Day 77 - Kotor Montenegro

Up early and as promised the first task of the day was coffee with Bubba. Her son was also there so between K, myself, Bubba and the son let me tell you it was a stilted conversation. Bubba is 86 and there is never a cigarette out of her mouth. She seemed to be stirring her son at times for being unmarried - she is quite a character and both are absolutely lovely people who offered us so much. The son even helped carry some luggage and the other son, Albert, gave us a bottle of wine to take on our travels. Again, this part of the world is so wonderful not only for its national treasures but its people.

A taxi to the bus terminal then a longer wait for the Montenegro bus that is running quite late. It is pouring out there as I type this waiting in the bus station. We have to cover a fair amount of territory in a short period of time as originally we were to go through Kosovo, but several people have advised us to avoid the country as there is unrest. Franjo suggested we catch the sleeper train that goes from Bar in Montenegro to Belgrade in Serbia then to Skopje in Macedonia. This is the "round the world" way of getting to Macedonia but is meant to be quite beautiful and hey, it beats driving. So we were to use the next two places as more of a rest stop than for sightseeing however our plans have changed. We are all so, so tired and it doesn't make sense to cover such large distances when we could catch the overnight bus from Kotor to Skopje. So we decided to do this and spend some extra time in Kotor.

The two border crossings (leaving Croatia and entering Montenegro) are time consuming as with about 60 people on board, passport and custom checks take a lot longer. 

Arriving in Kotor somewhat later than expected, we had a short walk to the old city where we are staying. It dates back to the 13th Century and is a walled city. It has some wonderful buildings and shops which we will explore more tomorrow.

Outside the walled city it is very different. We were immediately hassled by Roma upon walking the streets that are littered with derelict buildings. The contrast between the old town and the beautiful Kotor Bay opposite is quite stark to the rest of the city.

K and I had a wine on the wall that overlooked the bay and it is very beautiful. But at the same time we admitted we are both looking forward to home. It has been wonderful and something that will live with us and with our children forever but we are in need of some serious rest and a return to some sought of normality. Don't get me wrong. I have loved every moment including the downs and I believe our family unit is now stronger than ever. I guess there's no place like home.