Montenegro – Kotor and Budva
Today was the longest day for the tour as we were in three countries: Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro.
The landscape was stunning! Mountains sloped down the Adriatic coast as we crossed the border from Bosnia to Croatia.
Dubrovnik for the second time around! Joined the walking tour that I barely listened to. It wasn’t really that worth it, we only went through the main road and ended at the “walk of shame” from the Game of Thrones. No biggie for me as I’m not a fan. We lost a bit of time figuring out how to get to the wall. I forgot that there were a few paid entrances. We only had an hour left by the time we got to the entrance for 20 euros. We only went halfway through and spent our remaining time at the beach. I was glad we did as I missed that last time.
Kotor is a town nestled by lake and mountains. Along with marble stoned alleyways lined with shops, I saw magnets of cats and was wondering why. The guide said that Kotor came from word cat. We climbed up all the way to the fort at the top of the hill, which took 1000 steps. It was quite a feat, I felt like I was going to get sick – the combination of heat and climb. It cost 8 euros to climb up the fortress.
Halfway through the climb was a small chapel. I went inside and noticed what looked like a grave. “Yes, this is a grave. It’s the first knight of Kotor”, a guy sitting inside the chapel told me. Since we only had a couple of hours, we had to skip the walking tour, speeding through the alleys and churches to get to our bus on time. Pretty town, shame we had to rush through it. Had a freshly squeezed orange juice on the way back.
Budva was our next stop and it felt like Monaco or Las Vegas of the Balkans. On the way to the old town, we passed through esplanade lined up with market stalls, ferry rides, casinos and clubs. We only had enough time once again speed through the alleys, which displayed more sophisticated shops of accessories, clothes, souvenirs and restaurants. At the other end of the walled city was the beach. We didn’t swim. The water was freezing. I was satisfied watching the sunset before heading off to a restaurant. The service was too slow, we waited 20 minutes and we had to pack the food as the bus was about to leave. I can’t believe for a restaurant, the seafood pasta had barely fresh seafood and they actually used imitation crab! I expected better from a coastal town. I was disappointed. This is one part that I would have happily foregone. It was really a tourists’ weekend jaunt.
Podgorica, another hour drive away, was where we put up for the night. It seemed to be in the middle of nowhere with nothing much to see. Just as well, we arrived late at around11:30 pm.
Budva
