The tunnel called "Klisura", 2,8 km long, was built like Skadar na Bojana. What would be done in a few months, the water would carry away during the next ones. Its construction broke not only the time but also the financial frameworks, and that in many ways. From the moment the preparatory work for its construction began, I have been following the development of events. When I had lost hope that it would ever open, I was surprised by the news. "The tunnel between Jezerin and Lubnica is being put into trial operation". The first of the following weekend, when we were considering where we could go for a ride (because the hiking option is currently on hold), the first idea was: "Let's try the tunnel!" The last Saturday of March dragged on to May. The day was perfect. From Zlatica, we quickly joined the highway, and through Kolaša, we reached the beginning of the tunnel. We concluded that the road from Kolašin to Jezerin is crying out for at least a little makeover, if a more extensive reconstruction is not already possible. We got through the tunnel faster than we expected. Straight as an arrow. You don't blink - there you are under Jelovica. Someone who doesn't know the pains the builders went through would never think that while driving through the tunnel. It looks completely "tame". I even drove on two occasions from Lubnice to the tunnel, then on the macadam road through Bjelasica, and the part behind the tunnel was not unfamiliar to me. But it is Duško. He couldn't help but wonder how many different buildings had already been built there and how many had been started. He was fascinated by nature, so he logically concluded: "No wonder there are so many cottages here. The surroundings are beautiful”. We passed by the hotel "Jelovica". For a while, I followed the articles in "Monitor" about the man who bought it, promised towers and cities and disappeared without a trace. Whether there have been any new moments regarding this case in recent years - I don't know. It is difficult to follow all the "controversial businessmen" and their business ventures from previous decades. We stopped just after the tunnel to survey the surroundings and the meadows where the saffron had only managed to appear.
We continued towards Lubnice along a wide road, quite winding. The traffic was surprisingly heavy. We were not the only ones who thought of "trying" the tunnel. Many cars from Beran and Andrijevica flocked to the south. When we left home, we didn't map out a driving plan. That's why, when we got to Lubnice, I suggested: "We could go to the Veliki Šiško lake. You didn't even see Ševarina." There he turned and turned left towards Kurikuće and further to the lake. If we had known then the condition of the road, we certainly would not have gone. But when we pushed through the patchy asphalt to Kurikuć, we continued on, even though the road was getting worse and worse. And so about 11 km. We didn't stop next to Veliki Šiško Lake, but immediately continued to Ševarin or Ševarinski Lake, which is a little more than a kilometer away from Veliki Šiško Lake. Although the road was muddy, it was still much better than the one to the first lake. We passed by the village of Šiška, which remained in my fondest memory because of the deaconship of Mrs. Dubak, who, in addition to taking care of the cattle, found time to offer home-made food to the travelers. Of course, there was still no one on the katun. But only when I remember how a year and a half ago "the food was really good there".
Lake Ševarina was completely different than in the fall of 2022. Then it was mostly covered with grass, and now it is covered with snow to a considerable extent. That particularly surprised me because there was almost no snow all around, at that height.
We weren't in a hurry to get anywhere, so I slowly took a lap around the lake. I noticed that it can also be done with an off-road vehicle, although there is no need for it because the lake is not big. A little above the well-trodden path I followed, I saw an object whose purpose I could not determine at first glance. When I approached and read the board that was on it, everything became clear to me. So, it's a photo-check where those armed with patience and a good camera can "catch" the animals that come to the watering hole. I can only guess at all the animals that can be encountered because that day, while I was making a circle around the lake, I spooked only two ducks that flew away. We didn't have the chance to meet any other living creature. The photo check was made as part of a wonderful project called "Hoo-hoo: Tracks of owls and other wild species" which connected the beauty of nature (including animals), cultural heritage and the gastronomic offer of rural households in the framework of cross-border cooperation with Serbia. I was lucky enough to be one of several "media representatives" who followed the results of the project. Of course, we couldn't see everything, but chance arranged that after almost a year and a half I came across this photo-check.
From certain positions, it looked as if the entire lake was covered with snow. The forest around Ševarinski lake reminded me of the one around Pešić lake, which is not strange because both are located in Bjelasica, at a distance, as the crow flies, about 8 km, according to my free estimate.
We headed back towards Veliki Šiška Lake, but a table under a tree in a flower meadow caught my attention, a complete contrast to the lake under the snow. When I went down to see the stream under the road that I heard from above, I came to the memorial fountain. I love memorial fountains. For me, they are the best way to tear away from oblivion those who are no longer physically with us.
We went back to Veliko Šiša Lake and stopped next to it. Duško took out a book and refused to walk, and I climbed above the lake to fit him all in one frame. But, going uphill, I also clicked nearby snow-covered peaks, newly blooming flowers and of course – the lake. At the top, with the help of an application on my phone, I realized that the white peaks in the distance, in the direction of Lake Ševarinski, belong to Hajla.
I've been to Veliko Šiša Lake three times already. And then, as during this fourth visit, it seemed to me that the lake had never been more beautiful. I guess in the meantime I forget what it looked like last time. The view of the lake from the heights was enchanting. I intended to go a little further, behind the hill, but the wind was blowing so strongly in that place that I gave up. Duško was calmly reading while lying on a wooden platform. When I approached him, I was amazed at how many plastic bottles were around him. There is every chance that together with the snow, the bottles left behind by irresponsible visitors came down to the lake. Even though I intend to, I keep forgetting to put trash bags and gloves in the car. I couldn't come to terms with leaving all these bottles there, so, searching the trunk, I remembered some plastic bags that we had long ago put by the spare tire and forgot about them. I was happy for them like few others. I filled five sacks. Duško also helped me with a grunt: "Of course there is someone else to pick it up..." But, that "other" was not in sight at that moment. A trunk full of plastic bottles ended up in the recycling yard in Zlatica because we couldn't find anything similar in Berane.
On the way back, the road seemed even worse than on the way there, so at times we wondered if it was possible that we had passed that way. On the turn towards the part of Bjelasica that belongs to Kolašin, we stopped to look at the monument located on a small hill. We were interested in who it was intended for. It said that "descendants and relatives" erected a monument in 2011 in memory of the ancestors who died in 1877.
A memorial fountain also stood in front of the large, beautiful mountain lodge renovated in 2011. The inscription has faded a little, but when you look more closely, you can see that it is dedicated to Branko Božović (1925–1986). The fountain was built by members of PSD "Vojo Maslovarić" from Ivangrad.
Kurikuća surprised us. For our present-day circumstances, it is a large village in which there were quite a few inhabitants that Saturday. I believe that some came to spend the weekend there, but it seems to me that there are also many who live there. From there we went to Berane, walked to the city center and ended up in a hotel with the same name as the city. The hotel is located on the very coast of Lima. Lim seemed powerful that day. I don't remember him like that. We returned the same way, completely satisfied with the fact that you can get from Podgorica to Beran in about an hour and a half. This opens up possibilities for one-day tours in this part of our country as well.
Bonus video:
