Adventures in Kosovo
Via Ferrata
On the way to Peja, our tour leader asked if anyone wanted to do a via ferrata that afternoon. I knew nothing about via ferrata other than pictures I had seen where it looks like you’re hanging off a cliff. A few people decided to go, and said “oh come on Lynn” so I signed up also. (Our tour leader Dusan found a sheet of paper, wrote “Release Form” on it, and asked us to sign underneath). I find it hard to turn down an adventure, and how hard can it be?
Well, as I found out, via ferrata, which means “iron road” in Italian, is a climbing route up or across the rock face of a mountain. Anchors are drilled in the rocks, with thick cables linking them. You don a climbing belt with carabiners to attach yourself to the cables. And a helmet in case rocks happen to come loose above you. On the way up, you use toeholds in the rocks, or sometimes metal steps.
The concept was born in the Italian Dolomite mountains in World War I. Iron pathways were built to help the troops fighting there to navigate the peaks and to move equipment more easily.
Haki and Via Ferrata Ari
Our guide, Haki, led us up the mountain. He is one of the builders of the route. We first crossed a river on a swinging bridge that we attached ourselves to with our carabiners. Then we hiked a short way up to find caves that were used by monks and soldiers in the past. After that, we started hooking on to the cable and moving up, gradually at first and then straight up.
Haki climbed easily up and down to check each of us along the way. He sometimes did this with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth!
A few times the steps or toeholds were far apart, and you had to skip a little to reach the next one. This was a little more difficult when the steps were going straight up. A couple of hours in to the climb, my knees just weren’t bending enough to let me reach the next toehold up. Josh, my new Aussie friend, was below me, watching me struggle. He very kindly asked me if I would mind if he pushed my bum. I said yes please! That push helped me finish the climb shortly after, and was great fodder for jokes for the rest of the trip.
And it was very hard! At least it was for me. You can see it at https://bnadventure.com/products/via-ferrata-mat-and-ari/ or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/viaferratapeje. We did the Ari route, that we were told is about 500m in elevation and 700m distance. And the cost was only 30 Euros I believe. This would cost a lot more in countries that have mandatory safety standards and insurance! And I would not feel safer.
The way down Via Ferrata Ari
What goes up must come down, so we spent the next hour or so picking our way down a different trail. This became harder as the day ended and the light faded. Near the bottom the trail became flatter and muddy, and I slipped and fell on my butt. Good place to do it if it had to happen!
We reached the bottom in darkness. I asked Haki for my camera and red jacket that he had graciously taken from me early on to carry in his pack. The jacket wasn’t in his pack! He remembered that he set it down in the first cave, and ran off in the pitch dark to cross the bridge, hike up and find the jacket. He made it back in less than ten minutes.
We made it back to our hotel about five hours after starting out. Dusan was starting to wonder if his improvised release form would have to be used….
Peja at night
Back at the hotel, I had a quick shower, tended to my wounds, and met the group to walk downtown to a restaurant. We tour many detours around construction, which was everywhere. There would be one block of nice restaurants and shops, then a few blocks of rubble and dogs. Parks were dark and silent.
Hiking in the Accursed Mountains
The next day was a hike, again with Haki. In addition to building the via ferrata, and the mountain trail that day, and leading us on adventures, he is a policeman. He booked off sick this day so he could take us hiking, so as he drove us past the police station he put on a hat and glasses. Part of his job used to be searching for landmines.
We drove to 1500m to start our hike, in a small village with nice new buildings spread among the fields. The buildings are all new because in 1999 in the Kosovan war, the Serbian army threw hand grenades in all the houses to destroy them. Some have rebuilt with bunkers, just in case.
The Accursed Mountains were important in the wars because they are a throughway to neighboring countries Montenegro and Albania.
A friendly dog, that we later learned was a Sharr mountain dog, named for the Sharr mountains in Kosovo, joined us for much of the hike. At our rest stop he stayed back. But when we reached the chalet at the top, there he was! But this time not so friendly. This was his home to guard.
These dogs are used to protect sheep, and can kill wolves. They are usually outfitted with a spiked collar so the wolves can’t grab their neck.
Near the top of the mountain, the fields were dug up. This was from wild pigs looking for truffles.
There was a hearty lunch waiting for us back at the village. Burek, a phyllo bread, with cheese or nettles, lots of goat and sheep cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes.
We stopped at popular park with waterfalls, caves, and several bars, and had a drink before going back to the hotel.