The day after rafting we decided to climb to the highest peak in Montenegro. Well, I assume it is the highest. Montenegrins seem to speak in hyperbole when referring to their own country’s natural achievements. I have heard claimed multiple times that the Tara canyon is the second largest in the world, second only to the Grand Canyon, but a quick bit of Googling finds no evidence to back up this claim. Either way, the mountain was really high. I was fine throughout the majority of the climb until we reached the final 200m of the 2600m mountain. Suddenly a large sheer drop opened up in front of us and we had to scramble up rocks in order to reach the summit. Normally this type of ascending would be really easy for me but with a massive drop below me it became a bit more worrying. I sat at the top of the mountain clinging onto nearby rocks even though there was quite a large gap between me and the edge. Whilst Poya and the Dutch guys we climbed with took photos, smoked cigarettes, and ate Panda Cream I descended back down the mountain walking on all fours in a crab-like position. I survived without plummeting to my death and am glad I did it.
The day after we went canyoning through a small, narrow section of the Tara Canyon. I was slightly worried I might feel claustrophobic but there was only one tight section that worried me a bit. I’m seem to coming across as a man of many fears but I promise you I am very strong and very handsome. Canyoning was really fun: jumping off rocks into pools of water, traversing across streams, and butt sliding down naturally forming chutes. About halfway through a Belgian guy got the onset of hypothermia and we all had to give him a bear hug to stop him shaking. Our guide decided it was his wet-suit that wasn’t doing its job properly and stripped down to his orange, spotted underwear in order to change suits. We deposited him in the sun and rubbed him a bit more and that seemed to do the trick. Afterwards there was more whole fish for me to consume in their entirety.
Zabljak was great. We stayed an extra night and managed to sell out bikes to the hostel owners. I got slightly less than I might’ve liked but 130 Euros isn’t bad and the owner of the hostel was really nice so I didn’t mind giving him a good deal. We wanted to bungee jump off the Tara bridge whilst there but unfortunately it has been made illegal. There used to be a British company who ran the bungee jumping: they did it well, and had an 100% safety record. However, some of the locals decided that was their money to earn and blackmailed the guys, eventually driving them out of the country. These men then took over the bungee jumping and three people died in the first week. No-one got prosecuted as all the deaths were attributed to mistakes made by the customers, bungee jumping was subsequently made illegal, and that was that.
Poya standing confidently while I hang out low
We took the bus to Belgrade yesterday and went out to a club on a boat in the evening. Usually on this trip I have been going to bed pretty early as I get sleepy and lose the ability to conduct meaningful conversation. Apparently to some travelers this is sacrilege and the whole point of traveling is getting really drunk most nights (or so I am reliably informed). Either way, I put my sleepy nature to the back of my mind and went to a loud place. It has been a long time since I have been to a loud place and I was pleased to discover that the way I approach these places has changed quite dramatically. I remember when I was younger feeling pretty out of place and thinking I should be dancing or interacting with people in ways I didn’t feel comfortable doing. However, this time I just really enjoyed doing stupid dancing, often I would have to stop for a bit as I was making myself laugh (I probably looked insane), and just taking pleasure in observing people puffing up their neck feathers and cooing at the opposite sex. Really fun.
The day after we went canyoning through a small, narrow section of the Tara Canyon. I was slightly worried I might feel claustrophobic but there was only one tight section that worried me a bit. I’m seem to coming across as a man of many fears but I promise you I am very strong and very handsome. Canyoning was really fun: jumping off rocks into pools of water, traversing across streams, and butt sliding down naturally forming chutes. About halfway through a Belgian guy got the onset of hypothermia and we all had to give him a bear hug to stop him shaking. Our guide decided it was his wet-suit that wasn’t doing its job properly and stripped down to his orange, spotted underwear in order to change suits. We deposited him in the sun and rubbed him a bit more and that seemed to do the trick. Afterwards there was more whole fish for me to consume in their entirety.
Zabljak was great. We stayed an extra night and managed to sell out bikes to the hostel owners. I got slightly less than I might’ve liked but 130 Euros isn’t bad and the owner of the hostel was really nice so I didn’t mind giving him a good deal. We wanted to bungee jump off the Tara bridge whilst there but unfortunately it has been made illegal. There used to be a British company who ran the bungee jumping: they did it well, and had an 100% safety record. However, some of the locals decided that was their money to earn and blackmailed the guys, eventually driving them out of the country. These men then took over the bungee jumping and three people died in the first week. No-one got prosecuted as all the deaths were attributed to mistakes made by the customers, bungee jumping was subsequently made illegal, and that was that.
We took the bus to Belgrade yesterday and went out to a club on a boat in the evening. Usually on this trip I have been going to bed pretty early as I get sleepy and lose the ability to conduct meaningful conversation. Apparently to some travelers this is sacrilege and the whole point of traveling is getting really drunk most nights (or so I am reliably informed). Either way, I put my sleepy nature to the back of my mind and went to a loud place. It has been a long time since I have been to a loud place and I was pleased to discover that the way I approach these places has changed quite dramatically. I remember when I was younger feeling pretty out of place and thinking I should be dancing or interacting with people in ways I didn’t feel comfortable doing. However, this time I just really enjoyed doing stupid dancing, often I would have to stop for a bit as I was making myself laugh (I probably looked insane), and just taking pleasure in observing people puffing up their neck feathers and cooing at the opposite sex. Really fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment