Category: Around Europe
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Day 129: Pomena, Mljet to Viganj
The wind was blowing from the south east in morning, lining up a perfect downwind run to Korcula, twenty kilometres away. I walked through the forest up to a bunker on top of the island for a view of the conditions. It sure was blowy, but nothing crazy, and the waves looked big, but manageable.…
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Day 128: Otok Olipa to Pomena, Mljet
As much as I hate the beach looking like a dump, I do love a good scavenge. If I was marooned on an island I’d check the beach for goodies every day like a fisherman checking his lobster pots, excited to see what the sea had gifted me. Give me a year and I reckon…
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Day 127: Dubrovnik to Otok Olipa
The amazing kindness of strangers continues. I paddled around from the Old Town to Uvala Lapad beach where Darko and Ivana were waiting for me in the rain. Surfski paddlers from Dubrovnik who I’d never met, they’d arranged for me to stay in a hotel, an incredibly generous gesture. The hotel receptionist offered me a…
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Day 126: Molunat to Dubrovnik
I camped above a small beach on the edge of Molunat and was surprised to find two aubergines lying on the shingle as if they’d grown there. Some mystery how they got there – not a typical picnic item and they were in fine condition, so they hadn’t washed ashore, it must be a sign…
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Day 125: Prcanj to Molunat
I’ve never seen surfskis being rented out to tourists, but that’s what Vojo and Milusa do and it’s a great idea. It’s cool to see the sport spreading, especially in a place like Montenegro. After some eggs and traditional Montenegrin cheese for breakfast I left Prcanj in the sunshine feeling replenished and very happy to…
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Day 124: Kotor to Prcanj
Rain fell in the early hours and I woke up in a puddle. My Polish friends gave me some tangerines they’d picked in the mountains and asked why I was putting myself through this ordeal, clearly puzzled. I don’t wake up in a puddle everyday I explained. Torrential rain showers hammered on the surface of…
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Day 123: Prçanj to Kotor
Once the sun had burnt off the wisps of mist hanging over the bay I dried everything and ate a bunch of bananas with kefir while chatting to a Polish couple traveling in a pop top camper van. I hadn’t gone far when I was surprised to see a group of surf skis on the…
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Day 122: Plavi Horizont to Prçanj
The security guard came and shone his torch across the beach on to my tent as darkness fell and I went to sleep a little on edge after my last brush with the authorities. A scream from the woods woke me with a start in the night and I left the beach at dawn, scrambling…
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Day 121: Cape Kricivacto to Plavi Horizont
The wind blew all day and the clouds hung heavy with the threat of rain but never dropped their load. But I’ve talked about the weather enough, so here’s some stuff about Montenegro, which you may not know much about. Well like Albania it’s a mountainous country and its name means ‘black mountain’, since that’s…
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Day 120: Ulcinj to Cape Kricivac
The weather had turned by the morning, a blustery wind blowing and a new freshness in the air. I feel blessed to have only had a few rainy days thus far on this section of the trip, but the outlook from here on is rain with no end in sight. Mentally, that’s quite hard to…