Kayaking around Skadarsko lake

Going by bus close to Podgorica I was fascinated by one massive swampy area behind the window. Reeds, bushes and trees stretching out of duckweed covered water, as well as small islands and thin clear water lines in between this beauty. When you go by the sea side road you see mostly mountains and the sea. But here, little bit further from the shore into the country you see a world of a different kind. I was wondering what is the source of these water lands, and how great could it be to explore the area on a simple wooden boat. Just going calmly through those channels few meters wide, diving into its flora and fauna. 

I remember how I used to take a small foldable boat from my grandfather to go fishing. I used to float through long rivers through the village, and outside of it. There were amazing creatures like colorful dragonflies, caddisflies with shells built from micro stones, various frogs, fishes and birds. I found it always interesting to watch their lives in nature.

Another day in Montenegro I noticed some village on the bus route close to the area and checked whether I can get there and rent a boat. Doing a quick search, I realised that renting a simple boat is not something you can find on the internet. Especially in this country. What is available are only some popular tourist activities. And since I have never tried kayaking, it made total sense to rent a kayak. I picked some rental in google maps. There was a button to send a message. They replied me through this chat which I was not expecting at all. So I reserved one double kayak right away.

The following day we walked to the train station in Podgorica. It is just behind the bus station, basically the next big building. We took a ticket to Vranjina for a couple of euros. This train should go all the way to Bar, and may be further to Ulcinj. Some trains from Podgorica may even fo further to Albania, but I don’t know for sure. We just needed to exit at the Vranjina station, which is 20 some minutes from Podgorica, and then walk towards the bridge through the lake. The train line goes by the side of the same road where all the cars and buses are going. But I believe there are no buses stopping at the place. If you travel by bus, you can ask the driver to exit there. But if you want to stop the bus from the road it’s almost impossible. Certainly you’ll have a better luck in stopping some car. I was very content to take the train, since I rarely used it, and I find it much more interesting.

Anyway, the train arrived. We entered an old style coupe carriage. Sat at one of coupes with other people. I think these types of wagons were made for long distance trains. However this one looked modified a bit, without top beds and tables, just rooms with benches. I opened some windows. The train started. One guy lighted up a cigarette near a big window opposite to our coupe. Even though I might not like a smell, I certainly like this chill atmosphere of the absence of control and rules around compared to what you can see in any newer transport. I was just enjoying the ride in an old shaky wagon through this railroad in a single direction. No traffic lights. We are just rolling from A to B. In the meantime I could observe the nature and some nice views passing by.

In 20 minutes or so we arrived to the station. We met the train controller near the exit. He kindly opened the door for the only people exiting. We jumped out on the stones below, cause the concrete platform was not as long as the train. And we went along the road, while the heat from the sun was smashing our heads. 10 minutes, and we were near the bridge through the lake. Just before the bridge to the left, there showed off a big Skadarsko national park entrance arc. But we passed it by since our renting place was further by the road, behind the bridge. We went along the base of the bridge through the fishers area. There was a single guy sitting with tens of fishing sticks. Then we climbed up and went through the last section of the bridge, on top of the water. There we found our kayak rental.

2 workers at the rental place had some fun in the shade. They were very welcoming. They explained us everything and suggested to take one of the routes from some colourful booklet. We chose one route through the lake leading to a river flowing around the mountain. I wanted to go the opposite direction so I asked them about it, but they said that due to some winds it would be difficult. Now I think if we wouldn’t stick to any route but go in our own tempo the wind would make any problem at all. All in all, since we knew nothing about the lake, kayaking and the area, it sounded like we should just go with the suggestion. For this reason we sticked to the route from the booklet and went all the way. But the route appeared to be very long and totally without those places that I wished to see in the first place. Yet it was an interesting experience.

They gave us a big waterproof bag, so we could put all our belongings there. In fact there were quite a bit of bags and life vests of different sizes to choose from. We took those the most comfortable for us and went down to double kayak waiting at the shore. It was not as easy to jump into or out of kayak without spinning it upside down. Since it is a small, very thin and lightweight boat, it depends on the centre of weight a lot. If you swing it too much it can turn up, letting all the humans and things fall into the water. Hence they offer life vests which will never let you drown. The waterproof bag will likely float on top of the water, cause it traps some air inside.

It was too hot and sunny. Our heads started melting. We rushed to the middle of the lake, took off our vests and started jumping from kayak right into the cold water. Then we started to row with oars uselessly towards the river. One rowing while the other swimming behind the kayak. Kayak looks like a fast thing. But I think its speed depends very much on the comfort and size of the boat vs the rowers, their physical training and a skill to row synchronously. We quickly discovered those things, since we were rowing chaotically and the boat wouldn’t go as fast as we wished. I also felt my legs were long enough to not fit into the kayak comfortably. This along with the untrained back muscles made it difficult to keep the spine straight while my legs are forward. Also an oar stick felt too short and it was hitting the plastic sides of the boat with every spin. To avoid this I needed to keep my hands higher, putting lots of tension on shoulders. After a while some calluses started appearing on the fingers at the grab area. So in reality it wasn’t like it was looking.

The feeling of floating on top of the water is so great though. It totally compensates all the struggles. When we entered the river, we could observe beautiful shores with trees and ducks floating around. We parked at some wonderful island and had a picnic there. Then we continued our journey into unknown and found many shores with perfect lawns with tables and seats. I think locals use to carry groups of tourists with bigger boats there, so they could enjoy the feeling of arriving to the land from the water. When we exited to have a coffee at a coastal cafe, I felt like a stranger cosmonaut making a visit to the land before going further into the cosmos. We were passing by some fishers and intriguing floating homes. Those people at the shores and on boats were very friendly. I waved and nodded to them every time. I think this part of the river was the peak of our journey.

And then we realised that our rent expires soon but the route was not done yet. So we started to row faster and faster trying to catch up. Here we were getting tired so the enjoyment started to wear off. I only asked to take a turn into a small channel between trees, cause thats what I was hoping for at the beginning, to visit wild interesting channels. Indeed it was a great turn cause we stepped into an area where water was completely covered with seaweed all around. It was just a stunning view. Here we enjoyed a few minutes before taking a final push to the base. We arrived back just in time. I tiredly gave up the equipment, while the guys were talking about some polish girl who went much faster than us. It was strange to hear this, like we were participating in some competition. Everybody perceives kayaking different I guess. For some it’s a sport. 

Meanwhile we went towards the train station. We decided to pick up some garbage around the bridge. There was no need for bags - we used to find them on the way. Apparently many people visit the place to do fishing or just enjoy the view of the lake. Hence by the end of the bridge we had many big bags full of plastic, glass and metal. Ironically we were carrying 2 lake entrance tickets, which were included in the kayak renting cost. I wasn't expecting to make an entrance payment and then do some cleaning works instead. It is not mandatory ofcourse. Sometimes we just love to do something useful. One fisher even supported such an activity, and said that he always takes his garbage away. I think he was upset about 'irresponsible' people and seeing random garbage around.

When we got to the station it was getting pitch dark. There we had to wait for an hour or so, until our train arrived. We were the only people at the station once again. Nobody was exiting the train either. This time the train was very new. It was a wide carriage with big comfortable seats and a bunch of space in between. There were many locals going. Controller man knew that someone entered, so he was searching for us. I waved him. He came up and we got 2 tickets to Podgorica. It was too dark to see anything behind the windows, so we just enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere of the train heading back to Podgorica.

This is how our trip ended. Next time I think it’s better to go wilder corners instead. Must choose less sunny day, to avoid skin burns. My friend advised me to stick plasters on my hands under the oars as a protection against chafing. I also think it would be better to "go with the flow" while exploring the waters, without sticking to any particular route. In this particular case, I would rather enjoy my swamp time without any rush while watching nature, taking pictures and exploring uncommon wild routes.