Despite our best efforts, we still got grey weather in Albania. However, we caught a fantastic weather window to take a river cruise and go for a hike! Along the way, we found fine dining and natural warm springs.
Albanian canyons and fine dining
Montenegro
After landing in Sarajevo, we set off for Montenegro, retracing our path through the beautiful Bosnian countryside. (This time with a well-traveled English hitchhiker for company!) As we crossed into Montenegro, the river valley transformed into a stunning canyon with tall limestone cliffs lining the river, and mountains peeking behind. This unreal first impression had us eager to discover what more the country had to offer.
Next stop: Sarajevo International Airport?
With minutes left to leave our guesthouse in Omis, we checked the weather for the next week and tried to mask our disappointment – nonstop rain. Not great news for our climbing and hiking plans. “Let’s go to Istanbul!” I suggested. After scrambling to buy flights with our precious last few minutes of WiFi, we had booked flights from Sarajevo, Bosnia to Istanbul for the next day. Adventures!
Continue reading “Next stop: Sarajevo International Airport?”
The Croatian adventure, continued!
After getting our fill at Paklenica, we continued our track south along the Adriatic. Along the way, we got spectacular lightning storms, more magical waterfalls, an ancient city, an impromptu rafting trip, and quality rock climbing!
Paklenica
Our first climbing destination in Croatia was Paklenica National Park, which initially felt like climbing in a gym! We walked 5 minutes from the van, and were climbing a wall between the park restrooms and cafe. While not the adventurous experience we were expecting, it was the perfect setting to meet other climbers and warm up.
Ancient cities and waterfalls
On our way south, we travelled through the cities of Rovinj and Pula before carving our way inland to explore Plitvice lakes (PlitviÄka jezera) national park. Our road trip was filled with history lessons and beautiful waterfalls, an excellent introduction to Croatia.
Osp, At the Cry
On the recommendation of friends we met in Finale Ligure, we headed to Osp, Slovenia. Osp is a tiny village surrounded by an imposing limestone amphitheater, just across the border from Italy. We arrived at what appeared to be the only business in town, a campground/restaurant/climber hangout named “Pri Vovku”. We walked in under a fierce wolf painting and a sign which translates to “At the Cry,” according to Google translate… a really amazing name, we thought. We met the owner who didn’t hesitate to loan us his guidebook for our short stay.