I was gifted a book by Team Science from Magna Carta Secondary when I left my job there. Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travel List ranks the top 500 places on the planet and has been one of my favourite books to read or flick through over the last year for inspiration. It put Montenegro on the map for me, a country I had heard nothing about but it's quaint town of Kotor rated quite high. So across the border from Albania we went. We woke at 4am to get to Budva from where we were staying and, 4 buses and a border crossing later, we arrived after 9pm for what was a very exhausting day. After a reunion with one of our most solid third wheels and travel buddies Sio and a quick hello to Miss "most travelled, refuses to conform to social norms, I'm on my 7th visit to Europe" fellow roomie, we hit the town to take advantage of the discounts offered by our hostel at particular bars. 20% off beers, why not.
Freedom hostel, set in the middle of the old town walls, seems to have the same ratio of Australians to foreigners in it as Australia itself. On day one we headed straight for the beach which when booking was strategically close to the hostel. At 10:30am I kind of expected we'd have a pretty free reign of where we could set up camp but I was quickly reassured of my ignorance. Trying to find a patch of sand in Budva in peak season was kind of like trying to get a seat on the tube during peak hour. You're dreaming. We dismissed beach one, walked across the length of boulder strewn beach two and finally found a 3x3m patch on beach three right at the very far end, next to some teens pumping the tunes. At 10:30am.
We spent the best part of that day soaking in the beautiful scenery on the beach with vast mountains framing the coast, enclosing us in this giant beauty. Later we walked the city walls of the old town for views of its winding, labyrinth like paths and the sunset behind the mountains. We only had 1 whole day in Budva because of the ridiculous journey that took up the whole day before but I didn't feel like we needed more time here.
We left to go to Kotor the next day, a mere 40 minute bus ride away, a tiny town on the Bay of Kotor, again set in amongst the mountain scenery. With a Venetian feel to it, especially with the daily influx of thousands of tourists from the cruise ships, Kotor's old town is very cool but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get places. Believe me though, that was only my problem. My buddies couldn't believe I still hadn't figured out the pedestrian streets by the end of our short stay. Because of the cruise ships crowds, the town was best avoided during the day in peak season until about 5pm when the cruise ships would leave allowing some blissful evenings. Kotor has a city beach but don't get too excited. The beach kind of resembles a crushed stone car park and stretches for about 50x4m. Don't be confused thinking I'm talking about the smooth, rounded pebbles that grace quite a lot of European beaches. I'm definitely talking about gravel here. Regardless, it didn't stop us from spending a half day by the water. The views from the fortress are a must do. You can pay €3 to climb up and up and up with picture opportunities the whole way. Or like us, you can avoid the crowds on the one way steps and avoid the entrance fee by going up the path that runs up the other side of the mountain, just outside the city walls. We had this path to ourselves, coming across 2 others the whole time. It's an easier ascent and there's no pressure to go any other pace but your own but be sure to go early to avoid the heat.
Perast is worth a visit for a day or a half day from Kotor as well. Also situated on the Bay of Kotor, we took the bus for about 20 minutes for €1 to this sleepy coastal town reassured of some better swimming opportunities. Although the water here was much nicer for swimming than both Budva and Kotor it is worth mentioning that there seems to be a country wide shortage of beach leaving us setting up on a cafe decking that was built over the water.
Roller bags are not your friends in Kotor, especially cheap ones as the cobbles will make light work of it. If you can't carry it on your back, you've brought too much anyway. In my own feminist way it would kill me to have a man offer to carry my things up the stairs or over the cobbles because he saw me struggle. But each to their own. Beware of tiny fees for things you're used to getting for free. It cost €1 each every time we put our bags under the bus, €2 to print bus tickets we'd already bought online and we were short changed marginally on a number of occasions. Montenegro is an absolutely stunning country but I would by all means avoid peak season if crowds irritate you. We brought Sio onwards to our next destination where we say a sad farewell to her after being solid in the expat journey together for the last few years. More about this next location in the next edition though! Notes for the environmentally conscious traveller: Because in Montenegro it is very common to smoke everywhere (buses, pubs, toilets, hostels), cigarette butts seemed to me to be the main cause for concern. I did a little beach clean in Kotor twice and probably picked up about 200 butts on 2 occasions. Cigarette butts leach toxic chemicals into our oceans and because the filters are plastic lined they never break down, polluting our oceans for eternity. Don't be afraid to clear up your little area when you go to the beach as every bit counts!
