Success in Plav

After a long day of filming, a photo op with the staff and volunteers of Prokletije National Park

Our exploring and filmmaking in Plav went extremely well, mostly owing to the enthusiastic team behind Prokletije National Park. It didn't hurt that the food was fantastic and our hotel was perfect (read: cheap). We conducted interviews with the park's director, Enko Dreskovic, as well as Alsen and Irfan, two key volunteers who impressed us with their dedication to rebuilding tourism in their home region. The team also took us on an afternoon outing in and around the park, giving us ample opportunities to capture its dramatic beauty in high-definition video.

The town of Plav has provided us with the perfect backdrop for our adventure. Though it's seen busier days—decades ago, Plav was Montenegro's top tourist destination—it's full of spirit and laid-back charm, and offers magnificent scenery over Lake Plav.

For our last night in the area, we elected to set up camp in one of the park's most scenic valleys. We'll hop on our bikes and head to Gusinje, about 15 km from Plav, where the entrance gates to Prokletije National Park will be built. We're saving our burek for after we've erected the tent and started a fire.

Done biking for the day! We found a perfect spot to set up camp.

Tomorrow we'll cross the border into Albania and head south, hopefully reaching Shkoder. So far we haven't been biking much, so this 103 km journey may be quite a challenge.