Camping Zlokovic, Montenegro

We started our exploration of Montenegro at Camping Zlokovic in Bijela after entering Montenegro from Croatia, in early October (2022). Most of the larger campsites close for the winter on 01 November so 1st priority was “open all year” except sometimes when they are closed 😂. Zlokovic met all requirements: small family-owned, pitches have all the required utilities (fresh water, grey water, 16amp power), and strong wifi – yippy.

Pitches are also large and close to the water (30m). The beauty of traveling this time of the year is that the campsites are very quiet, most of the time. Ivan was the site manager and very helpful and supportive. You can contact Ivan at: zlokovicivan@gmail.com

Herceg Novi

Autumn in Montenegro is the perfect time to visit. (We think so ). Ivan couldn’t have been more helpful. He came over to see how we were enjoying the area and recommended we take the free boat ride from the pier in Herceg Novi to the island of Mamula. Well, we followed his instructions and found the place, no problem, but we were too late to register and missed out.

In the meantime, we had a wee look around and found the castle Forte Mare near the end of the pier. It was built by the Bosnian King Tvrtko 1 in 1382. Herceg Novi is in the Bay of Kotor of course, a major tourist region with cruise ships passing our campsite day and night.

Perast, Montenegro.

Well, we started out to visit Kotor, but naturally, when something is planned by us, it usually doesn’t happen as planned.

To get to Kotor (another day) you drive past the turning to Perast. What grabbed our attention as we came close, was the islet of Our Lady of the Rocks. There is a second private island close by called St George with a monastery, owned by the catholic church. We parked outside the town to take some photos then decided to explore and found a taxi-boat service that took us over to the islet for a small fee.

This place was magical, it felt like we were a couple of kids in Disneyland. We spent 30mins on the island before returning to Perast, where we were captivated by the atmosphere of this enchanting village. Of course, we lost track of the time and had to meander to Kotor another day.

Post a Thought

There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
John Lennon

Kotor

We made it, there’s something about walled towns isn’t there? I get a childhood thrill at the idea of it. It’s almost like revisiting a fairytale that people still live in. Cobbles and old doors and window shutters and tiny chapels and arched ceilings inside thick stone walls.

Kotor is just like that with a seawater moat and protective walls and fortifications stretching up and up the mountainside. This is where all the cruise ships passing us at the camping site are heading. It’s very popular. There’s at least one every day anchored in the dead-end harbour looking strangely out of place.

Ostrog Monastery

A Day of Miracles

No hiking stick or boots, and yes… there is a car park at the top (not very busy today)… but in homage to the pilgrims, mostly from Croatia Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Serbia, some of whom take this path on hands and knees, we thought we’d at least walk.

St Basil of Ostrog’s remains are in a tiny frescoed cavern to the very end of the upper church and monastery hanging off the side of the sheer mountain. A priest watches over him during the public visits. Our visit included some personally moving reflections with candles in the small monastery chapel within the rock face.

Saint Basil was born in Herzegovina in 1610 and christened Stojan. It is said at a young age he was deeply filled with the love of God and joined a monastery of the Croatian Orthodox Church. At a relatively early age, he was made a bishop and he was instrumental in the construction of the Monastery.

He died in 1671, and sometime later it was decided his remains should be brought back to Ostrog. When he was disinterred, his body was intact and smelling of basil. His first miracle. There have been many of them.

Port Montenegro

Who needs a sea change? What about this place? They say if you buy an apartment (or rent a berth in the marina) in this Porto Montenegro development you automatically get a twelve-month visa, renewable each year with a quick visit to the local immigration office. Not surprisingly the development is owned by a Dubai Investment Corp. During our walkabout, we passed the private Mega-Yacht “Luminosity”, the largest diesel-electric yacht afloat, also Dubai-owned (?) or was, now for sale. Check it out here: https://www.fraseryachts.com/en/yacht/luminosity/ and check the development out here: https://www.portomontenegro.com/

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