In a few days, it will be eight years since I started promoting the natural beauty of our country through "Jasna's travels" through pictures and words. It is fascinating that even after more than 170 texts, I still haven't managed to go everywhere, nor to describe what I would like, and they say that Montenegro is small. This is the best proof that it is not.
Among the first stories, while I was still uncertainly putting words into sentences, I wrote about Lake Zaboj, one of the most beautiful "mountain eyes" in our country. I was there twice, 13 years ago and 8 years ago, both times walking from Dobrilovina. Since the summer before last, we set out to finally get to know Sinjajevina, and our special goal was to cross it (by car) in as many directions as possible, it was the turn of the direction from Lake Zaboj. Since the July XNUMXth "breakthrough" from Pasha's field failed, we went into action already the following Saturday. Sometimes we know how to be very persistent, and otherwise we rarely give up when we set out to do something.
Lake Zaboj can be reached by turning left from Dobrilovina (located on the road Mojkovac – Đurđevića Tara) onto the macadam road. This road is about 8,5 km to the lake, and it takes at least an hour's drive to cover this distance. The road is bad, there is nothing. The water carries it because the climb from Dobrilovina to the lake is over 700 meters. When we finally arrived I was a little disappointed. Lake Zaboj was the third most beautiful of our many lakes (after Crni and Hridski), and it welcomed me somehow - as if it had grown old. It was overgrown, buried by fallen trees, and on the surface there was pollen and some small debris from the trees, so it didn't shine as I was used to. I spoiled myself a lot buzzing around and around.
On that penultimate July Saturday of the summer of 2022, we were not the only ones who thought of finding salvation in the shade around Lake Zaboj. There was a group of mountaineers from Danilovgrad and several other smaller groups. But there was space so that no one would disturb anyone. We started on the path around the lake and found a hidden place to protect ourselves from the sun and people. I even took a bath in it for the first time. Instead of getting colder with age, I seem to lose my sense of cold. This is not the case with Duško. He was soaked up to his knees. I found the lake more beautiful on this side. In the middle of it, on a fallen sunken trunk, a small conifer sprouted. As much as this scene delighted me, it opened up even more possibilities for philosophizing in the style: "What is your life! He always finds his way, etc.”
However, although beautiful, Lake Zaboj was just a passing point for us. Our goal was to get from it to Lake Zminica, another lake that, like Zabojsko, although located in Sinjajevina, belongs to the Durmitor National Park. In the meantime, we came across Mr. Predrag Popović's book "Sinjavina", which also contains a geographical map of this mountain with numerous roads drawn. It was only when we got deeper into it that we realized where we were going before in an attempt to pass the mountain in a north-south direction. We also saw that, despite our belief in it, there is no direct connection between Pašino polje and Zabojsko jezera. We had to go to the extreme eastern part of the mountain, and our first goal was katun Zaboj. We went back a little along the path we took to reach the lake, and then we turned left. At first the road was tolerable. We passed over several huts of the Zaboj katun. It was seen that some were almost renovated. In the background, I noticed a house in which, unlike the renovated huts, it was clear that someone was living there.
First we walked along the edge of the forest and then through the forest. The road went from the "tolerable" category to the "none" category. When we categorized it as "terrible" we stopped to examine the next steps. We left the car and continued on foot. It turned out that we overcame the worst part and that after a few hundred meters the road was even solid. Nevertheless, we continued to walk in an attempt to get our bearings. The terrain was still wooded in places. In some places we would notice faded markings. We passed the household on the right. In Sinjajevina there are a lot of katuns, but incomparably more individual buildings. Only, there are many more who are without signs of someone living in them than others. Here, apparently, someone spends summers on the mountain.
Immediately after this part, we found ourselves in a clearing. Around us, the characteristic wavy relief of Sinjajevina, which I fell in love with two years ago. We noticed a road sign in the distance and decided to go to it, see what it "offers" and then decide what to do next. When we reached it, we found out that we were on the Mramorje pass. We would take the left side of the road back to Zabojsko jezera, and somehow we might reach Ružica and Okrugljak. The right branch led to Zminica Lake, where we had intended to reach, but also to Pasha's field. We were confused for a moment, and then we realized that these are hiking signs and that it does not mean that these locations can be reached by car. Basically, the decision has been made: we return to the car, and then back to Mramorje and then in the direction of Zminičko jezero.
Said - done. We have already lost a lot of time. The sun has already set. Visibility was good, but when there is no sunlight, there are no good photos. The road was not bad, only that it was not there at times, but we were lucky. To say it was an adventure is an understatement. We oriented ourselves and went towards the intended goal. Sinjajevina is full of macadam roads. There are no signposts when you need them the most. It happened that we hesitated between two roads, deliberated, and after a few hundred meters they merged again into one. Fortunately, the terrain was fairly flat. We drove through Saranski polje. There were no ups and downs that would further ruin the road. That's how we got to Katun Konate.
We didn't have time to linger much. We couldn't allow ourselves to not reach our destination before dark because heaven only knows where we would end up. Along the way, we came across various signposts: wooden, useless, useful... We also came to the village of Gomile and then we definitely knew not only that we were on the right path, but also that we were not too far from the goal.
I continued to observe and photograph lonely houses. They were the most impressive segment of this huge space. Every house, I'm sure, has an interesting story behind it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to hear a single one so far. There are days…
Soon after Gomile katun, we reached the paved road, and then everything was easy. We arrived at a well-known territory that we had the opportunity to pass many times, even a week earlier during an unsuccessful attempt to reach Lake Zaboj from here. Who waits, waits.
The mowing was still in full swing. I could only conclude anew: never more hay was cut throughout Montenegro, at least during the past 20 years since I have been "monitoring the situation". When we reached Njeguđa, we gave up on going to Zminica Lake. That would be too easy a task for us. We went there many, many times anyway. There used to be good wild strawberries around it. Now there are two large catering facilities there and it is quite crowded. As we visited it, we visited it. From Njeguđa, we turned right towards Đurđevića Tara and continued along the Tara canyon to Mojkovac. The highway at least shortened our journey a little because it was a long day. As I scrolled through the photos and memory, I was amazed at what can fit into a summer's day.
For years, I used to post a collage of plants that I "harvested" with my camera during a walk at the end of each story. Over time, I slowed down and even stopped altogether. But, while I was looking through the photos from this tour, I thought: "It's a shame to throw them away".
Bonus video:
