In the north-western corner of the largest lake in the Balkans, called Lake Skadar in Montenegro and Lake Shkodar in Albania, the Crnojević river flows out at Virpazar and rises in a cave entrance only a few kilometres upstream. On this river lies the pretty village of Rijeka Crnojevića, with an arched old bridge and numerous fish restaurants. Really magnificent, however, are the deeply incised loops of the river, which is so shallow on the last stretch that it virtually merges into the lake, with a carpet of aquatic plants spreading along both banks. The best viewpoint, “Pavlova Strana”, is located directly on the road from Rijeka Crnojevića towards Podgorica.
The mountainous south-western shore is followed by a very narrow and winding road with many beautiful views. We stay one night in Murići and have a fishing boat take us from the beach to an Orthodox nunnery on a nearby island. There is no shortage of men here, there are fishermen everywhere on the rocky shore around the nuns.