The Meanderthals: MONTENEGRO & ALBANIA

CATS & DOGS & MYSTERY MEN

FOREIGNERS :- Danny, Anthony Martin, John W.

With Anthony's superb photos already having shown you the beauty and fascination of Montenegro (and Albania) I shall confine myself to one or two incidents or stories. (Those who know me will realise that "Confining" myself is NOT one of my greater strengths but I shall try.)

Palas Hotel. Our base for the week.

FOOD and DRINK.

"All inclusive" is delightful but also dangerous. Some days consisted of … get up … Have breakfast .... do something... Have lunch ...do something … Have dinner. At each meal a vast array of food was spread out for our choosing. Lunch and dinner also had wine (red and White) literally on tap. Oh Dear !

And Drink ! …… a free bar all day is too tempting 😉

The staff in the hotel were all extremely pleasant and the ladies all wore traditional costumes as work clothes. Danny took mild exception to this suggesting, quite reasonably, that for the sake of equality, the men ought also be obliged to wear traditional costumes.

We considered clubbing together to buy Danny one of these outfits.

We did, of course, do things other than eating and drinking and as we travelled around, on foot or by coach, we began to notice.....

CATS !

They were everywhere.

There's a cat.

More Cats.

Cheeky Cat
(Checking out Mrs W.)

Mountain Guide Cat.

"Grand Old Duke of York Cat"

This particular cat joined us at the bottom of a long hill and stayed with us Step by Step all the way to the top. Waited for us and then accompanied us all the way down again. Woe betide any other cat that tried to join us it was given short shift and seen off very firmly.

Here's the cat walking close beside us.

Ten thousand men at the top of the hill....er ..well..two !

(The cat is waiting just out of shot)

ALBANIA

You may wonder why this shot is taken low down in the coach. John was taking other photos until he was told taking photos at the border crossing was forbidden and could lead to being arrested. Oops !

VERTIGO

One of the highlights of our day in Albania was a visit to a castle perched high on a hill.

Leaving the coach behind we set off up the slippery cobbles towards the ancient fortifications.

Half way up our guide stops to explain the panorama behind. There is a considerable drop on the other side of that wall.

Upwards and onwards.

High up on the battlements.
JW is not comfortable taking this photo knowing there is a big drop on the other side of the wall..

After taking this photo JW retreats to lower ground.

On the other side of these battlements is a sheer drop of hundreds of feet. Heights turn your writer into a nerve ridden. wobbly jelly( Wimp flavoured). So here I sit on a solid rock taking photos from a distance.

Everywhere we went in Albania we saw these. The paranoid dictator of communist Albania became convinced that the western powers, France, Germany, the USA and UK were about to invade. He built tens of thousands of these bunkers and an army of a million men. He spent all the country's money on this whilst the people starved.

DOGS.

Whilst we were in Albania, in the city of Shkodra (Scutari) we stopped for lunch at a restaurant where the tables were in the middle of the street (see Anthony's photos) . Before sitting down we had to move several large dogs which were lying in the shade underneath the tables and chairs. "Letting sleeping dogs lie" was not an option. Fortunately they were very docile dogs and a gentle toe poke moved them a short distance where they once again flopped down. Apparently these stray dogs were tolerated by the town. They all had ear tags to show that they had been examined by a vet and had been inoculated and were disease free. They slept quietly in the warm sunshine and were only really bothered when a cyclist passed whereupon they all leapt to their feet and barked. They really got excited when a woman looking like an old fashioned gypsy approached carrying a large stick. They set up a real cacophony of barking till she moved on. Otherwise they seemed very placid and harmless.

Here we are passing the Mosque to enter the high street. Also in the high street were the Orthodox Church, The Roman Catholic Church and ………. the DOGS.

WALKING

Being Meanderthals we of course did a little walking during our week. One walk took us around the headland at the end of the bay and through a set of tunnels. The writer missed this walked but returned later by himself and here are a couple of photos to prove it.

Entrance to the last tunnel just visible in this selfie.

OTHER BITS

Submarine trip anyone ?

Not a dentist for fellas to visit.

Danny contacts the spirit world..... I think it's brandy !

The Meanderthals weekly search for seating at coffee time was rather easier this week.

Petrovacs state of the art fire tender.

John thinking "This ranks very high on my list of dull boat trips I have endured."

(Perhaps the only less than fascinating part of the week.)

"Aye, Aye. " says Danny.

MYSTERY MEN.

One evening we had left our table to choose our starters. When we returned a group of men had usurped our positions. Anthony protested ! (Very brave they were very big, fit looking young men.) An older gentleman quietly told them to go to another table. Which they did without demur. The older gentleman sat close by at another table occupied by two or three more ordinary looking couples. The people at the second table appeared to be eating their own food (not hotel food) but the young men ate what was on offer. The older gentleman sat at the corner of the table and whilst he prepared food he did not eat but sat watching the dining room whilst the others ate. This occurred at other mealtimes. One of the men always watched rather than ate with the others. We found out (we asked the older man) that they were Israelis and their food was Kosher. We noticed also that when the couples moved around one or more of the "Fit young Men" dropped in behind them and followed them at a distance. Although they said they were on holiday they did not wear holiday clothes. Perhaps our imaginations went into overdrive but we certainly felt curious about their "different behaviour...…….. Non of our business of course.