Escape to myself

Today was interesting. A trip to three coastal towns in Montenegro each very different and maybe catering for a different audience. Only seven of us in a minivan with a driver who exhibited the macho culture in spades. However that was ok as we were very much left to our own devices in each town so I was as able to explore things of interest as I wished with no chivvying along. Montenegro seems quite impoverished; the coastal towns is where the money is while the interior is remote and obviously mountainous but nonetheless very beautiful in a stark way. Our driver was very keen to tell us about foreign investment in the town … mainly it seemed from Russian oligarchs and of course Trump! Whether that is a good thing for the country time will tell.

Perast

A pretty town on the coast. Its primary interest being churches on two small islands. A quick boat trip gave us time to explore. St George’s was smaller while Our Lady of the Rock was a little Byzantine in style.

Kotor

A small walled town with Ottoman and Venetian history and quite a busy tourist vibe. The walls were amazing as they crept up the mountains almost vertically. Charming and a little like Dubrovnik with a maze of narrow streets and squares with bars and coffee shops.

Budva

This is a place ruined by money and lack of planning. Grubby and unfinished new hotels and bad planning and design sit cheek by jowl with a charming old town. They seem to want to develop Monte Carlo and have tried for a grand Boulevard which, lined as it is by cheap souvenir shops and fast food places looks terrible. But it has beaches and a marina! A pretty town ruined by poor development… I don’t object to development and the country needs it but this breakneck rush may well kill it off. A town of contrasts.

Tomorrow Albania ….