FRANCE, ITALY, SLOVENIA, CROATIA, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, MONTENEGRO, ALBANIA, ITALY, FRANCE – Part 2
November 1, 2011



Vehicles in the European Union have licence plates with letters indicating the country the vehicle is from. Ours carries an “F” for France. Whenever we get out of the van and speak to people in English, they’re often confused. We often hear, “It’s amazing how good your English is considering you’re from France.” “Why thank you. We think so as well.” we respond.

While still in Riva del Garda in northern Italy I managed to get a mountain bike ride up sea-side cliffs during the continued hot, sunny weather. Drop-offs in places were well over 500 meters (1700 ft) but the beauty easily made up for it.

The third week of September two friends, Daniel and Jojo, from the Vendome, France area caught up with us in Riva del Garda for the rest of the trip around the Adriatic Sea. Daniel hooked up a CB in our van so we could easily communicate with them in their motorhome (‘camping car’ as they call them in Europe) while on the road. It would be indispensible during the coming weeks. What the picture shows is not a formal dinner…it is one of many lunches we were to have with them till the end of October. Good food? Yup. Lots of booze? Oh ya! Laughs? Endless. Some of the countries we would be travelling through have a 0% (that’s zero %) alcohol limit for drivers. Somehow we would forget that.

Our first day together was off to see a mutual Thai friend who lives in Italy. A couple of days with Criquet (named because she is so tiny) and her husband Floriano. After a late evening of steady drinking…to prepare us for what was to come…we “wild camped” by a cemetery…very peaceful.

Two days later we were in Slovenia, one of the parts of the former Yugoslavia. Beautiful and rugged. A huge international cave system was a highlight with a guided tour.

Soon we were in Croatia, a country with a stunningly beautiful coast with mountains coming to the sea. Nothing flat here which made the driving precarious in places. The wealth in Croatia is along the coast with lots of foreigners investing and buying. Go inland only 25 km and you see poverty with people selling things on the side of the road on an old table or out of an equally old car just to survive. But they are just as friendly.


Throughout Croatia we were told stories of what happened during the Balkan war of the 1990s. Inland we were stopped on the road in order for the military to continue searching for landmines in a nearby field. We would later see entire areas, fields posted with signs telling us not to venture in since demining had not yet taken place there…some 15 years after the war!! The entire country and region is quite mountainous and rugged, good for the countless olive trees cultivated.


Unsure if this is a result of the war but throughout the region there are countless homeless cats though very few dogs (maybe the cats gang up on them!). Though the cats are nervous they seem reasonably well-fed. Most often we camped along the coast to marvel at the seaside; one campsite had been a huge refugee camp during the war. The campground owner had stories…his anger was still alive. Imbibing in the local wines wasn’t too tough as many of them are excellent. One is considered equal to a French Bordeaux (just don’t tell the French!). Along the way we visited towns such as Poric and Rojinc.

Part way down the coastline we took a 30 minute ferry to the island of Hvar, quite different from mainland Croatia. Seventy kilometers in length but with very difficult driving we spent two days. At one point, always wanting to help the local economy and more importantly to try the local wines, we stopped along the road at a stand an old cane-carrying woman had selling wine, cheese and honey. Daniel tasted wine from a bottle and declared it “reasonable”. That should have been a hint. Later, at our lunch stop, he again pulled out the hand-carved cork and filled our glasses. Quickly flies floated to the surface. Daniel’s comment? “I kinda though it was a bit thick.”

We also took in a walk through a national park in Croatia. Jezera is unique with a half-dozen lakes, one flowing into the other and dozens of waterfalls, fuzzy with moss and shrubs. We awoke to 5C temps inland but by the time we were back on the coast we were back up to 28C. Time ta chill da wine!!

In Zadara, we encountered a unique feature. The walkway along the sea had been specially designed with openings below into which the waves could enter to create organ-like sounds through holes in the walkway itself. Very peaceful.


Further inland, into the country of Bosnia & Herzegovina, difficult to find with many unmarked border crossings, we found garbage strewn everywhere, indicating an attitude of uncaring. Into Mostar, the capital city, another story, much sadder was apparent. During the Balkan war the city was destroyed with few buildings left undamaged. A famous bridge over the river that splits the town in half. On one side of the river, 27 mosques. On the other side, a seemingly equal number of churches. Lots of tourists buying trinkets. But the remaining war ravaged buildings, a sign of what happened here, are as weak as the smell of continuing hatred is strong. This place is beyond sadness. As an old Yugoslavian neighbour once told me, “The hatred has been there for a thousand years. It won’t end tomorrow.” Sad.


It was time to get back to the coast of Croatia, and its capital Dubrovnik. Stunning…no other way to describe its location and old world charm. The medieval port, its old town, though damaged by the war, is amazingly redone. A building houses pictures of the 140 who died defending the city during its siege in the Balkan war. Two days here was barely enough to touch the magic of a city where huge cruise ships bring their awe-struck passengers. The weather continued its hot and sunny stride.



Then…Montenegro, meaning “Black Mountain”. Equally beautiful and friendly though seemingly less affected by the war. Unable to find a campground we stopped in Kotor in a dirt parking lot…but we misunderstood what the attendant told us and what the signs, in the local language, said. The night with no facilities cost us $27 and a little calming of nerves was needed the next morning for the attendant to let us out. This old town, beautiful as ever, had its share of stray cats and the odd dog. Dawn could not help herself. She bought a package of hotdogs to feed the dog. But…a homeless woman came by so Dawn gave the rest to her. Confused and wondering why this strange lady gave her food she had just been feeding a dog, just let the dog have them. Animals 1, Humans 0. The next day Dawn was taken by a cat…tiny, sweet and adorable. This one brought tears.



Some travellers tend to go a bit loose on this type of trip…land mines, difficult driving, too much booze. But Daniel was starting to go over the top when he fell for a model…okay, well a mannequin. Daniel is a tough guy who has done the famous Paris-Dakar race 17 times! But this was simply too much for him. The gorgeous women of the region just got to him.

Continuing along the coast of Montenegro brought us unequalled scenery, sunny hot weather, and Caribbean seas.

We would stop for lunch whenever we could get a peaceful spot with a view of the ocean. This stop was not on the ocean but we contented ourselves with a view of an old rusted boat some distance from shore. Montenegro is not as wealthy as Croatia and it shows though again, the people are incredibly friendly and helpful.