On a driving holiday through scenic Montenegro in the spring of 2018 we were pleasantly surprised to know the existence of a bee farm deep in the hills. The timing couldn’t be more opportune… as we were returning from a disappointing boat ride on Lake Skadar. The old boatman had been unable to steer the boat through stubborn weeds and we had to cut short the trip.

Interestingly, all we had for reference, to go to bee farm were a couple of lines in a guide book. The directions in it said take the R16 to Rijeka Crnojevica (yes… the names are as exotic as the land), shortly before the village following the signposted country road to Gornji Ceklin to Farm Vukmirovic.

What followed was a winding drive through remote mountain roads, miles and miles of lush green valleys and not a soul in sight. Not surprisingly, we lost our way more than once navigating steep slopes and reaching some dead ends. It was proving to be a wild goose chase when we finally spotted a wine shack with a kindly lady selling home made wines and honey on a derelict country road. Relieved, the car windows were quickly rolled down to ask her if all this produce was from Farm Vukmirovic. In a smattering of broken English she spoke about another farm and told us to go further into what seemed to be yet another narrow grassy road, of course, we felt obliged to buy some of her fare.

We drove up even higher where the landscape loomed in front giving us an aerial view of the eastern side of the lake. A few kilometers down that road we seemed to have reached the highway back to Budva, but then we spotted a signpost that read “Honey Tales and Trails, Vanarija Vukmirovic”.

As the car slowed down and took a turn towards the farm the sight of a large wooden honey barrel and dipper nestled amidst a bush of red roses greeted us. Walking on a cobbled path under an umbrella of wine leaves towards a red cottage surrounded by bright petunias sprouting out of wine bottles — this farm felt out of a kid’s picture book.

Inside the cottage was the lady of the house, who did not look too happy to see a bunch of unannounced travellers. When we expressed our desire to see the winery and bee hives, she conveyed to us that her son who manages the farm was out of town, so all she can show us are the bottles of wine and honey that are on sale.

After that long car drive this bit of news was truly disappointing. Seeing a sea of gloomy faces staring at her, I guess she took pity on us and called her husband, a tall vintner and bee keeper, who led us into a dark winery with bottles of home made wines and honey.

We were given spoons of honey to taste and sips of wine to sample. They came in all flavours and colours. After the customary purchase, we went to see the bees.

Being away from the house, we walked to the bee shed. Suddenly a bee which did not take to us very kindly buzzed over the husband’s head. He tried to fight it but eventually was bitten in the little finger of his hand. The farmer quickly came to his rescue and uprooted some herbs to rub on the sting. He later explained through sign language that the best remedy to save oneself from a bee sting was to hunch down and cover one’s head rather than try to fight it off as if you were shooing away a fly.

This was our first visit to an apiary, although we did not get a complete tour and understanding of how a bee farm works, it was still a small insight into honey production, especially for my young son. The highlight, of course, was the adventurous drive through quaint hills and the honey, that we relished for days back home.

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