A few hours later, here I am in Montenegro, with my new home for the next 3 nights in the old town in Budva. After so many hurdles in Serbia, it took me about a minute to fall in love with this old town. Everything here is full of charm, from the narrow streets to the Italian restaurants that you can find at each corner.
And those will be my neighbours for the next couple of days.
I realize that I haven't mentioned the bureks so far, even though they have been part of my diet since the first day of the trip. This is what they look like, a salted pastry filled with meat or cheese, and they can be pretty gorgeous indeed.
Theoretically, I was supposed to get a rental car, and drive along the southern part of the country for 2 days, but here is where new adventures start:
- at 10:00, when I am supposed to get the car, I am in front of the agency, which is closed
- OK, no problem, I call the phone number which is indicated on the door
- a charming lady answers, and tells me that they have no reservation on their computer for that day, that's why they haven't opened the agency.
- bad luck for me, because I do have a reservation, so she offers to come to the agency to investigate what happened
- 20 minutes later, she arrives, switches on the computer, and shows me the screen that indicates that the reservation has been cancelled (even though I could still see it as pending on Internet)
- re-bad luck, they don't have an available car, so there is nothing she can do for me
- in addition to the email I will have to send tonight to the on line agency through which I booked the car , I start looking for another rent-a-car agency. The first one is also closed, and shows prices 3 times what I initally booked. Let's take it as a sign, and forget about renting a car, I will use the bus to visit the country, no more dricing until I get to Italy.
The first visit is for Sveti Stefan, formerly an island, and now connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. It hosts one of the most exclusive resorts in the world, and this is where Nole got married about 3 years ago.
Back in Budva, I spend a couple of hours getting lost in the small Streets.
That's what home looks like here, at the Freedom Hostel.
And this is my first proper meal at a restaurant since the beginning of the trip. Italy is not far away, and the Venitian Republic left s very strong Italian heritage in terms of gastronomy (and architecture).
The next day will be around the Bay of Kotor. The bay is about 28 km long with a shoreline extending 107.3 km. It is surrounded by two massifs: the Orjen mountains to the west, and the Lovćen mountains to the east. The narrowest section of the bay, the 2300 m long Verige Strait, is only 340 m wide at its narrowest point.
The first stop is in Kotor, to visit the town surrounded by fortifications.
Then, here is Perast, with its islets of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks.
All along the bay, fortresses have been built, to protect the region from any invasion.
And here is Nerceg Novi, the last town before the open sea.
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