After our rather strenuous jaunt through the mountains of Montenegro, we were well and truly ready for a break, and Kotor, with the forecast for four days of rain, seemed like the perfect place to stop.

We stayed at a hostel in the old town of Kotor, which is in a restored stone house that dates back to the 14th century and was once a noble family’s (rather large) residence. The place is set up with small groups of three rooms that open into a small shared area. To our great delight, we found ourselves sharing this lovely space with Andrés and Clėmence, who have been cycling around the world for three years.

It was great to swap stories, and for us, to be inspired by these two travellers who have managed to cycle for so long, largely getting by with their charm and wits. For us (as introverts) it was really incredible to hear their stories how they meet and stay with locals as they travel!

Incredibly, we also met up with a French couple cycling to China, and a young Canadian girl on her way to Greece (incredible because we’ve seen so few other cyclists), and swapped yet more stories and plans. We also spent an evening talking with Miko, a local guy who had spent time in the military during the break up of Yugoslavia, and who had participated in the shelling of Dubrovnik (he is now an avowed pacifist, and it was fascinating, if a little sobering, to hear his stories). After our two weeks in the mountains, we really got our social fix, and I probably drank a little more, and slept a little less than I should have.

In between all of this socialising, we also managed to fit in a little sightseeing (life can be so hard sometimes).

I have a bit of a fetish for castles, and am always driving Ally crazy by scrambling over the top of every bit of old ruins that we come across. Kotor’s fortress though, has been my favourite of the trip. It’s a fantastic old ruin, crawling up the mountainside like a giant mechanical caterpillar. Best of all, it’s in a rather nice state of disrepair, and you can explore nooks and crannies that feel like they’ve been untouched for years.

We also hired a car for a day. It was really weird whizzing across the countryside at speed instead of our normal crawl, but it was great to get out and see the bits we hadn’t yet. It also allowed us to see the first snow now dusting the mountains that we had cycled through only days earlier. Looks like winter is well and truly on its way…

We visited the Ostrog monastery, which was a little disappointing, given everything we’d heard. It’s still pretty impressive though, carved out of a cave high in the mountains. You can visit the shrine of Sv Vasilije (St Basil), where his bones are kept. Apparently this is a very holy site for the orthodox Christians of Monetenegro. Ally was scared off by the other pilgrims visiting the shrine, and the overt signs of religiosity they were showing (each was making the sign of the cross and kissing the door as they backed out). I, however, had more courage and entered the tiny room, only to discover to my horror that I was now alone with a rather severe orthodox priest, replete with black robes, a cross and long beard. I was told in no uncertain terms, to come forward and kiss the cross he was holding, and then kneel down and kiss the framed picture of St Basil. I admit that I’ve never been as scared in my life, and exited pale faced and shaking. Even though I’m an avowed atheist it never ceases to amaze me how affecting these places are.