Saturday 15 June

 Happy Birthday Izzie!

I wake at 4am with nausea and tummy cramps. At least there is no queue for the toilets at this hour. I’m certainly not feeling great and have to dig very deep to get up the initial ascent despite vomiting on the way. I am mightily relieved to reach the ridge summit which divides Albania from Montenegro. Once more the alpine scenery is stunning and we spot gentians, orchids, anemones and yellow poppies amongst other beautiful wildflowers by the path side as we continue into Montenegro. Luckily the path is flatter as we pass through blueberry and myrtle bushes and finally into the shade of a forest. I am managing to keep water down at least. The path is not well marked and we go off track a few times. Luckily Simon managed to download an off line map with GPS location. 

I plod on trying to keep positive and do begin to feel a bit better as we continue to descend through pine forests. After about 4 hours we reach Lake Hrid where we actually swim. Surrounded by small newts! It’s not as cold as the glacial lake and we feel refreshed. Further down we meet the owner of last night’s accommodation leading 2 horses along the path at a fast pace. He has been transporting our bags! We find a really nice guesthouse with views for a cold Coca Cola before descending to our guesthouse after about 6 hours of walking. We are very disappointed as it is very scruffy, still under construction and they are spring cleaning with stuff everywhere. The owner is not friendly so after a shower Simon finds the next door house much more pleasant so we pay an extra 40 euros and move some of our stuff there. We sit in the sun admiring the view. Supper smells good but with only one toilet I will have to be careful. 

Our host produces a magnificent spread of home cooked local dishes: vegetable soup, mince with sliced potatoes and cheese presented flambé and soaked walnut biscuits. Simon enjoys it with relish. I’m sorry I can’t do it justice. Certainly the nicest place we’ve stayed in.