Thursday, October 6, 2011

Vacanta in Muntenegru 14. Valea Pivei / Montenegrin Vacation 14. Piva Valley


If when you went in vacation we crossed Montenegro from north to south, at the return from Albania we crossed it again, from east to west because I wanted to see another nice valley, the Piva Valley. And it was worth every kilometer of the road!

After we spent the night in Podgorica in a nice hotel, we took E762 through Niksic and went all the 136 km way to the border point, at Scepan Polje/Hum, entering into Bosnia.

Piva and Tara unite at the border and a new river arise which is Drina, the longest karst river from the Dinaric Alps. At the point were Piva meet Komarnica and Vrbnica a 220 m high dam has been erected and a 42 km long lake was formed. It is the Piva Lake, with a 180 m depth. There, the road descends near the lake and follows its shore to the border. It is a beautiful road, with numerous little tunnels.


On the way, we visited 16th century Piva Monastery and Pluzine, a little town near the lake.

All of a sudden we found ourselves at the border, which we crossed on a wooden bridge, above the waters of new borned Drina river. They barely looked at our IDs and we were already in Bosnia. No problem at all!

Daca la dus am traversat Muntenegru din nord spre sud, la intoarcerea din Albania am traversat din nou tara, de data aceasta de la est spre vest, pentru ca doream sa vad Defileul Piva si macar o mica parte din Bosnia, unde n-am fost inca, ca sa ma conving cat adevar exista in spaimele de pe forumuri...

Dupa o noapte dormita la marginea Podgoricei intr-un hotel dragut si confortabil, am plecat - cale de 136 km doar - prin Niksic, spre Scepan Polje/Hum, granita cu Bosnia. Distanta aceasta am parcurs-o insa in 4 ore, facand dese opriri pentru a fotografia sau a vizita ceva.

La inceput, vremea n-a fost prea frumoasa, temandu-ne chiar ca dupa 2 saptamani de soare sa nu ne ploua tocmai aici, stricandu-ne placerea peisajului. Dar n-a fost asa fiindca in cele din urma vremea s-a indreptat.
Raul Piva, intalnindu-se cu Tara chiar la granita cu Bosnia, se transforma in Drina, cel mai lung afluent al Savei si cel mai lung rau carstic din Alpii Dinarici (346 km). Drina face hotar intre Bosnia si Serbia dar, pana acolo, mai avem de mers.

Deocamdata, ne oprim sa vizitam Manastirea Piva, construita in secolul al XVI-lea. In afara de noi nu mai este nimeni acolo decat o pereche de tineri din Novisad, care ne intreaba imediat daca suntem din Timisoara (dupa numarul masinii). Intre cele doua orase, oamenii se plimba intr-o zi, iar eu vi-am povestit deja despre Novi Sad aici http://travelinghawk.blogspot.com/2010/11/fortareata-petrovaradin-petrovaradin.html si aici http://travelinghawk.blogspot.com/2010/07/novi-sad-doar-cu-buletinu.html

Manastirea este deosebit de frumoasa in interior. Preotul, imbracat in haine "civile" se apropie de noi, pe cand ne uitam la micile suveniruri pe care le vindea in pridvor si ne imbie sa cumparam...slibovita, pe care o tinea in sticle, la loc de cinste, in niste ocnite din zid! O oferta la care nu m-as fi asteptat...Ii spunem ca suntem din Romania si ca avem si noi o tuica foarte buna, ceea ce nu-l fericeste neaparat...
 Manastirea Piva, sec. XVI
 incrustatie in zidul inconjurator al manastirii
In punctul in care Piva intalneste alte doua rauri, Komarnica si Vrbnica, s-a construit un baraj (1967-1975) de 220 m inaltime si astfel a luat nastere albastrul Lac Piva, in ale carui ape de pana la 180 m adancime, se oglindesc cerul si padurile din jur dar si Pluzine, un mic orasel aparut o data cu construirea barajului. Aici, soseaua coboara si continua pe langa lac, cale de 42 km.
 Lacul Piva
 Pluzine
amenajari piscicole
Suntem tot in Parcul National Durmitor, unde ne-am inceput drumul prin Muntenegru, in urma cu doua saptamani. Urmand drumul european E762, ne indreptam spre granita. Tinem mereu firul vaii, intre pereti de stanca de o parte si de alta, printr-un sir nesfarsit de tuneluri. Din nou poze facute din mersul masinii, fiindca nu avem unde opri si circulatia e tocmai atat de intensa cat sa ne impiedice sa ne gandim la asta.
 trecem pe cealalt versant
 pe pod
Aproape brusc, fara avertizare, ajungem la granita care arata ca o ghereta, cu una-doua case pe langa ea. Doua masini cu turisti o iau in dreapta, pe un drum care duce spre un loc de rafting. Suntem singura masina in granita care trece in Bosnia. Aratam actele si ni se face semn sa trecem, fara a se uita pe ele. In fata noastra, un pod de lemn pe sub care curge de-acum Drina cea tanara, nou formata, face legatura intre cele doua tari. In Bosnia, tot o ghereta simpla, parca de drumari, aflata imediat dupa pod, o privire aruncata spre pasapoarte si gata, am intrat! No problem at all!
 rafting langa granita
 pod peste Drina, la granita Scepan Polje/Hum
deasupra Drinei, intrand in Bosnia

25 comments:

JoLynne Lyon said...

Thanks for both the landscapes and the church art photos. I've been curious about that part of the world!

Traveling Hawk said...

Hi! Thanks for the visit. If you like what you see, please come again.

magda said...

Oooo, my dear friend, lovely montains!!!!
Wonderful view, the river, the lake, quiet!
Here, even swimming, because it is hot, but once the weather cools, it will take to the mountains!
I wish to be always healthy and travel!
For us, the best thing in the world!
Μany greetings

Cristina DUMITRU said...

Peisajele sunt superbe! Munte si rau la un loc - combinatia ideala. Foarte amuzanta povestea cu preotul.
Si intr-adevar, tuica noastra de prune este mult mai buna decat slibovita. Noi ne-am cumparat din Cehia o sticla de slibovita, dar nu mi s-a parut extraordinara.

Traveling Hawk said...

You are so right, Magda. Thank you!

Traveling Hawk said...

Multumesc pentru vizita si aprecieri, cristina!

joo said...

I love the church - such great and rich paintings! The landscape is amazing and the view are breathtaking!

Traveling Hawk said...

It was a memorable day, Joo:) Thanks for your opinion. Have a great weekend!

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

I can see the travel through the country sides Albania was really worthwhile, and what a beautiful place of worship !

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Wong! This is still Montenegro, not Albania. Only we crossed this leg of Montenegro at our return from Albania.

Unknown said...

frumoase peisaje, chiar asa facute din fuga masinii.
oricum nori de ploaie, de multe ori sunt o bucurie pentru fotograf, dar nu sunt o veste buna pentru sofer.

Traveling Hawk said...

cam asa cum zici, pharaonx, dar pana la urma am scapat neplouati:)iar cand am intrat in Serbia era chiar soare.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic photos and information. Thank You.

God bless and have a Great Day! :-)

BTW, thanks for your recent comment on my "Don't Mess With Old People!" post. ~Ron

Fotokarusellen said...

A great post and some very beautiful pictures. Wonderful photo work.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, Old Geezer! I'm glad you liked my post here.

Traveling Hawk said...

Welcome to my blog, Fotokarusellen, and thank you for the appreciation of my work!

Have a nice weekend!

Unknown said...

Interesting post and beautiful pictures.Greetings Andrzej.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, Andrzej! Kind words, as always.

LifeRamblings said...

such a gorgeous landscape and the monastery looks very intriguing. great captures.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, Life Ramblings! It's an orthodox monastery.

RIZALENIO said...

Turqouise water. Always refreshing to see abundance of nature. Consistenly makes me sing "what a wonderful world".

Traveling Hawk said...

Ha, ha, you are right, Rizalenio!

J_on_tour said...

Magnificent scenery around Piva Lake.

Traveling Hawk said...

Yes, J_on_tour, it resembles with the Danube valley in my country.

Anonymous said...

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