montenegro II

then the second part of our vacation was at the nature preserve of skadar lake. we stayed in virpazar at guest house ivana . super nice and spacious, we all enjoyed the solitude and quiet. a walk into the little town, grocery shopping with ice creme was a must. some very special light at the evenings, as it was supposed to be a stormy night (which ended up not being).

an other take at kayaking, this time on the lake, all quiet and still. exploring islands which are cow pastures... we realized it early enough to hop back into our kayaks... and on we went to find a spot ideal and idyllic for a lunch break. we found it! the farmer even went that far to prepare two tables and a chair in the shade of the willows.... :) no, just joking, but it was fun to discover those long lost tables and chair and we had a little "in the boat" picnic.
a wonderful lake for kayaking, so many kinds of sea weeds and reeds and lilies. in some spots super shallow, sandy ground and great for swimming and playing in the water, the absolute best fun for the kids, even better than cliff jumping in the days ahead!

to our astonishment, we discovered a little "free library" in the town of virpazar, i want one of those libraries in my neighborhood too...

and then on our last day, we enjoyed a wonderful long boat tour on the lake. very impressive, especially after so many hours of paddling in a kayak, that motor boat was super fast. it was a treat and we were able to go to places we just could not have paddled ourself's. we went through areas covered by sea lily pads. the guides have to cut those corridors out for the boat tours. lots of pygmy cormoranst, grey heron, swifts and different species of ducks.
we visited a little monastery, just one monk lives there, has his bees, his little vineyard and a generator, some cats and a dog. a wonderful tiny chapel and a breath taking view out onto the lake a gorgeous spot of nature.
that last night we had dinner in town, fish and eel and of course fries and grilled vegetables with a wonderful dessert, something like a cake soaked in rich milk and caramel sauce topping, yummy and this all while the sun was setting.

now at home, going through the pictures and talking a lot about our adventures in montenegro, vacation lives on and it seems to be a likely country we will be visiting again.