“Kosovo, In Bogë”

• July 21, 2020
• By Daryl
• 4 Comments

Our journey today seemed simple, in a dramatic canyon in the Rugove mountains. The maps are hard to navigate, and we switch from Apple Maps to Google maps; the latter we never use. Unsure how it works, we blindly traverse the tiny villages past parked cars halfway on sidewalks. 

We passed an old rock bridges with it’s many arches for flooded water to pass through. After many wrong turns that reveal secret little spots and amazing views, I spy a lone fisherman just outside a rugged canyon. 

We find our way to the canyon of our desires. A river chattering past rugged rocks with steep rock walls, which seem to reach to the sky. A tiny waterfall nourishes moss and small plants, down thousands of feet of sheer rock walls.

The canyon speaks of a flood in the past, violent in nature, with volumes of water in biblical proportions. I say that because the walls are straight up on both sides. The carved canyon is very narrow for the height of the walls. The road clings to the edge and caves chiseled out of solid rock serves as portals to the next scenic view. All the while we climb up into the mountains as the waters flow backwards. Strange, as we seem to be going down, the water still flowed backwards. It was an optical Illusion, like the water was racing the wrong way. The canyon was so deep and the waters got closer to the road’s level, it gave the sense, the water flowed the wrong way. 

The scenery was dynamic and so alive. Small cabins came in to view, again clinging to the steep mountains. We accented up assorted canyons all filled with pines, spruce and fir trees. 

We stop at the end of one road with a lodge resort and restaurant nestled on a small plateau. Cows and their calves shared the view of mountains into the distance as far as the eye can see. Our cup of latte was a wonderful treat, with the awesome view, as our dessert. 

We come down the mountain and find a fork in the road we had not taken. It is getting late and we pass two young men and ask if they speak English, one guy was from New York and he directed us around a dirt road to some cabins for rent. We come around the bend there was a small ski area we had left earlier. We had rounded the mountain. We found a classic cabin they asked 50 euros for, but we told them 30 was our budget, and now we are sitting in that discounted cabin. 

Another funny thing is the name of this village is Bogë, the same name as the homestay village we stayed in for four days in Albania.