Budva
Trip Start
Mar 13, 2009
1
23
35
Trip End
Mar 15, 2010
Budva,
Montenegro
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The drive was stunning. We followed along a river gorge, which was green and lush, until it opened onto a giant lake. Our road was tiny and deserted, which was good because it ran through a series of tunnels and miles long, some that were really dark and wet inside. With the bus' dim headlights, it was better that we were alone on the road. There were often animals along the way, including a scared pig in the road, and some really not scared sheep that I actually had to get out and chase away. The mini road trip was a nice break from buses and trains, and Ben and Alexa were really fun to hang out with.
Finally, we made it over the mountain range, and the road crested an incredible ocean view. The coast north and south are green and emerald and beautiful, with mountains and tree lines that roll right up to the water. It took our breath away.
Budva was no different. The whole coast of Montenegro is basically along one road, and just runs through towns without really changing. The mountains go up and down, and the towns roll out to the beach for the millions of (mostly Russian) tourists that come each season to soak up the sun.
Our hostel turned out to be an apartment above someone's house again - small and family run. The son came back from Germany after the war, started a family, and opened a hostel where his mother and father live, and his 3 brothers visit often. His children play in the yard with the tourists and his wife cooks and cleans for the guests. Pretty sweet setup, and a really nice family.
One of the days we went to Kotor, a tiny town just up the coast from Budva. There is a nice old town and a bunch of ruins on the hill above the city. Also, Kotor sits on the deepest fjord in Eastern Europe. Pretty cool. So we climbed up the hill and sat on the castle ruins, overlooking this ridiculously green water and thought, how could Montenegro not be a tourist destination??
Other than that, we explored Budva - the old town and the beach front, met up with our friend Kylie for a little while, and hung out at her hostel with some other tourists. Right as we were leaving, there was a massive storm that came thought, thunder, lightening, the works. It carried us all the way through 3 buses to Tirana, Albania. But at least it wasn't cold. :)
