Cavtat to Himare
I forgot to mention a very top technical tip in my last post. Much is made of having exhausts, remaps and power commanders but If you need to get anywhere faster than normal this can be achieved simply and a good deal more economically by listening to many of the early hits by 'The Stranglers' whilst you are riding. My testing concludes that this adds another 5-15 mph to your average speed depending on track selection. For the very best performance I have a customised version of 'The Collection 1977-82' which includes a lot of the decent tunes that those nitwits at EMI left out.
Anyway. Rambling again.
Today is the big push South. No bunning to be done, just the Speed element. I say Speed- Not mega huge in terms of distance but many obstacles and being well and truly adrift of anything resembling even a dual carriageway time will be needed to roll on the miles.
Cavtat is just a few miles from the Montenegro border. At the Border the queues are long. Towards the front, coaches are packed in tightly to lines against the cars so there's no chance of a cheeky filter to the front, so I join the queue a dozen or so cars back.
Hot. Slow going. The queue behind me now is getting seriously long.
Hot hot hot. No shade.
Coach load of adjacent gawping Polish tourists.
Hot. Car moves. Push bike a bit. Still hot.
Pretty sharpish I retire the Caberg, attaching it to the side of the pannier and switch to tactical flowery hat.
Hat.
Ah, at long last, the front of the queue. Phew. Stern faced border man. "Passport" he says. "Green Card" he says. Both are surrendered with an amiable nod.
Passport examined. His eyes narrow and flick between me and my passport.
He points. "You cannot wear that hat in Montenegro".
"You don't like my hat? But it’s a nice hat" I reply with a smile.
He breaks into a broad grin and starts to chuckle.
"No, you must wear motorcycle helmet. It is the law here"
"Ah," I say "No problem" returning the chuckle through the flap.
Aha!! My continued efforts at humour with border folks finally pays a small dividend.
A good job he didn't ask how long I was staying as I probably would have said "I'm here all week" Boom tish.
On we go then. Don't think I ever got a picture of the Montenegro one.
Over the border and with Petrol I opt for a fill up in a place full of Japanese tourists.
Montenegro Jaffa cake checkpoint but like I say, no bunning today.
I queue patiently for ages behind his Japanese lady who wants to pay in every currency except the one that works in Montenegro.
First of all potato in spiral, now cow in petrol station.
The japanese tourists seem to like this and the cow hospitably loiters and poses for photos until the petrol pump attendant comes and chases it away.
Back to it then eh.
The further south we go the further the driving standard declines. I might have mentioned this before. Back in the UK, we may complain about little old men wearing hats driving around in their Honda Jazz but at least you know to a small degree of certainty what they're going to do eventually. Here, we have no such luck. Cars pull out, turn left and right and generally come and go without warning.
Last time I came through this way I got caught in traffic behind an antique tipper truck and it took ages to get down just a few miles to Kotor Bay- too busy through Herceg Novi to get through the traffic. As if by special order the exact same thing happened, just substitute the tipper for some other veteran Mercedes truck with a load of fencing on it.
The Kotor Bay ferry arrives and for 2 Euros you can save yourself a few miles though scenic around the Bay. I need to get South so I take it. Only two bikes on the ferry, I'm joined by a Serbian KTM. He's the quiet type and I feel the quiet type for the moment so gestures are exchanged and that's that with everyone happy by the looks of it.
The narrow neck of Kotor bay..
Continuing South, through Bar. One of two very big churches being built.
And down to the border crossing. Coffee and Sour Cherry juice just before the border in the town of Sukobin served by some very polite folks.
Hmmm. I still have some Albanian cash but I can't remember if I'm relatively wealthy or I can afford a packet of Toffos.