...and before we got to wonderful Italy, we finished off our Balkans loop.
Considering that the Balkans were a last minute addition to our itinerary as a result of the dreaded 3-month Schengen visa limitations, I am extremely glad that our hand was forced. Montenegro is leading our list of best cycling destinatinations from this trip. Sparse traffic, lovely people, beautiful towns and stunning coastline and mountains. I think that some more time there, but with climbing gear, mountain bikes, sea kayaks, hiking gear and some of those suits that let you jump off a mountain and zoom about like a swallow would be extremely well spent.
From Montenegro we headed along the dalmation coast, which was sadly lacking in dalmations. I figured 30 or so would have been more than enough to make kate a lovely new cycling jersey, but alas we saw none. What we did see, though, were olive groves, pommegranite trees (not one of which managed to avoid kate's ever aware fruit seeking fingers), vineyards, and miles and miles of adriatic-blue sea. Although we knew very little about most of the towns were cycling through, each was a rare surprise, often shoehorned onto a tniy island, surrounded by medieval walls, and watched over by ramparts and steeples. zadar was bustling and lively, with old churches and modern art, and trogir was a nugget of medieval buildings ringed by sailing boats.
we finished up the balkans leg by spending five days in istria, a peninsula which has been both italian and slavic in its recent history, and has the feel of both. We drank wine, read books, and rolled around without panniers on, a luxury when cycletouring.
we then headed for trieste... as kate has just written
A word on animals..
With both of us being a bit animal-mad, this trip has had the added excitement of seeming like a safari. Kate never misses a border collie, while I am the roadkill identification expert. Admittedly, I don't stop to take photos like the German boy we met on a train, but that doesn't mean I'm not taking my job seriously. We have also taken it upon ourselves to come up with a new nomenclature for cat and dog breeds and colours. No longer do we see labrador crosses, tortoiseshell cats or greyhounds. Instead, we come across Doctor BamBams, King Tamatamas, black dogs, and ghosts of black dog. Someone please notify crufts.
Our most important task, however, is to identify doctor scruffies, or dogs who would be suitable touring partners. They must be scruffy, light, have a happy disposition, and most importantly, a tail like a flag. While we have seen several and invitec them to apply, we are yet to select the appropriate candidate. The search is ongoing.
Oh, and we have also seen wheeling vultures, green snakes, silver fish, buzzards, a golden eagles,red deer, mice, and heard jackals howling.
