Montenegro

Sorry I did not get to update yesterday. I was in Montenegro and didn't bring my laptop.

 

Montenegro was beautiful. We left yesterday morning for our two day adventure. The border is an hour away from Dubrovnik, and much to my delight, Montenegrin immigration stamped my passport! We drove for about another hour, and then arrived in the city of Kotor. We got to walk through the town and go inside one of the cathedrals.

 

After Kotor, we proceeded to drive up to the top of a mountain! It was incredible. There were 25 curves from the bottom to the top. You could see the entire Bay of Kotor--the sea, the houses, the wildlife. It was beautiful. At each level we thought the view couldn't get any better, and the higher we got, the more incredible it was. The drive up the mountain was rather unerving, slightly reminiscent of the drive in Capri, but much higher. Fortunately for us, our bus driver is the 3rd place All-European Bus Driving Champion. Seriously. He is number one in Croatia and third in all of Europe. Who would have known there was such a thing as competitive bus driving? I thought that was the funniest thing I had ever heard.

 

Once we were up the mountain, we stopped in a tiny village (I'm not sure of the name) for a snack. The served us proscuitto and cheese on the freshest bread I have ever had. It was very tasty. Across the street from the restaurant was a souvenir shop. It was essentially a wooden shack. It was there that I found my favorite purchase of the voyage so far: handknit wool bootie slippers. They were only 5 Euro, and they are so cool! Handmade slippers from the tiniest little village in the middle of the mountains of Montenegro! I love them.

 

After our snack, we headed to the former capital, Cetinje (pronounced seh-TEEN-yeh). We were supposed to visit two museums, but unfortunately we showed up late and they were closed, so we just walked around for a while. There was a blacksmith on the street who looked like Santa Claus. He was dancing to the music with his iron molding tools. It was hilarious. We hopped back on the bus and rode to our final destination, Budva.

 

Budva was a much busier than the other cities. It was definitely much more touristy. It was beautiful though. There was an Old Town area surrounded by walls very similar to Dubrovnik. We went into an old cathedral. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was absolutely breathtaking on the inside. All of the walls and ceiling were covered in paintings, and the color was so rich and so deep. It was really neat. It was a really small church too, which made it even more special. Budva is located right on the sea, and the whole area was filled with all kinds of floral trees. It was so nice.

 

SAS put us up in a really nice hotel, where we actually stayed in the villas. We ate dinner at the hotel, and then me and two other girls decided to go find a local pub to get a drink. We found a really cute outdoor pub, where no other SASers went, so that was nice. We got to sit amongst the locals, drink some wine, and chat. It was a good night.

 

The next morning we had some free time. My friends and I hung out at the pool until noon, when everybody went to a local restaurant for lunch. We got a SIX-COURSE meal! It was delicious! After lunch we explored Budva some more before heading back to Dubrovnik. Instead of driving all the way around the bay like we did on the way there, we got on a ferry! We were on the bus on a ferry! It was a neat experience. On our way through customs back into Croatia we got our passports stamped again, and I was one happy girl.

 

Once we got back to Dubrovnik, our ship was no longer at the port, but in the middle of the water. Two larger cruise ships arrived today and since we were there for longer we had to move out of their way. To get to the ship, we had to ride the lifeboats! I was thinking of taking a picture of everybody in the lifeboat and posting it saying we sank as a joke, but that might have been a little mean.

 

Something interesting I learned is that Montenegrin is the same language as Croatian, but they use the Cyrillic alphabet instead of the Latin alphabet. Also, Montenegro uses the Euro even though they are not yet a member of the European Union. Croatia does not use the Euro. They use the Kuna, but they are a candidate for the EU, so I'm sure that will change in not too long.

 

I had a really great time in Montenegro. I did quite a bit of introspection while I was there, which was nice. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm really glad I went. Right now, I'm back on the MV Explorer in Dubrovnik, and I believe my friends and I are going to go out into the city to get some gelato and maybe go dancing. Tomorrow morning I am going snorkeling, and I can't wait!