This morning we were up bright and early to catch the 8:30 am bus to the bay of Kotor. It was about a half hour drive on the public bus. Along the way i saw tons of olive trees. The bus had to go through a tunnel that lasted about a minute or so and there was no ventilation so it was completely filled with fumes. It was hard to breathe and definitely a safety hazard. Ah, Montenegro.
Kotor was so beautiful. The bay was filled with boats and a huge cruise ship that had come from Barcelona. Stari Grad, or Old Town, had cobblestone paths winding in and out of red roofed old buildings and churches. It was filled with shops and cafés. There was a hike the top of the fortress that I wanted to do and as the day was only getting hotter and more and more tourists were pouring in, I wanted to get it done first.
It took about an hour with several photo stops to get to the top. The views were breath taking. I have never been so sweaty before though. It was as if I had jumped into a lake (gross, I know). It was all worth it though! I brought a banana with me (life essentials) so I enjoyed that at the top and chugged my water.
On the way back down Karren and I were chatting away and she mentioned how Steve wanted to do a cruise. Several of the people from the cruise ship down below were doing the hike and one lady in particular was walking down in front of us. She was a hilarious Asian lady from L.A and immediately chimed in saying, "don't do it! This is the last cruise I will ever do. If there wasn't alcohol available I would jump overboard." I had a good laugh talking to her.
At the bottom there was a fountain so I splashed water all over my face to cool down and dried off on my shirt. It was the one day I had put mascara on though and I had totally forgot so I had raccoon eyes and black spots on my shirt after that. Oops!
It was then gelato time! Well deserved, cold gelato.
Quite a few of us ended up being together on the 12:45pm bus back to Budva. The driver was kind enough to drop us off right in front of our hotel. I hopped in the shower immediately before meeting up with Karren and Steve to hit the beach half an hour later.
The beach was very busy. We had to rent a bed and umbrella for 5 Euros an hour. We planned on only staying an hour, however. The beach was pretty rocky near the water but had sand under the umbrella areas. The water was perfect. Not too cold but refreshing enough.
After the beach I went back and had yet another shower to rinse the salt water off and caught the end of the Djokovic match. Then I went and found myself a cafe to use the internet and get caffeinated. I was very sleepy and it was only around 3pm. The latte and cappuccino did the trick and woke me up.
I met in Steve and Karren's room for wine and chocolate at 6. Barb, Joanne, Katherine, Brian, April, Jane, and karrie all came by too!
Some of us headed out for a walk and late dinner around 7:30. First we strolled past the Old Town along a water side path and found a beautiful statue of a dancing lady. We sat there and enjoyed the view and sound of the waves. Around 8:30 we went to find a dinner spot. We found a perfect spot right along the water called The Fishermans's Pub. I had a yummy Shopska salad and sandwich. Then we went for another late night stroll along the water in the other direction. The night was just getting started so all the clubs had their music blasting and party lights going. It was a totally different atmosphere from the day time. It's a happening place!
Banana at the top:
Kotor view:
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