Azalea Hotel Princess Bar

... Okazalo sie jednak, ze ten koniec... to dopiero poczatek!
Nadchodzil wieczor, a my bez noclegu... Po pieknej wycieczce po Kotorze szukamy noclegow - apartament potrzebny od zaraz :))
Mijajac Budve / nie chcemy noclegu w tak duzym miescie / dojezdzamy do miasta Bar. Tam ponoc obowiazkowo nalezy zwiedzic Stary Bar.
Jedziemy i... nagle znajdujemy sie w Palermo - atmosfera, typy - wziete prosto z " Ojca Chrzestnego"!!
Niemniej jednak, pouczeni ...

... journey and sure enough soon after leaving port we had to change (downgrade) cabin as our air con could not be turned down and our cabin was approaching freezing.  We moved our things from the third deck into a cabin in the belly of the ship and passed the night with weird engine noises and drunken Montenegrin laughter from outside our door.  Our mood was lifted when we stepped out into fresh air at 7am to a beautiful morning ...

... I thought was a fantastic idea at the time- Alen smiled anyway. I finished my pint and tried buying drinks for the Montenegrins, who flatly refused as it was their country and I was the visitor. I said goodbye to Alen and Tony and went to the other Irish pub. Within seconds of entering the door I was handed a drink by another Yorkshireman I've never met before in my life before being ushered to a table with John and a few of ...

... or maybe they didn't want to fight the feisty Montenegrins for this very hardscrabble, but beautiful piece of the world. If rocks were gold, the Irish and the Montenegrins would rule the world!! But sadly for them - and fortunately for the rest of us - this is not the case. And the geologically challenged Montenegrins are stuck with a lot of worthless rocks to move about and build ...

... ruined old city here. Tomorrow we will head to a place called Dumitor National Park and get off the sight seeing path for a while. Though ever since we left Dubrovnik we havent seen many tourist. And hardly any that are native English speakers. We are doing well and having lots of fun!

... with even a tourist info. center, which helped us find accomodation in someones private house for $10euro/pp. Once we settled in, we had to decide on what to do, considering the weather was not in our favor, as it had been cloudy and rainy since the night before. We asked at the info. center about the forecast, and she promised it was expected to clear later that day. Apparently, it hadn't rained there all season long, and the townspeople were ...

... beyond it. The bus had dropped me off along the hillside road overlooking the resort, allowing me a great vantage point to take it all in. After that, I basically made a beeline down the many steps and straight on to the island, past the bewilderingly large number of Russians out on holiday. Walking up to the gate, I was immediately greeted by a caretaker who promptly informed me the island was closed. Huh? Yes, a whole island was closed "for renovations." Hmm ...

... passed through the Moraca canyon, and I forced myself up to admire the mountainous scenery. After a brief stop at the station in the tiny nation's capital, Podgorica, we continued on towards the coast passing the stunning Lake Skadar as the sun rose. This ecologically significant lake, the largest in the Balkans, was a beautiful site early in the morning on what was looking to be a magnificent day, and I marvelled at the clear blue waters flanked by limestone mountains. I had to ...

... that had the same idea, when a group of 7 of us turned up and disturbed their peace. South of Budva, I walked along the coast to Sveti Stefan (a resort island), and north I ventured out to Kotor. Set in a glacial fjord (actually, aren't all fjords glacial??), Kotor is a beautiful and minute place with a fortress high above with some magnifecent views over the town and out into the fjord. Well worth a day trip out from the hostel :) A much needed rest.

... off and see Kotor (much nicer than Dubrovnik he said, and as he was the only person to smile at us during our time in the country we were moved to take his advice). The trip was beautiful, winding down steeply from mountain to coast as the sun set, turning the peaks any number of shades of blue and purple. Into Kotor late at night and a guy touting for business sold us his guest room. Waking after a fitful sleep in our annex a stone's throw from ...