Old Palace Hotel Kotor

Again another spectacular bus ride across two counties (this time with stamps.. yaay!!) - the coast along here is just beautiful and I'm not too sure what to expect from Kotor as I've encountered many people who have been here and recommended it but there is very little about it on the web. My bus stops at an obscure bus station at what appears to be a back water and I start to wonder where I am ...

... in the 14th century. The views from this vantage point were amazing and had we known these views were going to be the best, we would have stopped here and headed back to sea level. But we didn’t know that, so we continued the arduous climb for another 30 minutes or so to the very top – here is the Castle of St John – an Illyrian fort. The views across the Bay of Kotor were breathtaking, but we were so high up ...

... at the Five Points MARTA station and asking where something is? I can see the scene now. <br><br>I paid my $3 for the hour and a half ride to Shkodra and was praying there would be a Furgon or bus there to Ulcinj across the border in Montenegro. A Furgon is like a collectivo in Latin America...a van that leaves when it fills up to the driver's satisfaction. That usually means people hanging out the windows and sitting on the floor ...

... in the spot to say thank you and from then on grateful sailors would drop a rock there to give thanks for safe passage. Four hundred years of rock dropping led to an island and today there is a flat mosque built atop the spot. In this picture you can see the two islands in the background, the man made island on the far right. <br><br>We parked the car in the shade and went for a walk in the town. It was nice, but similar to what we ...

I think I spent a whole two hours in Kotor, Montenegro. I caught a bus south from Dubrovnik and the way the connections worked out I had to leave before I even had a chance to do much. But it was worth it. Kotor and the coastline of Montenegro is wicked and something I would love to give more time to one day.<br><br>The trip there and back was slow going. Due to the terrain, it took close to three hours to go just over ...

... water was sapphire blue, clear and warm. The beach itself was not large, but completely hidden by huge rocky cliffs. The three of us took a kind of small craft about a quarter of a mile out into the Adriatic; Darko and I jumped in for a swim. Bojana was partially nude sunbathing at the time on the boat and since she was unable to swim, Darko teased her by stealing her clothes, pretending not to give them back to her. She immediately became upset demanding Darko return her clothes ...

... fiord again. Given that it was by now almost dark that was a good shortcut. We travelled back through the border, once again entering Croatia. We had time on the return journey to visit Cavtat and even though it was dark the beauty of this walled city just 12 kilometres south of Dubrovnik was easy to see. It is surrounded by harbours and the city itself is filled with interesting looking shops, bars and restaurants. Vladimir took us into a warm ...

... It has massive beaches and that summer sun picturesque quality to it. We thought it was Kotor at first, so when we started coming down the coastline again, we snapped quite a few photos from the bus overlooking this town. Once we passed Budva we passed through a very long tunnel and bam We were in Kotor. Kotor is a small coastal town on the Adriatic. It is an old port for the region surround by an impressive city wall built by the ...

... with him as he went out one night. Can't say I envy him. There was also a strange occurrence at the pub we went to, where a light over our table was allegedly "broken" by one of us, and we were forced into paying 50 euro before we could leave (with the door blocked by a very large and tough Serbian), only to see the next day on some of our digital camera photos of the night that we were probably duped with the use of a connector piece on the light. Very shady. With regard ...

... that they were heading up the ancient walls. At points the steps looked in perfect condition, whilst in others we had to step over trees and hack through knee-high grass. Grasshoppers fled in all directions with every step! We reached St Stephen's Place, an ancient chapel surrounded by protective turrets (we know this because there was a sign)! It was a fantastic climb. We had taken the dodgy path and were completely alone - except for the grasshoppers! The path was petering out ...