Day 6 – Monday, August 11, 2025
I left around 7:30 am and for a while, rode on the same highland road I had taken the previous day. It was not an easy ride – lots of climbs followed, not too steep, but more or less continuous. The road was quite busy, and there was a rather strange “feature”: to let precipitation flow off, my side of the road had a steep drop, meaning I could not ride on th edge. As such, I had to bear more into traffic, which included trucks and buses, so I had to be extra careful - one wrong movement meant either hitting a car or rolling down a ditch.
Even though I was no longer in the national park, the views were spectacular – though I could only enjoy them when I stepped aside.
Even outside the park, the view was nice
Luckily, there was a fork in the road, and the writer with the belly had suggested that I should take the old national road. It was unclear if it would actually work, so I stopped a jeep coming from there. An Austrian family sat inside. They were not really friendly – well, Austrians. They confirmed the road was paved and doable, but definately rugged. I asked if they had some water, they did give me a bottle, though with some grudge and hesitation. Danke trotzdem.
Another climb came, not long, at the top of which I could see a windmill. Then a second, then a third – I was on a windy highland with a huge windmill park. The landscape looked almost like Arizona, barren but still magical.
Just a few of the dozens and dozens of windmills
I got quickly low on water again, so I went to the control center of the windmill park. A very friendly caretaker filled three bottles of mine – now I felt better! I was riding on the highland when something rare happened – I experienced a strong tailwind! I covered about 10 kilometers in 25 minutes. The landscape remained anything but green - it waa barren everywhere I looked.
Barren landscape
Next, I headed to a monastery high in the mountains, which I saw in a Facebook posting of old buddy, Rustom, a classmate from Karachi, Pakistan. If Rustom could make it, so could I. The monastery is situated against an almost vertical rock, built in the 17th century and dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog, whose body is enshrined in a reliquary in a cave-church. It is an important pilgrimage destination.
I saw the main road I was heading on making a large detour around a mountain. There was also a much smaller road, veering through a village, leading more or less directly to the church. I asked a couple of people; some encouraged me to carry on, others shook their heads violently, pointing to the main road. After pondering, I chose the direct path.
It turned out to be a struggle. The road went through a village and the pavement ended. Dogs guarding houses barked angrily at me. Close to the next village, the pavement reappeared with no traffic. A sign to the monastery led to a hiking trail, impossible to cycle, so I continued on the small paved road, so steep that I had to push my bike a couple of times. To my surprise, a car passed by; the occupants spoke perfect English and confirmed I was on the right path.
Small road leading next to a rock wall
All the altitude gained was lost at a steep drop, and finally this road merged with the main road that I would have had to ride on. There was an empty restaurant. A lady greeted me – neither friendly nor unfriendly – and allowed me to use her water. Completely exhausted, I sprayed myself, drank about a liter, filled my bottles, and thanked her.
Somewhat refreshed, I continued uphill, regaining all the lost altitude. I reached a lower monastery, which was not spectacular, then rode another 5 kilometers uphill to the upper, main monastery. At 5 pm, just before I arrived, the church being in the rockface above me, the bells started tolling - a magical sound echoing off the vertical rockface.
Finally, I made it to the top. I parked my bike, donned a compulsory skirt to cover my bare legs, and entered the monastery. It was impressive – the last comparable experience I had was in Ethiopia. How this was carved into the rock and built in the 17th century remains a riddle.
How do you carve a church in a rock wall in the 17th century?
The view from the monastery
The courtyard was filled with pilgrims lying on mattresses. I later learned that they arrive throughout the day (and even the night, as you will see), receive mattresses from the caretakers - waiting for the spirit of the saint to visit them in dreams. One young boy Serbia had told me it was his second visit, he did not experience anything the first time, but his parents and one of his brothers did have an spiritual encounter. Anyhow, In the wee hours of the following day, the pilgers are woken up and they pay a visit to the saint, patiently waiting in line.
Pilgrims lying/sleeping on the floor in the courtyard...
...and even outside, in the parking lot
I decided this would be an interesting experience - and decided to stay for the night. I visited the four-story-high church with small caves and various relics, including the body of St. Ostrog. Most caretakers were volunteers from Serbia, and I had a longer chat wih one younger guy, who spoke perfect English, him me a lot about the church and the pilgrims.
The courtyard filled quickly with families carrying mattresses. I pitched my tent outside the courtyard to give space to the pilgrims. I called Rustom on WhatsApp – we hadn’t spoken in nearly forty years – and had a long, nice chat. He now lives in Canada and undertakes major multi-week trips twice a year. Oh, and remember the Czech family from the previous day? I met then here - small world! But then...small country, Montenegro.
It got dark, and I pitched my tent next to a bus, nicely covered. More people arrived; the courtyard was nearly full. I went to sleep around 1 am.
Interestingly, there were no restaurants up there, only a vending machine and toilets reachable after a five-minute walk. Everything, including the toilets, was sparkling clean. The caretaker reassured me nothing would be stolen – the saint would take necessary retaliatory action.
I made about 80 kilometers, with 1,408 meters of ascent.