Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 6

Saturday 18 September. Ulcinj-Beograd. 14 hours. 4 cars. 2 buses.

But of course I still had to make my way back to Beograd. So, I got up early, started hitching. Got a ride with two security guards who were totally cool and dropped me off in Bar. Car number two brings me a few kms further. 3rd car brings me some kms further from that point. And 4th car brings me to Podgorica. From where I catch the bus back to Beograd . I thought I’d give myself a break after all the hitching I did. And get a comfortable and relaxed ride home. Boy was I wrong. It was the most stupid decision I could have ever made. I mean, if I had taken the train, it would have left later. Given me some extra hours to roam around the capital. AND still got me home earlier. But no, I chose the longest and most uncomfortable ride home. Going through all kinds of villages and towns I didn’t need to see. And talk about winding roads. But then again, they call it Crna Gora for a reason.

Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 5

Thursday 16 September. Herceg Novi-Ulcinj. 3,5 hours. 5 cars. 1 ferry. 1 bus.

I survive the night. Though slept with one eye open. Get up early and start hitching. First car is a fireman. He drops me off at the ferry. I ask how much the ticket is. The lady behind the counter says it’s free if I’m in a car/bus. I’m like, I’m hitching. She’s like, just jump on then. I’m like, cool! I walk up the ferry and this man asks if I’m going to Budva (he obviously saw my sign). I’m like, yeah. He’s like, well we’re headed that way. If you want you can jump on our bus. I’m like, I have no money. He’s like, oh no worries, there’s plenty of space. Turns out to be a tour bus from Poland carrying a bunch of teens for a ten day beach holiday. In the bus I speak with some teens. The first thing they do is offer me beer. I’m like, it’s 10.30! They’re like, do you want vodka then? I’m like, ?! Maybe this green stuff then, it only has 12% alcohol. I decide to give it a try. Not bad. We have some chit chat. They teach me some Polish. I won’t repeat what they taught me, except for this: kocham cie. I get off in Budva. Check out the beach. Too crowded for my liking. Can’t wait to get the hell outta here. Walk to the end of town. Catch a ride with a dude from Beograd, who owns a shop in Budva. Totally nice. Asks for my number. "To show me around Beograd some time.” He drops me off in the middle of the highway. But before he leaves, he arranges my next ride. I get in to this minivan. Dude in his twenties. No English. But asks for my number as well. To get a drink later in Ulcinj. He speaks not a word of English. And my Serbian doesn’t make for much of an exciting conversation. I wonder what he thinks we’re going to talk about. He drops me off in Bar. Next car I stop brings me all the way to Ulcinj. There, I meet my host, totally adorable dude who drives me around his scooter, feeds me some of the best pljeskavica I’ve had, introduces me to his friends, family and shows me around Old Town, beaches and let’s just say Ulcinj was wonderful. What a nice way to end my trip. After all it was my final destination…

PS. The minivan dude calls me.
PPS. I answer.
PPPS. He says something in Serbian.
PPPPS. I say something back in English.
PPPPPS. Awkward silence.
PPPPPPS. I hang up.
PPPPPPPS. Come on, this was never going to work.

Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 4

Wednesday 15 September. Split-Herceg Novi. 9 hours. 8 cars.

Said goodbye to lovely host Igor, who hosted me two nights in Split. Get a bus to my hh spot. First car stops. Young dude.Waiter. Late twenties. Drops me off in Omis. Cute little town. He says it’s the best town along the coast. It has a river, beach, sea, mountains. And him. He really wants me to stay and says he has room for me in his place. Even though tempted, cause Omis really is gorgeous. I thank him for the offer. I stop car number two. Old man. We don’t speak much. Fine with me. Gives me more time to appreciate the beautiful scenery outside my window. He drops me of in Makarska. 3rd car (actually mini van) stops. Hippie dude. He says he will drop me off at a better hh spot. He does. There are more people hitching at this spot. I decide to hh with this polish couple. We stop car number 4. Old dude. Creepy type, my instincts tell me. As soon as the polish couple gets off (they were only going 10 kms), my instincts prove me right. But before he gets a chance to get touchy feely, I grab my phone and pretend to talk. For the next half hour. He manages to keep his hands to himself. I get off. Still 80 kms to Dubrovnik. Car 5 stops. He brings me some 20 kms further. Decent dude who spoke excellent English. Drops me off and I stop car 6. British dude. From Bournemouth. Thirties. On a cross country trip. Promoting his scuba diving social network. On a quest to personally visit all diving centers in South East Europe to get his site in the spotlights. Also does some charity work. Going to Africa to raise money for his charities back in Britain. Totally intriguing dude. Too bad he can only take me 20 kms further. He drops me off at a gas station. And at this point it’s pretty late in the afternoon. And not a lot of cars going down this road... I'm starting to get a little bit worried. I'm gonna need some luck to make it to Crna Gora. I stick my thumb out and first car stops. With a license plate from France. Old man. Says he doesn’t know where he is going. Hmm…doesn’t sound like someone I want to be traveling with at this point. But then he says he’s going to Podgorika or something. I’m like, Podgorica?! Really?! I’m headed for Crna Gora! And he says jump in, which I do of course. He is from Nice. A writer. And biology and geography teacher. Taking a 6 month sabbatical to travel through South East Europe and Afrika. And writing a book in the process. Very interesting man. He drops me off in Herceg Novi. But actually I need to be in Ulcinj that evening to meet my next host. It’s 19.30. And starting to get dark. I don’t want to hitch when it’s night. I hitch a short ride to the bus station. Turns out the last bus to Ulcinj had already left and the next one is the next day. I ask for a bus to Beograd. There’s one in half an hour. I’m like, what do I do now? Pay for a room and go to Ulcinj the next day or go home tonight? Then all these old ladies approach me, asking me if I need a room. I’m like, I don’t know if I can trust these people. I say I don’t have more than 5 Euros on me. At first they say no, but then one says yes. Is she for real? For all I know, she might lure me in some trap or something. But I do want to see Ulcinj and I decide to check one of the rooms out. Not very luxurious, but what do you expect for 5 Euros/night. I take the room. It has two doors. But no locks. Just to be sure, I block the doors and windows with the extra furniture standing around the room. I go to bed with my phone in one hand and pepper spray in the other.

Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 3

Friday 10 September. Zadar-Split. 1,5 hour. 1 car. 1 boat. 1 Yugo.

I wake up early this morning and hike the 8kms from Puntamika to the hh spot. The long walk along the marina was totally worth it. It was just gorgeous. Got to the bus stop. And put my sign out. 40 minutes goes by and no car stops. This is unusual. This never happened to me before. I never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a ride. At this bus stop there’s a bunch of kids sitting and laughing. Probably thinking I’ll never get a ride. I want to prove them wrong. But then their bus comes. 5 minutes later a car stops. A guy. Engineer. Works in Zadar. Lives in Split. Speaks English. Totally nice dude. Even gives me his number, in case I need some help. Drops me off at the bus station. Spent that first day in Split walking around the ‘maze’ that’s Old Town.

Then next day I had just moved to my next CS host, when I get this message from another CSer that his friend, who is a skipper, has to transfer this boat from Dubrovnik to Primosten (a town 80km north of Split). He asks if I want to join. Hell yeah, do I want to join! I mean, how often do I get an offer to sail along the beautiful coast of Croatia? So, next day I meet these 3 guys and we take the ferry to Korcula. That night we party, drink and sleep on the boat. I felt just slightly claustrophobic. Next day we wake up late. And then we finally hit the road. I mean water. It was my first time sailing. And I totally loved it. Didn’t feel seasick at all. Sunny day. Beautiful clear waters. Swam a bit. And I even steered the wheel for about 1 hour. Totally loved it. And then we got to Hvar. Gorgeous island. But one night was really all I could afford. Next day we leave for the Blue Cave. Magical. After that the rough part starts. Wild seas, winds and a lot of rocking of the boat was going on. And definitely my stomach was turning and rocking. Couldn’t wait to get to land. And when we did, their buddy from Split drove up to drive us back. So there we were. 6 people. 1 car. A Yugo. Need I say more? Just getting out of the marina was challenging. You see there was this tiny hill. But we just couldn’t seem to get pass it. Two times we tried. And failed. So we drove back 50 meters and then hit the gas pedal. Hallelujah. This time we made it. That 1,5 hour ride felt more claustrophobic than two nights sleeping in a bunk. I was a sardine. In a Yugo.