Črna gora, Skadarsko jezero / Montenegro, Skadar lake

Skadarsko jezero se nahaja na meji med Črno goro in Albanijo in je največje jezero na Balkanu, pravzaprav izgleda kot morje. Jezero je dom številnim rastlinam in živalim, sploh številnim pticam. Tokrat smo kampirali v vasici Virpazar. Od tu smo šli ma izlet s čolnom po jezeru do samostana, ki stoji na majhnem otočku. Seveda zgodaj zjutraj, da bi videli čimveč ptic. Seveda bi lahko izbrali tudi druge izlete. Na primer na otok Grmožur, ki se nahaja na jugozahodnem delu jezera in je bil nekdanji zapor. Domačini ga kličejo kar črnogorski Alcatraz.

The Skadar lake is located in the border area between Albania and Montenegro and it is the largest lake in Balkan area, actually it looks like the sea. The lake is a home to many plants and animals, especially birds. We were camping in a small village Virpazar and from there we went on a boat trip across the lake to the old monastery on a small island early in the morning to see as many birds as possible. Also, a different boat trip could be chosen. For example, a trip to island Grmožur, a former fortress and prison located on the southwestern side of the lake. The locals called it Montenegro Alcatraz.

Po ogledu jezera smo se premaknili na obalo, čisto na mejo z Albanijo. Meja med državama poteka po reki Bojani, Ada Bojana pa je majhen otok, ki se nahaja na izlivu reke v morje.
Later we moved to the coast to the Albanian border. The border river between Albania in Montenegro is called Bojana, Ada Bojana in a small island located in the river outflow into the sea.

Na poti domov smo se ustavljali v obmorskih krajih, najprej v Ulcinju. Prospekt, ki smo ga dobili, je obljubljal, da bomo v Ulcinski solani lahko videli flamingose, ki jih tam ni bilo. Kasneje smo izvedeli, da so ti tam zelo redke ptice in pravzaprav močno ogrožena vrsta.

On our way home we stopped at some seaside towns, first at Ulcinj. The brochure promises visitors to see flamingos at Ulcinj solana, but unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to see the birds. Later we found out that they are actually very rare birds there and very endangered species in that area.

Ustavili smo se v Starem Baru, raziskovali mesto,
We also stopped at the Old Bar, explored the old town,

in opazovali zanimive kraje ob obali.
and observed interesting places near the coast.

Vožnja iz Črne gore preko Hrvaške do doma traja več kot deset ur. Zato smo se večkrat ustavili, kupili nekaj sadja, preživeli krasen večer v Omišu in spali pod zvezdicami.

The drive home from Montenegro across Croatia lasts about ten hours or more. So, we made many stops, bought some fruits, spent a nice evening in Omiš and slept under the stars.

Črna gora je zanimiva destinacija z množičnim turizmom na obali in prekrasnimi hribi z mnogimi mirnimi kotički, ki so pravi skriti zakladi te dežele.

Montenegro is an interesting country with massive tourism at the seaside, but it also offers beautiful mountains with many peaceful places. In my opinion that’s the real hidden beauty of the country.