Hotel Aquamarin Budva

... kommen aus dem Ostblock, Russen, Ukrainer, Serben... Und im Hafen liegen die Boote der russischen Mafia-Millionaere. Habe in Budva privat uebernachtet (am Busbahnhof wird man bereits abgefangen) und meine Herbergsmutter hatte nicht viel Gutes ueber die Russen zu sagen. Die kaufen alles auf (und zahlen immer in Cash aus ihren Geldkoffern... Ich zitiere) und neue Appartments ...

... or American dollars, but one never knew which. Upon parking, Darko led the way down the busy street towards the dentist who I remember being an ethnic Albanian man. Apparently, they visited this dentist previously and he was extremely friendly. Not at any time did any ethnic Albanians cause me, Darko or Bojana any problems because I was American and they were Serb. The dentist was going to take a while and since the bank would not exchange our American dollars for Euros, we ...

... sparkly thong bikinis (on young, old, big and small alike), brash D&G belts, sequinned evening bags, diamonte heels, chavvy hoop earrings, and frost lipsticks and eyeshadows circa 1982 in my life. And I never wish to again. Thankfully we disembarked at Sveti Stefan and wandered around (you cannot go on the island, which is unfortunate) and had a splash on the pebble beach. Dinner at Juice Bar again :)

... was artificially created by locals over a period of 550 years. Every year, the locals would drop stones on an underwater rock, creating this island. Walked down to the Old Town and looked around. Pretty deserted if you don't count the four Americans from Michigan coming in a rented car. Watched locals fish with a string with no luck. The fish must be accustomed to the fishing string b/c I saw swarms of little fish in the bay ...

... store is next door and the beach is a 5 minute walk. I've decided all of the women here look and dress like Cher. Cher's ancestral roots are in the former Soviet republic of Armenia so I guess that's close enough. To get to Sveti Stefan beach required a minibus but I was not sure which one. I was at the bus stop when one arrived so I got on to ask the driver but he said that was not the right bus. I backed off the bus and heard this groan. I turned around and see this guy ...

... a total sweaty mess by the time I got to the bus station. Headed north after an interesting few days in Ulcinj. I was really disappointed with all of the trash everywhere and the incredible lack of personal responsibility shown. The people were not friendly and there were no real sights to see. I had hoped to see Albania but after visiting this Albanian-dominated town I quickly changed my mind. It was educational but I'm headed north now to a more civilized society.

... rock that had caused me so much trouble as I paddled around it just a few moments before. "The cliff is up here," Daniel said as he began the climb up the cliffs. He was an extremely tall, lanky individual who was losing his hair. (And perhaps his sense of judgement.) But he was a good guy, and I enjoyed his company. The rock rose out of the sea at a steep angle. To get to the cliff ledge that Daniel had motioned to, we had to climb on all fours ...

... Bulgaria, where I was able to use one last bit of Russian to buy potato chips during the brief stopover. Arriving in Nis , 3 hours late due to delays in Turkish, Bulgarian, and Serbian/Montenegren customs, we continued to raise the bar on our record for most bass-ackwards lucky travelers ever, arriving in town just a few hours before a train that is not even supposed to exist was to leave for Bar, Montenegro. With a little time to kill and needing local cash to ...

... awhile. We headed to dinner at a restaurant overlooking the water, a very short walk from our hotel. The restaurant, Levanta, was recommended in a Newsday article that mom had sent us awhile ago. Dinner was an interesting experience in contrast. Let's say that the food was as good as the service was bad. And the food was really, really good! We enjoyed mussels au gratin in red sauce, an interesting dish of prawns in a honey sauce, black risotto with assorted seafood, and ...

... slovenia...only three weeks or less left! It's gone so fast...i'll check back in soon after a few more days of relaxation... If anyone is REALLY bored we have a number here in Croatia that you can call.... from the US: 001 385 91 767 6361 We have been looking vigourously for ER's Dr. Kovach as he is from Croatia...but other than a large poster of him in photo shop today...he is still missing...we are still looking though...i'll keep you all updated...Talk to you all soon! ~ Michael