last views of Monte...

a simple cow of the countryside

Ciao tutti!

It's been a moment & in the time since I've written last I have left Montenegro!  I departed sooner than expected because my volunteer/yoga teaching/living situation just wasn't working out too well.  It was unfortunate, in many ways I was sorry to leave.  Montenegro is a beautiful country, as you have seen in my blog and it's a shame things didn't work out differently.  So, yesterday I departed & have come up to spend a couple of nights in Split, Croatia on my way back to Italy.  I took a 11 hour ferry ride through the coastal islands, stopping at several island ports along the way.  The scenery was stunning!!  Also it was really crowded, uncomfortable & hot!  But, an experience nonetheless.  

Split is a gorgeous coastal city with a charming historical town center.  Today I went to the beach early & had a nice, long swim & a relax on the rocks.  I started reading the Unbearable Lightness of Being & am really enjoying it! (having put the name of the rose (booooring) on hold for the moment) Now it is too hot to do much other than update the blog & take a quick nap.  I will do some more exploring once the sun is a bit less intense.  Tomorrow I will take a bus up to Zadar & then hop a ferry over to Ancona, Italy.   From there I will take a train up to Milan & then on to Lake Como!!!! where I will be doing another WOOF volunteer position for a couple of weeks & hope to be able to continue my swimming in beautiful places regimen.  I will keep you posted!  I have most definitely planned myself a couple of days of long travel so have charged up the old ipod & will hope for comfort & smooth connections.  

During the last couple of week spent in Monte I was able to see a lot more sights & spend time with my pals.  I even completed a goal of swimming across the bay!  With my mask & snorkel I am really taking my swimming to the next level :)  Here are some photos!

With my roomates, we went up into the hills for a Lithuanian style picnic.  My friend's father was visiting & had brought some Lithuanian delights to share.  YUM!

here our important bevvies are cooling in the natural spring fountain

picnic spread, note...  pile of crepes filled with Balkan version of Nutella, Eurocreme.  Massive loaf of Lithuanian black bread (like heaven), some special meat slices, and down in the bottom there is this particular Lithuanian soft, mild cheese with caraway seeds.  YUM!  oh, and the healthy style potato salad i made.  

a bit of melon (and here you see better the hugeness of that bread & cheese :)

some folks came up & spent about an hour filling a million bottles with spring water to take home

and then these goats invaded the zone, turning it into a full on goat party!

Then I went on a private boat excursion with the Lithuanians to see some sights.  We had rented a tiny boat that was very slow, everyone here says...  why are you in a hurry?  You're on vacation!!! :)

the primo seat

island Mamula

here we are visiting the Blue Cave again

here i am looking my best swimming in Blue Cave!  it was gorgeous!

Lithuanians!

all along the coast there are tons of cicadas in the trees, they produce a constant, dull roar!!!   and big!

inside a small monastery on a tiny island

small monastery

couple of little lanchitas letting people off on the island

this is inside the old fort/prison, Mamula.  it was really cool but also a  bit  run downy.  no one is cleaning it up or maintaining it, a pity.  

view into the bay from Mamula

old staircase inside, no railings!!

panorama of the fort

there were many of these pretty agave type plants

Aurelija & Aivaras enjoying some refreshment on the boat :)

inside a "cave" that submarines used to enter , there was some type of secret army base inside this mountain!

these shots were taken at a pretty Monastery near my place in Herceg Novi

lovely

and then, one night...  it rained like hell!   this was the first heavy rain i had seen in a while & it really helped to freshen the air & cool things down.  

but the rain sure did make the slick cobblestones very slippery!!  

I had an awesome German/Malaysian/American couchsurfing guest for a few days & we took a rainy adventure to Kotor.

voila! 

this treat was crazy, a cone of thin, sweet bread that is rolled in chocolate & toppings.  you peel pieces off & enjoy until you can't take it anymore!!

then we took a bus along the coast to the town of Budva.

island off the shore of Budva

old walls of Budva

my pal Barb

happy ladies!

there was this quaint, old fisherman in a yellow slicker in a photogenic spot

these ladies are pondering a swim even though the sea is cold & the weather inclement.    then Barb & I took one too, I needed a refreshing perk up because i was tired...

Budva with beautiful lighting

a famous statue in Budva.  we proceeded to climb out to pose next to her  for some photos.

some "artwork" and wisteria vines I enjoy in HN

also love these doors

just recently a crazy nice new swimming arena was built!  they actually have national water polo games here!  so we watched some kids play & they were good!!!  really good for being about 10 years old, i was impressed :)

they were tiny!

getting a pep talk.  we wondered what those funny swim caps were for, to protect the ears?  too bad, the home team lost :(

bay of Kotor

small fishing village of Rose

And those are my parting images of lovely Montenegro.  I had hoped I'd have had more time off to explore the Balkan countries a bit & regret that I didn't get the chance to go to Serbia or Bosnia.  I'm not sure when/if I'll get back to this part of the world.  But, at least I did get a nice long chance to soak up some sun & sea & Montenegran vibes over the past many weeks.  Hvala, Montenegro!!

However, I sure am excited to speak Italian again, I have been missing it so.  And to visit some new regions of Italy, the north where hopefully the weather is a bit cooler.  Maybe I will see George Clooney out boating on Lake Como?  Who knows, we might become great friends?!!?

Sending love & hugs! xoxo