Winter is not coming!
by Patrick Burns
After a much-needed rest day in Kotor, our four well-rested adventurers started back on their journey northward - although the night's rest was punctured by the timbering percussion of the annual Kotor Karneval, which lasted until 4 am outside of Don's window.
Justin, Dave, and I retreated to the rather soundproof back bedroom while Don trudged on in his gentle slumber.
We had spent a good deal of time reorganizing our route on our off day - with global assistance - and were ready for the new challenges that await.
Refreshed and renewed, we gathered our few possessions and rode out of the old town gates around the bay of Kotor in the glow of the morning light to try to escape the heat of the day.
As we headed onward, our route was flat and rather fast. Pedals turned and wheels spun with exuberance. Anticipation was afoot with a strong desire to make up for our indulgent day.
Don dropped his glasses, and we thought there was a Stan Lee sighting, but all and all it was a rather uneventfully beautiful morning.
We made it to our first border crossing of the day - Montenegro/Croatia!
As we discussed into Dubrovink, I could barely contain my excitement! Dave and I are pretty big Game of Thrones fans, and we were headed to the mythical 'King's Landing' for lunch in the Old City. Don doesn't watch TV, and Justin hasn't really seen the show so the excitement was a bit milder, but the city is stunning and anyone would be hard-pressed to only feign excitement. (side note - I was writing an entire GOT - inspired themed post but was heavily discouraged from displaying my true nerdiness).
"Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you." - Tryion Lannister (GoT)
After lunch, we climbed back to the main road and headed toward our next destination: Bosnia!
Before we could get to the border, water was running low so we needed to make an emergency sports beverage break.
Since Bosnia and Herzegovina occupy only 12 miles of coastline (second only to Monaco), we decided to make it our home for the evening.
We met Slyvia, our booking.com landlord, and she showed us her mom's apartment, where we would be staying. It had a lovely view and was close to the beach, but the shower curtain left much to be desired and we all soaked the bathroom with our showers.
Freshly cleaned, we walked down the highly recommended Bonaco restaurant for dinner, and Justin introduced us to a new dish, Ajvar - a pickled/roasted red pepper dish that makes anything that you smear it on exponentially better.
As the sun set on our four intrepid travelers, so too did our intestinal fortitude.
And so my dear readers, it is time to rest for the evening.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but eh pack survives." - Sansa Stark (GoT)
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ABOUT PATRICK BURNS
Patrick is an emergency medicine physician at Stanford University. He lives in San Francisco but grew up in the Boston area, where he attended medical school at Tufts University. He has been an avid triathlete and ultra-running enthusiast for many years, and has wanted to bike across a continent since 2014 when he hosted the other three in Seattle before launching them on their ride across the U.S. from Seattle to Boston.
