Dancing the Balkans cycle touring trip in 12 stages. Stage 2: Kotor - Sutomore After a well-deserved rest and a hearty breakfast, we try to leave early enough to avoid the heat. Today's stage is not long and is almost all on asphalt road, but we have the task of arriving early. The train awaits us in Sutomore for the transfer to the interior of Montenegro! The first stretch goes up with views of Kotor and the gulf, then we go over the hill on an old road with no traffic that passes through forgotten villages with unlikely and unpronounceable names (see photos). With the help of a few fountains (which in one case also acts as the "aqueduct" of the village as in the case of Bratesici or perhaps it was Vuksanovici) and a nice descent we reach the sea again. A nice surprise awaits us: the jagged coast dotted with islets is a joy for the eyes. The photos will be a little blurry, due to the great heat. On the last climb, before Durmani, we meet a group of cyclists from Ukraine, with overloaded bicycles (tents, furniture) struggling to proceed under the scorching afternoon sun. They are going to Greece (vacation or refugees? Who knows!). Sutomore, we have arrived! The day does not end here, however. Around 3:45 pm we take the train. There are a lot of people waiting and there are no underpasses. When the train arrives, everyone crosses the tracks in a disorderly fashion (I didn't have time to take a photo); but there is not much traffic here: in Montenegro there are only 2/3 railway lines. The carriages are all occupied. A lot of people remain standing in the corridor, there is no air conditioning and you can even smoke! I certainly have no problems even though I have traveled all these kilometers by bike. The train starts rattling at every switch with screeches, bumps and jumps that do not bode well. Adventure it is! The railway line reaches the Skadarsko Lake National Park: fabulous landscapes of which I will attach photos, then it climbs up the mountains, very slowly, allowing you to enjoy the views. From afar you begin to glimpse a very high bridge (I will later discover that it is the highest railway bridge in Europe, almost 200m). Will the thin and ancient reinforced concrete pillars hold up this time too? Impressive! The train passes over the bridge at the speed of a bicycle uphill, then slowly enters the tunnels in the mountains. The landscapes become increasingly harsh, up to Mojkovac.
Translated by Google •
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