Days 27 to 30: Dubrovnik & Montenegro
I left Mostar at 7 in the morning, trying to escape the heat. The route I took up Dubrovnik is called "Ciro trail". It followed the old railway tracks that were build in the time Austria-Hungaria ruled in the region. The trail was pure joy to ride. Almost no cars, beautiful sights on every turn and plenty of signs making it easy to stay on the route.
The route did not have many shops. At one point I was out of water for over 30 minutes already. I stopped and asked for water. In the course of chatting with Ivitz, the father of 3, he invited me in for a beer and later on his wife served us bread with fantastic bacon, homemade cheese and fresh tomatoes. His son Ivan sat down with us and the three of us had a great conversation about cycling, farming and life. I am deeply thankful for the hospitality I experienced. I forgot to share the link to the blog but left my phone number with Ivan, so our paths might cross again if he reaches out to me.
I arrived in Dubrovnik exhausted and only shortly visited the beautiful old town. From there I cycled half way to my hostel and jumped into the sea and watched the sunset. In the hostel I met Cedric. The two of us chatted until late in the night. I'm glad the two of us met and look forward to see you soon, Cedric!
In the morning I got up, still a bit drowsy from the short night. Initially I decided to have a short cycling day. I ended up doing 88km because I found a campground far from any big roads, that sounded like a great place for staying a night longer. The next day Natasha, Hannah and I walked 1,5h to a small beach where we spent the whole afternoon. It is hard to overstate how lucky we were when we first found a easily fixable, abandoned sun umbrella and catched an unlikely combination of two rides back to the campground.
Hannah and I prepared pasta over a fire. We were joined by other travelers and stayed at the fire until the sun was down. The experience on Pachamama campground has been by far the best so far. Thanks for showing us how to find the best figs, Natasha. I wish you the best for you endeavors. All the best also to you, Hannah!
I left three campground at 6 in the morning, deeply thankful for the unforgettable time. Thinking back now, a bit of sadness emerges. Unlikely combination of people and events make some days stand out; this really was one of those times. It would be impossible to plan something like this. It would be impossible to miss something that is just so unlikely to happen and it is such a privilege to have days like this.
Anyway, I plan to get up around 5 from now on to have more time to cycle before the heat sets in. Also, I'm really looking forward to Albania, especially the region around lake Orid. Let's see how things go.
