We Made it in One Piece.
Where to start with Ulcinj… There are a lot of things to talk about with this little place. It was a really special stop for many reasons and it has been one of my favorite places on our adventure so far.
We left Dubrovnik by bus, or what Morgan would later coin the “rocket coffin” based on our driver’s insane speed along the winding coastal roads. It wasn’t until we arrived and unpacked that Morgan handed me my ticket receipt and asked if I wanted it as proof that I had survived the journey. We had exchanged a few looks during the ride, but nothing was said until we were safely in our new apartment. Only then did Morgan tell me that he couldn’t help but feel like in some cruel twist of fate he may be joining his late sister Caitlin as we whizzed through the mountains. Caitlin passed away in 2007 in a car accident, and today was her birthday.
Andre and I were really happy that Morgan was with us now and that the four of us would be together on this day. It’s funny how things align sometimes. Today would prove to be one of those days where you just nod your head and smile at how things come to be in just the right moments.
Right Place, Right Time
When we arrived at our Airbnb we looked around and noticed that someone had left behind a half bottle of vodka. We’ve been given several bottles of wine by various hosts during our travels but never had any spirits left behind from prior guests. We poured 4 shots and toasted to Caitlin. It was mid afternoon and we hadn’t really eaten so we set out for a bite. I had read some reviews and picked a couple places to check out. We ended up at Bella Vista, which immediately became our go to restaurant. The food was excellent and the service was too. The place is family owned and run by two brothers and their two sons. As we perused the menu we saw that they had Jägermeister, which was Caitlin’s shooter of choice. We hadn’t really seen any bottles around in the restaurants we’d been to over the last week so this told us we were in the right place.
As we were waiting for our food to arrive a storm was coming in and the sky was growing darker as it began to pour down. Then through the downpour we heard singing… It was the call to prayer. It was beautiful and I don’t think I could ever tire of hearing it. We learned that Ulcinj has a very high Muslim population (most of whom drink which I found surprising) and the majority of people here are of Albanian descent.
At the end of our meal the owner (Ramsey) brought us out shots. The boys were given theirs in typical shot glasses and they smelled like petrol. Joeleen and I got fancy shot glasses and were told ours were nicer shots because we were ladies. After Andre sipped his he said he wouldn’t mind being treated like a lady. We made it home during a break in the weather but would return later that night for another feast and Jager shots in honor of Caitlin. It was a really great day. Very relaxed. Stormy weather that wrapped around you like a blanket. Old friends and new friends. Love.
Waterfront Living
Our place in Uncinj was right on the water. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Nothing fancy, compared to some of the places we stayed in Croatia but the place had personality. We also had two balconies which was great for down time at home and tons of furniture to lounge in. Minus one chair. Morgan had answered a knock on the door shortly after we arrived and some lady came in to the living room with him pointing at one of the chairs, indicating she needed it, so Morgan carried it out and downstairs into another unit for her. In return she gave him a Red Bull… When he came back he asked if anyone knew who the lady was. We were fairly confident that she was connected to our host and that we hadn’t just given away someone’s furniture. Although Red Bull was a great trade and now we could have Jager Bombs! We all supported the exchange.
The other great thing about our place was that we had a perfect view for the two stormy nights. The balconies were covered so we could sit outside and watch the sheet lightening and rain with the old town and the sea as the backdrop.
Morgan Goes Missing
As we left Bella Vista the next evening we popped into the grocery store next door to grab some food for breakfast. We needed a few basics like milk for coffee. Andre had purchased something that he believed to be milk but discovered to be liquid yogurt after he poured it into his coffee. He’s irritatingly clever so I thoroughly enjoyed it when Morgan pointed out that the label did say “Jogurt” and that may have been a clue. So we had all gone into the store but after we paid we couldn’t find Morgan. We went back in to search the tiny shop, looked up and down the street and in a few pubs. No Morgan. A storm was coming in quickly and we could already hear the thunder. We had no idea what may have happened to Morgan but figured that maybe he had gone ahead without us. Joeleen didn’t think so and she decided to stay behind to keep looking for him while Andre and I took the groceries and booze home.
We got back to the place and sat on the patio watching the storm come in. It wasn’t long until the rain came pouring down. We waited. And waited. I am super good at imagining terrible scenarios. I watched a lot of Dateline and 20/20 with my mom when I was younger and so my brain just started going through the headlines and I could hear Keith Morrison’s voice saying things like, “Two Canadian couples go holidaying in Montenegro, but only one couple returns. What happened on that dark and stormy night?” After about half an hour I told Andre we should go looking for them. He said we were absolutely not going out to find them and that they were fine and would be home soon. He said he wasn’t concerned, but he was meerkatting over the balcony just as much as I was, watching and waiting. Finally after about an hour we saw a car pull up and they both hopped out.
In the end, it turned out that Morgan had returned to the restaurant. As we had been walking out the door Ramsey had said “Chow bella.” Andre and I had not heard it but Morgan had. This was something Caitlin would say when parting ways so it caught Morgan off guard and he felt he needed to go back and talk to Ramsey some more. They ended up sitting down over a bottle of homemade wine and Joeleen found him soon after we left her. They ended up getting a lift home from Ramsay’s son.
Bella Vista
This restaurant deserves it’s own section because we ate here four out of five days. The family was so lovely and the food was delicious. We learned a lot about the area and it’s history from Ramsey and his nephew. His English was pretty decent, although he continually apologized for it. Sometimes his nephew would assist in translations. His English was excellent. He explained that he was able to speak so well because he is studying computers and computer people are “nerds” who need to know English.
The restaurant had a large menu and we tried a good portion of it. We got a chance to discover some great regional dishes including ćevapi. We had seen this on menus throughout Croatia but had not yet tried it. Ćevapi is basically little finger sized uncased sausages and they turned out to be Andre’s new favorite thing. He was annoyed with himself for not trying these sooner and spent the remainder of our time in Montenegro eating them.
We enjoyed the food at this place, but more than that, we enjoyed getting to know the family. They were so good to us and would bring us complementary shots and desserts. On our last night they gave both Joeleen and I bottles of their homemade wine to take with us to our next stop in Kotor. We asked if they could help us arrange a taxi to Kotor the next morning (around a 70Euro fare) and Ramsay quickly insisted that his son could drive us for 50 Euros. Perfect. This place was a one stop shop. We learned that they also had some accommodation above the restaurant, if we were ever in need on future visits. Ramsey said he hoped to see us again soon and maybe with a baby. Nice try friend. I don’t think he realized how old we were.
Cats (Not The Musical)
Uncinj had a lot of cats, but they all looked well cared for. They were quite friendly as well. I imagine that the locals and tourist often feed them and are kind to them because they were not skittish. Morgan is allergic to cats so he doesn’t particularly care for them and found it super irritating that they would hang about while eating our meals. Some of them were very brazen. One evening a cat actually had its face in Morgan’s side plate of salad while we were dining outdoors. Our table was up against a stone wall of the same height and the cat could not be shooed away. I thought Morgan was going to lose his mind and push it over the edge. Joeleen had to man handle the cat as it resisted being moved by employing the floppy body strategy children are so fond of.
Old Town and Beaches
Along with lots of cats, Old Town is full of beautiful restaurants. The thing I loved here was that unlike our stops in Croatia this place was super quiet. You could wander through the maze of buildings and only run into a few other people here and there. It was really peaceful and relaxing and the views were breathtaking.
Just outside of old town we discovered a beautiful tiny beach. The beach out front of our place (Mala Plaza Beach) was okay. Not overly busy, but the sand was extremely fine. The kind that is impossible to get off your body or out of your stuff. I’ll take pebbles or rocks over this kind of sand every day. Our beach also happened to be full of rubbish and cigarette butts. It looked a bit like a giant ash tray. Andre wasn’t bothered but I wasn’t keen on it. I knew the water had washed it all up and they weren’t freshly snuffed out butts, but still, not the best.
Anyway, this other tiny beach called Liman 1 was just a short walk though Old Town. When we got there we discovered it had a gate entry that was locked. It was said to be a public beach so we jumped the gate and wandered down. It had its fair share of washed up plastics as well, but much better than Mala Plaza. Eventually we had some company and discovered the gate had been opened but there still only about a dozen of us in total.
Big Night Out
It was bound to happen. On our fourth night we headed into Old Town for some pre dinner drinks. Then we had dinner and some more drinks. Then we headed home but as we rounded the corner to our place Joeleen asked if I wanted to make one more stop. I like lounging at home in stretchy fabric and drinking wine. I rarely care to go out these days unless it’s to a friend’s house where we will both be wearing stretchy fabric and drinking wine… but I actually did want to stay out a bit longer.
We all ended up at a “bar” on the promenade. It was the only place playing loud music and it was decently busy. Soon after we ordered our drinks we noticed that everyone else around us was drinking soft drinks or juice. We knew that most people here were Muslim but we were told they drank. Turns out they do, but our server told us they wait for the weekends.
Along with drinks we may have had some Jager Bombs.
Things I remember:
Andre and Joeleen got into intense conversation. See photo.
Andre and Morgan got up and left the table at some point and Joeleen and I met a table of nice gentlemen.
One nice gentleman gave us some sort of written passes to go to a nature reserve the next day along with bike rentals.
Joeleen scared the nice gentleman.
Two people ended up skinny dipping. I won’t say who, but it wasn’t Andre and I.
We had a great night.
No one got out of bed at a reasonable hour the following day.
Trashing the Place (Part II)
On our last evening we took it easy. I was not about to engage in any more shooters and I barely wanted to drink wine. If you know me you know this is deeply troubling.
We had gone to Bella Vista and said our thank yous and goodbyes. Joe and I had our two bottles of homemade wine in hand but decided we’d wait to open them. We packed our bags and tidied up. Joe and I attempted to start the dishwasher. It really only had two buttons and a dial yet we couldn’t get it to do anything. After much fussing Andre came over to inspect it and plugged it in. We would have eventually figured that out. As we chilled out ready to watch some Netflix Andre passed by the kitchen to see the dishwasher was leaking all over the floor. He stopped it and opened it up.
I went to take a look and when I saw all the suds I remembered Joeleen asking me where the dish soap was. I called out super casually, “Hey, Joeleen hon, what soap did you put in here?”
Turns out you should not put liquid dish soap into a dishwasher. Once all the suds were scooped out and the floor was mopped up it worked super well. Those dishes were really clean.
84 days in…
Last stop with our friends is Kotor.