Cigars, raki and ski touring
Admir is a cheerful, welcoming man with a humidor full of expensive Cuban cigars. Empty cigar boxes lie piled up next to an eyebrow-raising selection of cognac, whisky, grappa and raki. We are the only guests for three delicious dinners in Admir’s restaurant which sits high on a hill overlooking Plav, a muslim town in Eastern Montenegro.
Many people from this part of Montenegro have a connection with the USA and in particular New York City. Admir himself worked in Montenegrin-owned restaurants there for six years – hence the superb food and his excellent American English. Mass migration occured at the turn of the twentieth century and then again after the Yugoslav wars of the 1990’s.
American Montenegrins retain very close ties with their villages of origin. For example, Bimber, our 4×4 driver’s Land Rover Discovery 3 has Texan plates. His uncle is a successful businessman and owner of three restaurants in Texas. For his two-month summer holiday in Plav he shipped the Discovery over, leaving it with Bimber on his departure.
Without Bimber and his fleet of 4×4’s we would never have reached the snow. Conditions were very good but the weather refused to play ball. We did ski everyday though, enjoying some fun turns!