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Jun 21

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Why are we back in Bulgaria?

Don has probably played over 450 golf courses around the world. A stat he is quite proud of and one he intends to expand on whenever possible.

So far this trip, he has added several South African courses, a couple in Belek, Turkey and now in his sights is Thracian Cliffs, Bulgaria.  This course is appealing to Don on a number of levels.  It was designed by Gary Player (any golfer will know who he is); it’s in a spectacular setting, hugging the rugged cliffs along the coast of the black sea.  It also hosted a European Matchplay in 2013, more importantly; who else does he know will ever be able to say they’ve played Thracian Cliffs?

Now I enjoy my golf, resort golf in particular; the word resort should be the give-away.  This generally means on holidays, in some exotic location.  I could get used to having a caddy carry my clubs, or use a golf cart to whip around 18.

At home, four hours of chasing a little white ball around the ground is not my preferred way to spend a Saturday. I’m tempted to make some humorous remark about simple minds entertained by simple things, but I have to spend the rest of my life in close proximity with this man!

Thracian Cliffs is about 700km from our drop off point in Turkey.  I should say it’s out of our way by a considerable distance, but that is only partly true.  Our plan is to head to Montenegro and follow the Adriatic coast up into Croatia, but the car lease does not permit us to drive through Albania or Kosovo which would shorten our trip considerably, but we decide its not worth the risk of voiding our insurance.  We have to go through Bulgaria and detouring up to Balchik, where the golf resort is, will only add 4 or 5 hours.  In the scheme of things this is nothing; it’s not like we have anywhere we need to be in a hurry!

We’ve booked into the resort for two nights, starting Saturday.  Therefore we have two nights to fill in.  We decide to cover as many kilometers in day one and see where we land.  The trip is pretty uneventful, well, until we get to the Bulgarian border that is.

It’s drizzling with rain and we are on a windy regional road, taking the shorter route through the mountains.  We stop to exit Turkey, drive a little further and start the entry into Bulgaria, handing over passports and car documents. We pay €3 for something; road toll, tax, who knows.  We drive a little further; you are never sure how many checks you will go through.

Nothing is written in English, Don misinterprets the directions at the next check point and a not so happy Bulgarian border guard has come out of his little booth, into the rain, to wave us back.  He is clearly not amused, or charmed, by our claims to be Australian and not understand!

He already thinks we (well at least Don) are idiots.  Don adds to this by reversing into a park bench.  Not sure why there is a park bench there in the first place, not about to ask.

Holding our breath, our grumpy guard takes several long minutes to consider our passports, enter some details into his computer and then another considerable pause, before gruffly stamping and handing them back.  Phew, for a moment we thought he might refuse us entry!

Burgas is the first major town we had considered stopping in, until we view the endless industrial smoke stacks, shipping containers and highrise apartment blocks, built to minimum specifications during communist dominance and now decaying. We decide to push through.

The next town to consider is Varna.  At first sight it looks unappealing, rows of decaying apartment blocks, roads in desperate need of repair. It looks only a little less bleak and miserable than Burgas, but we’ve done enough driving.   If it’s really bad we can stay one night and move on tomorrow.

Well, we stayed two nights in Varna and the town surprised us.  We stumbled upon our accommodation around 8pm.  Having driven past a few options Modus looked reasonable, even with sandbags stacked at the doorway, a result of the recent rain. Inside is a slick, modern styled boutique hotel.  After 5 weeks of island hopping, with varying degrees of comfort in our accommodation, it was total luxury to us.

The hotel restaurant was also first rate and we discovered that Bulgarians know how to make wine; good wine.   The hotel staff were more than happy to share their local knowledge on what reds to drink!  I splurged and took myself off for a spa treatment: 90 minutes of pampering bliss for A$50. I would have spent all day there for that price!

We knew there had been a bit of rain around, we had moved our golf booking to avoid the rain.  In fact the area had received over a months worth of rain the day before we arrived.  This had resulted in flash flooding and 12 people being washed away at a gypsy camp close to Varna.  On Saturday, the rain is moving on, but the roads are worse for wear from the flash flooding. At the entry into Thracian Cliffs, the road has collapsed and is just barely passable.

Collapsed Road into Thracian Cliffs
Bulgaria Apartment blocks
Varna, Botanical Gardens

Jun 19

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Lesvos, or is it Lesbos?

NEL: 7hrs Samos to Lesvos

Population: 100,000

I can confidently confirm that sleeping on the floor of a ferry is not particularly comfortable. Don managed to catch a few z’s, but I felt like I had nauseating jet lag when we pull into Mytilini.

Lesvos or Lesbos, it’s the same island!

We have learnt that the spelling of Greek names in English is somewhat arbitrary. An ‘i’ or ‘e’ appear to be interchangeable and the greek letter ‘b’ is pronounced as a ‘v’, hence the different spelling. Don has done well to master much of the deciphering during our stay, maybe there is some greek in him after all.

The harbour of Mytilini is looking spectacular with a full moon just resting above the town. It’s 5am when we get off the ferry and the café on the corner nearest the port is smart enough to be open at this unearthly hour. A caffeine hit is just what we need to get us going for our drive to Plomari. It’s a 1hr drive away on the Southern side of the island.

Don has the wheel, I’m way too tired to drive and I seem to be rocking from the motion of the boat! It is a scenic drive around the bay and through the hills, we watch the fingers of golden light slowly stretching across the bay as the sun peaks over the horizon. It is a novelty for me to be awake at this time. If it wasn’t so early, I would probably watch more sunrises!

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Plomari is the ouzo mecca for the island. Lesvos produces over 70% of the worlds Ouzo. It’s not a taste either of us enjoy and have politely refused the complimentary shot that is offered with most meals. Plomari is also a quaint fishing town, but just before the town is a lovely beach spot and the perfect place to stay: Agios Isadores

I had done some pre planning, knowing we would be arriving early. So, we wake up our host, Maria, with a phone call and she shows us our apartment. It’s €40 a night and total beachfront. I’m not sure it gets any better than this! The best thing is, it’s 7:30am; we are in our room and I am hitting the hay for a couple of hours, with the ocean waves my lullaby to sleep.

Dear Pamela (who I worked with at Coles) was married in Lesvos and the taverna where Pam and Foti celebrated is just down the beach. Of course we had to have dinner at Delini. A beautiful evening, gorgeous setting and sumptuous meal.

View Agios Isadores
Agios Isadores lunch
Agios Isadores
Delini dinner Agios Isadores

It was seriously tempting to spend our entire stay at Pano Sto Kyma, this would possibly be the nicest beach we have been to (we’ve now been to a lot). But it would be remiss of us not to explore the island (and I could never face Pam if we didn’t; she has also sent me a fantastic list with a rundown on what to do and where to go).

We bid farewell to Maria and promise to be back, (a promise I hope to keep someday). We are heading up to the northern end of the island to Molyvos. Whilst Lesvos is the third largest greek island, nothing is all that far; it’s only an hours drive.

Before I’ve even switched off the engine a motorcycle pulls alongside and asks if we need a room. As Don said: “You have to respect a salesman with an approach like this”.  We agree to follow and inspect his room offering.  We didn’t know it at the time, but this was a fortuitous decision.

We follow our man on the bike up through a couple of narrow cobble stone streets, until we can go no further and he directs us to park. We get out of the car to discover we have a flat tyre! “No problem, first you see room, then I fix tyre”, our man informs us.

Molyvos is an old walled Byzantine town, the castle perched at the top, dates back to the 14th century. The apartment turns out to be lovely, we have a large rooftop terrace all to ourselves, with wonderful views over terracotta roofs to the ocean. Best of all it’s €28 a night.

I am not sure what would have unfolded if we had not liked the room. I think our new friend, Yannis, would have helped us anyway. The Greeks are like that. Yannis helps ferry the luggage from the car, he is keen to get the tyre fixed before it gets too hot. Its already too hot! Those who know Don know how handy he is, so you can appreciate how lucky we are that Yannis found us.

Yannis gets the tyre off, ties it to his bike and whilst we sit under the shade of the tree in the town square having a cappuccino, he zooms off. About 30 min later he returns with our repaired tyre and of course helps put it back on.

The repair cost: €10 and another coffee with Yannis. There are a lot of “what if’s” that play through our heads. We could have had a flat anywhere. Don and I could have been on the side of the road struggling in the heat of the day to swap on the spare. Our first (and hopefully only) car issue was a minor blip on the radar.

We enjoy the charm of Molyvos, so much so that we stay 3 nights instead of the original 2 that we had planned. We feel more like locals than tourists. Don fetches his darling wife a freshly baked croissant from the bakery on the corner, plus coffee each morning. We explore the labyrinth of alleys up to the castle and around the town. The little harbour is bustling with cafes and bars; octopus is hung out like socks on a clothes line to dry in the sun. It’s a busy tourist town, but manages to retain its charm and authenticity.

We visit the nearby beach of Eftalou and the town beach. These are OK and swimming provides welcome relief to the hot days, but neither are as nice as Agios Isadores.

We run into Yannis a number of times around town, it appears he is drumming up more business in his usual fashion – waiting for unsuspecting tourists! He does a good job and we think a few of the pensions should consolidate efforts with him.

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Lesvos is our last island hop. From here we are taking the ferry across to the Turkish port of Ayvalik. Originally, we thought we would hit the mainland at Thessonaliki in Greece, but that means another overnight ferry trip and the novelty of ferries has worn off. It’s only a 90min trip to Turkey and from there, it’s a fairly straight forward drive up to Bulgaria. I’ll explain why we are heading that way in the next update.

When we enquire about ferry tickets we discover the Friday ferries are full, due to an Expo going on. Our only choice is Thursday morning, so we will spend our last night in Mytilini. With our bags packed, we bid fond farewells to Yannis and his wife Machi, plus many of the local residents bid us farewell as we pass through the square. I love how hospitable this town has been.

We take a detour on our way to Mytilini via Skala Eresou, birth place of Sappho; the ancient greek poet whose sensuous poetry made her a lesbian icon and the town the international lesbian capital. Lucky for Eresou; it was once a sleepy fishing village that has profited well from ancient history. Rather ‘Byronesque’, as Pam described it to me.

It’s early afternoon when we arrive in Mytilini, we find a cafe (with wifi) and check out accommodation. It’s hot and sticky, our desire to take in the cultural sites is wavering against the option to find a beach, or pool! The pool wins out when we book a last minute deal through expedia at Heliotrope.

The general process we follow when using the Internet is to check out the options and prices. We then call, email or visit our choice directly to give the venue the income without paying a booking fee. This is the first time the hotel wouldn’t match, or do better, than the online price when I called. So, we booked online and arrive 10 minutes later!

The best thing about this hotel besides the pool, which we spend the afternoon in; is the shower. We’ve had 5 weeks of variable shower quality. This one is a 5 star experience with vishy style jets and in-shower radio!  It’s the simple things that impress the most!

It’s not hard to get caught up in the football (soccer) madness going on around us; we are in Europe! Every restaurant and bar has a TV of some shape and size, tuned to the world cup. Tonight, Australia is playing Holland.

We are walking through the town looking for a spot for dinner when we come across an alley with a canopy of vines and a restaurant spilling into the street. It’s not busy, just a few locals fixated on the football. The score is currently 1 all. A table nearby is enjoying an impressive array of dishes; we decided this was the spot.

The owner is excited to know we are Australians and we sit in view of the match, which unfortunately does not go our way. Our last Greek meal is however wonderful; grilled zucchini, tomato balls and grilled calamari, washed down with a local white wine.

A perfect end to five glorious weeks island hopping in Greece.

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