“Serbia Where Long Drives Reap Rewards”

• August 6, 2020
• By Daryl
• 2 Comments

We are in our car, driving a lot, and have spent a little too much for fuel. We think we may have been overcharged on our last fuel fill. Now, I will have to get out of the car to check the pumps. Serbia’s fuel prices should not have jumped as much as it has. Poor countries will take advantage, if you are not careful. 

Our first stop was a war memorial that goes back to when the Serbs and the Ottomans had a battle. The Ottomans lost this battle and a lot of their men, but they won the war. A memorial was made out of hundreds of the Serbs skulls; the men who died in that deadly battle. Most were removed for proper burial by family members after many years, some were stolen, and others deteriorated. BTW, how does a person recognize a family member’s skull. Anyway it was interesting.

We also went to a fortress in Nis that has been turned into a great park. We are so American, we drove around on walkways with people looking at us funny. After taking several loops around and taking photos, a man started talking to us. A lot of good that does as he was not speaking English, but I got the gest. Maybe we were not supposed to be driving in the park on walkways avoiding pedestrians left and right, but there was no signs saying not to, so another case of “who knows.” Bunny thinks there was no parking allowed, but driving was okay

Bunny had to get one more photo of the main gate that did not look like it was for cars at all. We drove around and around, trying to find a way to drive up to the entrance. Finally, after going down dead end streets and one way streets, I drop Bunny off so she could take that most important picture. The traffic is terrible in the city center, I made some more U-turns and picked her up after time.

Our next destination was a long drive to Devil’s Town. What a rain forest, or so it seemed, as it just rained for the last few days. We drove up a canyon for miles, skirting a creek on one side and landslides or rock fields on the other. Weaving in and out, we missed rocks in the road and spots with washed out road ledges from the swollen brook. This is a clear indication that it was a full blown river in the past few days. We made it to the parking area and we saw many cars, a rare COVID sight to see.

We had are special hiking flip flops on, the same shoes we wear everywhere. After passing the ticket booth, restaurants and souvenir stands, we set off for another grand adventure. 

They had many sculptures of black stone, placed along the trail.  We crossed many wooden bridges. There were places to stop and rest on wet benches made of half logs. The area had many mineral springs, exiting from caves, along the creek. They were very red from iron and many mineral rich waters just as red as can be. 

The babbling brook was full of sediment and mud. The ground seemed to wash away readily, leaving small flat stones to make the path a sure and stable hike. Everything was so green and healthy from the rains and minerals. 

The destinations was an area that was very eroded in the most strange way. Many stones and small boulders are mixed in the dirt. At one point pillars or pinnacles were formed by erosion. They had a crown of a single rock protecting the area below from being washed away by the rain. 

One legend has it that a wedding party was petrified in time, by the devil (making the pinnacles). I think the stone at the top represents their heads. It makes for an interesting geological formation and a great hike. 

There is a church at the top of the hill called St, Petka’s Church. They have another legend that has the figures representing petrified devils. The plaque tells the story. Funny how old stories portrayed natural formations to a mystic cause.

The rich rain presence has made a nice home to mushrooms, moss, lichens and ferns that make this area so interesting. Like in Louisiana, moss hangs from some of the oak tree branches and that brings back memories of East Texas.

We drive out of the canyon and head towards our next destination. Just as we are heading into the sunset a hotel shows up along the road, just in time. The price is right and it is in a quiet area outside of town. The rain and it’s accompanied lightning and thunder serenaded our evening. I think we will sleep good tonight, as the rain falls on our metal roof.