Just to the south of Virpazar, the twisting road to Gluhi Do runs alongside a stream, wet pastures and woodlands and then across the edge of a large expanse of abandoned, thorn-covered farmland. There is distant traffic noise from the fast road to the Sozina Tunnel on the slope above, as well as occasional trains from the nearby line…
Tag: Lake Skadar
Vranjina’s Pelicans
We came back the other evening down the main road from Podgorica to Virpazar across Lake Skadar. Just before the small fishing village of Vranjina, there is a section of open water fringed by spring green willows that over the past two weeks has had a pair, sometimes three, Dalmatian pelicans. These have always been loitering…
Seoce
We walked from the outskirts of Godinje up the long hill to the old village of Seoce. The weather brightened and the east wind was blocked by the hills for most of the way. Blackcaps were as numerous and busy as ever in the roadside trees. There were many Fritillaria messanensis and these were most abundant in…
Crkva Sv. Petke
This little stone church sits high above the town of Virpazar, remote and quiet, with one of the best views of Lake Skadar. The place is always picturesque and this was the sunset on 6th March when winter was still hanging on hard in the mountains to the north. Crkva Sv. Petke or Church of…
Lake Skadar’s Dragons
The week has been grey and rain-filled with sullen views and damp seeping the bones. This morning was brighter and the view from the square window confirmed that although a deep grey, the light was trying hard to win, so I hurled out and up the hill in a strong, but not cold, easterly to see…
Žabljak Crnojevića
Today was the first warm and sunny weekend of the year with no icy wind to fend off and the day trippers from Podgorica were packing Virpazar and the mountain roads. The old fortress, or to be exact fortified town, of Žabljak Crnojevića is not on the tourist trail; the road leading to it is off the new Golubovci by-pass,…
Pygmy Cormorant
The morning was crisp and clear and this unruffled pygmy cormorant hung out to dry just over the road. Pygmy and great cormorants, the latter far less confiding here, do not have any oils in their feathers to keep the water out like ducks, grebes and coot, so they swim, dive and dry, always in this…
Lake Skadar
Virpazar is a small town just off the main highway that runs from the inland capital Podgorica to Bar on the Adriatic coast. The small turning runs across the single track railway towards the Voli supermarket and Hotel Pelikan. The road runs past, soon-to-be busy cafes and tourist agencies set in a small plaza towards an old…