Day 5 Ćiro Trail: Trebinje to Dubrovnik (then onwards to Kotor)

Am currently having a coffee at Caffe El Paso waiting for MF to turn up as he has gone off-piste somewhere following the Garmin (whereas I just followed the signs …).

This is the border. We cross here to Croatia.

We had left Trebinje about 8:20 a.m. and rode UP to the Tvrdoš Monastery which is meant to have cellars run by the monks and the wine also is meant to be good but it was not meant to be as the cellars seemed to be closed.

So it was all a bit underwhelming except that 1) there was plenty of shady area for MF to do some more repairs on that pannier rack which is loose again; and 2) the Garmin routed us out of Trebinje from that high point and we rode back to where we had exited the trail yesterday (and gone down the freeway, so we avoided the traffic thankfully).

So we back-tracked along the Ćiro to the Hum Station again and then off on a side trail signposted Dubrovnik.

I made a stop to have a break at the last Ćiro Station before the cafe on the border, which is probably where I lost MF. (It was bound to happen …).

Someone had grafitti-ed ‘Tito come back’ on one of the internal walls of the station.  Just about sums things up really …

MF duly turned up. We had a coffee at the cafe and we were through passport control by 12:20 and off DOWNHILL to Dubrovnik - a VERY long descent - great views.

It is quite beautiful. And hot - 28 deg C!

We are now enjoying a beer (for MF) and a G&T for me at the Dubrovnik Brewing Company whilst we await Toni to arrive from Mostar with our bags. 

He and Matej duly arrive and Toni admits they had got as far as Neum and realised they didn’t have our luggage … and had to return to Mostar for it.🤨 They still arrived on time! And shouted us a beer (and red wine for me).

So Toni Zorić is President of Herzegovina Bike and passionate about promoting the Ćiro Trail. We are very appreciative of his service.

Now to catch the bus to Kotor! Departing 5:30 p.m. 

We have the most wonderful views along the coast overlooking Dubrovnik - so gorgeous! Although the driver throws the bus around like a sports car … as well as having a conversation on his mobile… at least we know he’s awake …

Instead of koala signs roadside, there are wild boar signs …

At 6:45 p.m. we have finished the border crossings - one out of Croatia, the other (about 4 kms later) into Montenegro.

Just after, we arrive at the Bay of Kotor passing towns such as Zelenika, Kumbor and Strp ogling all the way the most dramatic coastal views - across the water to an amazing mountain backdrop - stunning!

We arrive into Kotor (still alive) about 8 p.m. and find our apartment which is accessed along narrow cobbled streets and located right in the old town (stari grad). So picturesque.

And our apartment overlooks everything! This is our base for the next 4 nights. Great!

It is owned by a German girl and it is very well appointed - even with a washing machine (bonus!). 

So it’s going to be a long night. We had had our bread roll lunch at the brewery plus some yummy hot chips (and of course our assortment of alcoholic beverages) so we had already decided not to eat out tonight. This works well as now we will embark on a serious laundry project before bed as we have been hand-washing to date; and that cycling gear sure is stinky!

Firstly we have to use Google Translate to work out the German on the bottles next to the machine. After eliminating the fabric softener and the sanitary solution for cleaning the toilet, we finally work out which one is the clothes detergent. 

Ride length: 41 kms (46 kms for MF as he had doubled back looking for me …). Woops.