Month: March 2024 (Page 2 of 3)

We came back earlier than usual because we had access to a free ski chalet in the mountains. The problem? Southern Europe has no snow this winter save the very upper mountain peaks.

We decided to make the drive to Kolašin anyway, as there would be good hiking if no skiing in the mountains. It’s a weird little town, with building going on everywhere to cash in on mountain sports tourism. It does have an interesting history, though. We’re no longer in Boka Bay and the Venetians never made it this far. Instead, Kolašin was built in 1651 by Ali Pasha Cengic as a (Turkish) fortified town at the center of multiple trading routes. After Montenegro became independent (the first time) in 1878, Kolašin became a main hub, and at one point had the largest number of bars and cafes in the former Yugoslavia.

Things are quiet here since there’s no skiing, and it’s a bit early for hiking (think cold), but we’re making the most of it.

I wanted to try to resuscitate my sourdough starter (dried it before we flew back), but the flour section at the local grocery stores requires Google Translate! Luckily flour here always has a number. 400 is white all-purpose flour, and as the numbers go up toward 1000 the wheat is less processed (and healthier). It’s the specialty flours like cake and others that still get me in trouble.

We have become addicted to the bakeries here in town and I swear I will not bake sweets till after we leave. Tri leches (tres leches) and San Antonio cake (basque-style cheesecake) are our two current favorites. Next on deck is an orange walnut cake.

We pass through so many countries so quickly, we struggle to learn the language. We do our best to learn the basics (“thank you” on day 1), and we slowly add from there. Fellow cruiser Sande found that the back of a napkin at a local Tivat restaurant had all the basics listed for us perfectly…..

The Ladder of Cattaro (Venetian for Kotor), is a series of switchbacks that go up the Scurda Canyon alongside the fortress overlooking Kotor. It was built as a mule track, connecting Kotor to Njegusi and Cetinje (former the royal capital of Montengro).

It’s not a difficult hike, but it’s a lot of constant plodding steadily uphill, always just a couple of feet from a plunging edge, but spectacular views.

We stopped at the Sveti Juraj chapel and tested our Latin skills counting the engravings to determine when the church was built (what do you mean 9 can be either VIIII or IX?).

We did not make it to the summit, but we did climb significantly higher than the top of St John’s fortress, and had quite the view during our lunch stop. On our way back we stopped a a local house for local beer, cheese, bread and raki.

Someone asked at pasta night where one could find sage locally, and our instructor said it grew wild in the hills. Sure enough, I found some on our hike the other day!

The weather has been crap here – overcast, lots of rain, and a short burst of sunshine. This means we have no excuses to avoid boat projects. We had intended on chucking our bikes at the end of the season as we just don’t seem to be riding them much (I prefer walking here). But we just put a deposit down on Monastir in Turkey, and a fellow cruiser said bikes are incredibly useful there. So we’re gussying things up and wiping off the rust (from all the non-stop rain), and tucking them back under the forward berth before we leave.

Trip also made a wooden anchor roller to fit over the transom of the dinghy to pay out an anchor and line should we need to anchor from the stern as well the bow. (A strong possibility, but I’m hoping to find empty bays and reasonable depth for our anchor!).

One of the hottest tickets of the season was scoring a spot in the cooking classes that the marina organized in an old monastery near Kotor. We were out of the country for the first two, but managed to snag a spot once we came back.

My family has homemade ravioli at every holiday (thank you Grandma O and cousin Chris), I make pasta regularly, and even used to teach classes myself. But the chance to drink wine, tour an old catholic monastery, and cook on top of it? Sign me up, please!

The St Nicholas monastery was built ~1735, and served as a Catholic Church, housed monks, and later housed Captains in this sea-faring region. In a country dominated by Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism had its footprint thanks to 300 years of Venetian rule.

As I ooed and aahed at the artistry of the altar, our guide pointed out something very interesting – the ‘marble’ was actually painted wood, and a very clever mimic at that!

After the tour we refilled our wine glasses and got down to business. The instructor had already made the pasta, but showed everyone how to make ravioli and tortellini. Ravioli was my thing, but having never made tortellini before I headed to that table. The dough was a little tricky to work with (not enough flour to absorb the moisture from the spinach coloring the dough), but Tascha, Dudley and I persevered with quite a good result. None of ours broke in the water, and the cashew sage brown butter sauce made them delectable.

A successful and tasty evening, we’re hoping to do it again! (We’ve asked if they’d feature local Montenegrin foods in future classes)

I was at the local cosmetics store shopping for new moisturizer with sunscreen when I spotted this and snapped a shot as I laughed. Little did I know until I posted the picture on Instagram and FaceBook, was that this is a real thing. Apparently fishermen collecting snails to sell to restaurants for escargot noticed how silky smooth their hands were from handling all the snail slime. Lab tests have also indicated that it may repair sun damage and reduce the risk of melanoma. I slunk (no pun intended) back to the store and bought a tube to add to my summer regimen.

There’s a brave group amongst the liveaboards here that participate in a weekly cold swim. I passed on the first Friday as the weather was bleak, but joined in our second week back. I learned that the best advice is to jump or walk directly in with no hesitation. These professionals do it with a smile on their faces, as opposed to the yelps that escaped my lips. I have to admit it really did feel invigorating, and I lasted 15 minutes at 13C/55F!

It was off for a coffee afterward with Jen & AJ, and Trip (who had just stood on the beach and shook his head at all of us). Till next week!