Mis(adventure) at Mt Lovcen

Mis(adventure) at Mt Lovcen

We should have read the signs before embarking on our visit to Montenegro’s namesake “Black Mountain” (Mt Lovcen) which towers above Kotor.  After a night of thunder and teeming rain (sign # one) we set out for this much-loved national park and with 500m of leaving our digs came across a bingle on the narrow waterfront road  (sign # two).  Erring on the side of caution, we opted for a safer way up the mountain (sign # three) rather than the spectacular but tortuous 25-hairpin bend scenic route listed as one of the world’s great drives. We would not have been able to see a thing through the rain and mist but at least the destination promised some good walks and a not to be missed climb to the famed mountain-top mausoleum. Also on offer was a chance to see some of the 200 species of birds and mammals (bears and wolves included) in the Mt Lovcen National Park.

The alternate route gave us some pretty good views of the Adriatic coast through the cloud and we were amused by the roadside graffiti painted on rocks and concrete barriers which was dominated by an ad for something called Auto Slep 067 838 25. These words and ph # were daubed ad nauseum on all inanimate objects … what could it be? An auto repair service perhaps - we hoped we would not need such a thing!

We passed through the old imperial capital of Montenegro, Cetinje, and proceeded to climb up and up on a gradually narrowing road flanked by forests of birch. The guard rail supposedly keeping one on the right side of the precipitous drop was decidedly worse for wear and in some places contorted, rusted and absolutely useless. We pressed on catching glimpses of the 1749m peak of Mt Lovcen through the cloud and had to slow to crawling pace many times as the mist thickened. At last we reached  the national park headquarters set in lovely green picnic grounds with an education centre.  According to the interpretation panel visitors could walk, commune with nature, retire to cabins or even play paintball!

Sign # four that we should have heeded was the semi-closure of the summit road but we were waved on by a car that had successfully negotiated the narrow route: “OK, OK only 3 kilometres”, the driver yelled.  Excellent, we would not have to walk. The trusty Hyundai ventured further up the goat track and we parked with other cars at the road terminus on a wide bend. After a quick snack we geared up for the climb to the mausoleum. What was that hissing sound? Snakes were not on the list of animals to be found at Lovcen. Alas the noise was coming from the car - the front passenger tyre was disgorging its last breath. Fine, let’s change the tyre. No spare wheel, not even one of those teeny emergency jobs – just an empty space in the boot. We were 15km from the nearest town up a mountain track in what one would venture to describe a “remote location”. Hmmm……

Luckily we had phone reception so we rang our guy from Montenegro Car Hire who suggested we fetch the mini compressor and a can of rubber emulsion from the boot to execute a makeshift repair. Then, he suggested, we attempt a mountain descent to the nearest tyre repair place. Our newly inflated tyre just might make the distance. Thus our walk and mausoleum pilgrimage became a nerve-wracking departure from Mt Lovcen with frequent stops to assess the hissing tyre.  We might need Auto Slep after all. What was that phone number again? 

After nearly being run off the road a couple of times by huge tourist buses heading for the mausoleum we eventually we found a gas station back in Cetinje and were directed to “Eurogum” where a solemn, but thankfully skilled, guy attempted to mend the rubber twice before inserting a tube into the troublesome tyre.

The job took an hour but mercifully cost only a little over five euros (about $8) – you never would have a tyre repaired for that price at home. Back on the road, we considered turning around and trying for the Mt Lovcen summit again –this was a momentary aberration. Instead we headed back towards the coast and stopped off at the nearest hypermart to stock up on some of the locally-brewed pivo and vino!!!

This we enjoyed on the balcony of our new digs further up the Bay of Kotor. We have a lovely apartment run by a well-to-do and enterprising Serbian family who speak perfect English. The apartment overlooks the beautiful village of Perast and the island of Our Lady of the Rocks which we visited earlier on our boat trip. We have own little beach across the road and would love to stay longer but the northern mountains beckon. Hopefully the Hyundai’s “quality” tyres will last the distance!!!! 

PS We have just discovered that Auto Slep has a following on the photo-sharing website Flickr. That explains the proliferation of signage!