Ulcinj Solana

It’s with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to our little glamping paradise. We’ll miss the peace, the beauty and the wonderful ethical welcome here, but it’s time to move on, first to Ulcinj. 

Close to the Albanian border, the busy town is something of a culture shock, but we’re heading for the walled Old Town high above the beach which is far quieter.  The narrow streets are typical of ancient Mediterranean towns, though here they’re still rebuilding after the earthquake of 1979 (I’m disturbed to learn the last ‘earthquake’ was just last week!). We wander the atmospheric streets, pausing for a coffee at a most delightful bar. 

Then it’s on to Ulcinj Salina, the large salt pans situated between the town and the Albanian border. Somehow we get lost and find ourselves at a dead end with warning signs that we are now in the ‘frontier zone’ - though here the border is the river. We suspect the sign may date back some time, but clearly we need to retrace our route and finally succeed in finding a lane leading to the most unpromising location. It appears to be an old industrial area, with decaying factories and warehouses; relics of the salt industry now disbanded. We need to show our passports and are told we need to walk at least three km before we have the chance of seeing birds - and of course even then there’s no guarantee! 

We set off through this scene of dilapidation- emphasised by the threatening skies before us. I’m far from certain this will turn out well; it’s at my walking limits, and soon we’re struggling against a stormy wind with cloudbursts more than likely. It seems a forbidden landscape, ancient pylons stretching up against the angry skies, old huts and broken footbridges lining the deep drainage ditches to our side. And when, after two kilometres,  we reach what seems to be the first lagoon, there’s a forbidding building guarded by a large and vocal dog - fortunately chained up. It’s hardly welcoming. 

But by now the threatened storm seems to have passed by, and we enter this avian world in sunshine. We’re hoping for flamingoes, and we do actually see one - strangely on its own in the middle of the second lagoon. I manage a shot before he flies off to find the others at the far end - too far for us to walk. And there are egrets and herons aplenty, swallows flitting back and forth, and yellow-billed terns I’ve yet to properly identified.  

But for us the star today is the Black Winged Stilt. Black and white and of the same family as the avocet, they are beautifully delicate birds with amazingly long thin legs - hence the name of course. Wading, they look as if a breath of wind will knock them over - and indeed they struggle in today’s gusts ; flying, they seem dart-like. Clearly we are passing their nesting sites, so there’s a fair amount of noise and aerial warning, but thankfully not the dive-bombing attacks of Arctic terns. 

It’s been a long and tiring walk, but definitely worth it, and we return to the car ready to complete our day’s journey to our next stop, Sveti Stefan. 

More on the salinas area below: 

https://balkaninsight.com/2021/07/21/montenegro-acts-to-save-bird-rich-coastal-wetland/

Today’s main is a black winged stilt, with flight shots and landscapes - rural and industrial - in extras. Again, it’s a rather random choice! 

I’ve made an effort to respond to some of your lovely comments and thank you for hearts - but I still have a way to go! Apologies if I haven’t thanked you - or indeed thanked  you twice!