It was one of those small 19 seater buses (or a large van), so after my pick up there were a few more stops and suddenly the bus was completely full. Driving away from Dubrovnik, I was seated on the right (and correct) side of the bus to see the beautiful ocean views. This made for a very pleasant drive. The first stop though was a border stop and I was reminded of my Contiki tour days before the EU was formed, and all the border stops that would have you nervous for no real reason. Anyway, the customs lady got on the bus, checked out passports and off she went. So I have no stamp in my passport to say I have been to Montenegro. At the stop I started (again) thinking about how European countries are so accessible. I mean who in Australia would go to New Zealand for a day? It just messes with my head when I think about it.
We were driving around the Bay of Kotor, and once again some simply beautiful scenery. The tour guide said that the Bay has been likened to the Norwegian Fiords. I have never been to Norway, so I don't know. One of the advantages of travelling by road is that you get to enjoy the scenery. One of the disadvantages of being on a bus is that you can't stop and breath it in (and take photos). But we did do a couple of panorama stops so that was good.
Our first stop was Kotor. We were met there by a local guide who took us on a 30 minute walk around the old town. Again a walled city. Beautiful too. The stone of this city is a different colour to Dubrovnik, and there was lots of 'pink' stone on the ground which was just so pretty. It also started to rain a few minutes after we got off the bus.
After the walking tour, we had an hour to explore ourselves and have cake and coffee of course. I walked around for a bit then went to a bakery and grabbed what would be the equivalent of a jam filled doughnut (except better!), then went to a cafe and had a coffee. When I was left the cafe, I still had 15 minutes to go so I wandered to another part of the town that I hadn't seen yet. The old town of Kotor is shaped like a triangle and the walls go for 4.5ks. I meandered for a bit, conscious that I needed to get back, but then suddenly I was lost! I shit you not! I had completely lost any orientation. The tour guide had said that if you do get lost, you simply walk in the opposite direction of the mountains, but when I looked up, I couldn't see the mountains for the buildings in the town itself. I kept walking in a direction I thought was correct, but I was just making myself feel like I was in a maze. I then stopped and asked a waitress at a restaurant, who pointed me in the general direction. I was by this stage though, a little panicked, ok, a lot fucking panicked and my brain had started to think of things like I didn't have the number of the tour guide. Not helpful. What made it worse was that the stone ground of these old towns are so shiny, like they've been polished, and because it was raining, I was petrified I was going to slip and hurt myself. I mean, if anyone was going to do that, it would be me.
Needless to say, more twists and turns through tiny streets, and I eventually made it out. But, I still had to get to the bus. I am NEVER the person who is always late. I can't describe the relief I felt when I saw that bus, but I was the last one on, and so embarrassed I just said, "sorry I'm late". But one of the gentlemen on the bus said, "no, you're not late". I sat down and looked at my watch. One minute late. I vowed I wouldn't be the last one on the bus for the rest of the day.
With that panic attack over, we drove on and continued on through more beautiful scenery. We stopped for a photo op. at Sv Stefan Island. For one to stay on the hotel on this island, you have to fork out (starting rate) 1,000€ per night. Some guy on the bus quipped, "that gives us 20 mins each".
From there we drove on to Budva. We had two hours free time here, but the guide walked us for 10 minutes before orientating us to a few things and then leaving us to find our own way back to the bus stop. I took plenty of mental notes for how we reached the spot we were in on the harbour. I took off for the old town first whilst most others opted for lunch on the harbour. This old town (walled as well), was more 'quaint' and 'pretty' than Dubrovnik or Kotor and I thoroughly enjoyed wandering through and exploring.
From there I decided to explore the beaches, but when I got there, the weather just wasn't hot enough (it wasn't raining), so I wandered through a market I noticed on the way. The market was boring so I decided to sit down for lunch instead. I chose to have Cevapi (traditional skinless sausages) at a eatery on the edge of the market, but facing the harbour.
I have noticed that the waiters and waitresses in all of the restaurants I have been to in this area are, well 'pretty laid back'. You can get seated, and wait for a menu, then wait for your order to be taken, then wait to get served, then wait for the bill to arrive (even after you've flagged them down to ask for the bill), then wait for the money to be collected. You tend to do a lot of waiting. So, given I vowed not to be late for the bus again, I got up and went to the cashier and paid.
I then thought I should go to the toilet before getting on bus, but there was a lineup. I was grateful I had left the restaurant when I did. From the toilet, I thought I was perfectly oriented, and knew where I had to go. So rather than go back to the point in the harbour where the tour guide had left us (even though it was probably only 200 meters back the way I just came, I opted to continue forward. And because I am telling you this, you will have worked out that that was a mistake. All of a sudden I didn't know how to get to the bus stop. This time though I had time on my hands, but I still felt panicked after the events earlier in the day. I again stopped and asked a waiter but his English was poor, but he pointed me in a direction. I went the way he said, but it didn't look right at first, then further on I saw where I needed to be. Relief set in, and with time to spare.
The trip home was via a slightly different route, this time we took a short cut across the Bay of Kotor via Ferry, cutting 35 minutes off the drive. I got off the bus to go to the toilet, but one of the men on the bus immediately started chatting to me thinking I was just stretching my legs. Turns out this guy toured with The Angels back in Australia many moons ago. He became and is still good friends with I think he said John Woodford, but I don't know what his role with the band was. Anyhow, we chatted until it was time to get back on the bus, so I didn't get a chance to go to the loo.
The rest of the drive back to Dubrovnik was uneventful, and I basically just read. But after we arrived and dropped off a few couples, the bus suddenly came to a halt behind a long queue of traffic. Great I thought... having not been to the loo at the last opportunity... When we eventually crawled past the issue, we saw it was a large rock/small boulder, had basically fallen onto the narrow stretch of road. I eventually made it back to the apartment without weeing my pants.\\\
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