The last day for me in Bar was a quiet day with washing to do ,so instead of planning a tour I decided to have a closer look at the town and possibly get some more clothes. There was a shop that I had seen next to the supermarket that looked as if it would be worth looking at. So mid morning chores done, I wandered into the shop just browsing it was here that someone kept bumping into my back albeit the back pack. I kept moving away I didn’t feel I was in the way at all. Feeling just a little aggrieved at the manners of this woman I left the narrow aisle and on to somewhere else.
Leaving the shop it was on to the grocery shop to stock up with things for the train tomorrow. Getting my purchases to the checkout I went to pay, hello,
Bar
my wallet was missing, the woman in the dress shop had lifted my purse.
So it was back to the hotel where I related my story to Bato the ever patient owner. The wonders of technology, I emailed my daughter in NZ and asked her to cancel the card that had been stolen. Literally within the hour it was blocked from use by the bank while we emailed as she spoke on the phone to them. Amazing!
I thought I should go to the Bar police for insurance purposes at least. Bato drove me down to the police station and translated the story for the (smoking) policeman. In due course forms were filled out and stamped. I was surprised at the reasonable efficiency. I had expected delays of hours! Bato had to go so I was left to get the last stamp on my copy of the form.
Fortunately , I had only kept one credit card in the wallet with another two as backup along with my passport. On the way home I tried the back up cards in the ATM machine , they worked with no problem, the relief! I could have been a serious situation if they hadn’t thats for sure. I walked back again to the hotel in the boiling afternoon sun for a well earned siesta. Bato had said I could call the bank later to confirm the arrangements made. The afternoon nearly gone I walked back to town for dinner and tomorrow’s food for the train. However it did cast a shadow over what had been a wonderful stay, but the kindness of the hotel Vila Jadran owners far outweighed any sourness I may have felt towards the culprit. I would recommend their hotel very highly.
Finally having had a decent nights’ sleep, I was up and eager to go look at the new destination of Bar in Montenegro! First there was the trip to the money machine to get the hotel paid. After achieving this Bator, the most accommodating owner offered to drive me to the old city where the Franciscan Monastery was found with the churches of St George and St Nicholas Dropping me off at the bus stop so I would know where to make the return journey from.
From the bustop you looked up and already had a wonderful view of the ruins.
I started to make my way up the totally impractical cobbled road as it was relatively steep I didn’t rush and just took time to admire the little shops, obviously souvenirs, one of Honey,wine and Olive Oil, and the many charming cafes, restaurants all with chairs and tables set out under umbrellas and shades, a must in the hot summer weather.
Reaching the main gate of the monastery it was a slow wander as the cobblestoned roads and paths were easy to trip on. As I wandered from one ruined room or building to another there was always the beautiful view to be captured on the camera. Interesting angles to be captured. You could see the olive tree plantations and indeed one of the olive trees was reputed to be around 2000 years old. There was an oil factory in the area for processing the olives but I gather it was slowly going out of production.
Beach front at Bar
Reaching one of the high points, time to stop and admire the view and lean on someone to take my picture for me with the wonderfully blue Adriatic sea in the background.
The pictures across the city show all the terracotta coloured roof tiles, so uniform I wondered if that’s all you were allowed by the local bodies or whether its because they last the best. Which ever it is, it is a lovely picture. The monastery originally built in around the 15 century had sustained damage at various times but an earthquake in 1979 proved to be the killer and destroyed much of it. Efforts have been made to restore some of it but the financial backing is not there to support much more. What has been done is lovely and the potential of the place is very great, just a pity they cannot afford to keep going.
After spending at least two hours wandering I started back down to the bus stop. Taking a break at a small cafe for a cold drink and a piece of calorie rich baklava. I made the bus in good time , the fare being 2 Euro back to Bar.
We soon got to Bar, the only problem I had no idea which way back to the hotel. I had been shown a bus stop but it wasn’t the one I had got off at.
So as usual it was try to ask the locals, and eventually some one was able to point me in the right direction a walk of ovee 2kms in the stifling heat.
Fortunately I am easily distracted, and after buying some fruit to eat on the way, I set off in the general direction. Passing through a lovely tree covered park I came to Nikolas palace. A distinguished looking building but I had no urge
to go through it, I have nearly exhausted the palaces and castles mojo! The path past the palace took me on to the beach promenade where I walked in as many shaded places possible
It was intriguing seeing people laying on the pebbles of the shore, more like rounded stones than tiny pebbles. The water looked good, but standing on wet stones give way under your feet and its a strange feeling , nothing to grip on with your feet.
Monastery
Eventually making it back to the hotel by mid afternoon for a bit of R and R in the air conditioning.
Later in the cooler evening hours I walked back to the town for a meal.
Bato had mentioned in passing a boat that went up the Adriatic coast for the day, so I decided to do it. I am not keen on boats, particularly seagoing small ones. The young couple decided to go on the trip as well. It was good value I thought €10 for the day trip, stopping off at different places to pick up and drop off people as well as stopping in a couple of places for an hour, the main stop for three hours, Budva.
Budva
The day was the usual sunny warm day with a good breeze off the sea, lots of white horses, we managed to find the boat. Bato had to go as he couldn’t park the car. Pointed us in the general direction and a few minutes later it was found. Due to leave at 8.30 it left at nearly 8.45 but hey it’s Montenegro! There weren’t that many people getting on at the main jetty, but we soon discovered why, the boat started picking up folks from the next bay by running the boat up on the pebbles and a ladder that hung on an angle. Interesting to watch and listen to it scrape the bottom of the boat. We continued on out and around the rocks and cliffs of the various bays picking up people .
The boat was rocking quite violently and scaring me, the spray coming back into the cabin made people laugh, some actually got quite wet! The captain obviously very capable as you could see him trying to minimise the boat movement. There was a lad of about ten that couldn’t handle the movement and he was seasick several times over the whole trip. He would come right at the stops, but back on the boat the illness overtook him.
The crew put the bumpers alongside the boat to protect it from the jetty where it remained tied up for an hour while we all wandered around the small resort. Toilet and coffee stops no doubt and for me a wifi fix with an espresso coffee to keep up the caffeine levels .
The cliffs and the deep blue of the sea were magnificent, The rock stratas changing from one bay to the next. There were many building works going on , one had literally had the cliff removed behind it and was already about five stories high. Given the number of people at the towns and small bays there is a real need for increasing the number of beds. A small church sitting at the very top of a rock in a bay had you asking why? The road you could see on the mountain sides behind all the towns , connecting Bar with Dubrovnik and towns further along the coast.
Wish I’d been aware of the connections, as Zagreb right the way through to Bar and the train on to Belgrade would have been magnificent. Whether there was a bus service, another matter.
The last stop for the day was the town of Budva. An adults playground if ever there was! From the boats of the rich and famous to pedal boats for fun! The first stop for me was the old town, Altstadt Budva, had me walking through the small cobbled streets , look outs, churches. Many of the streets had small boutique style shops using the space available. They were very cute, as well as the usual cafe’s and restaurants the place reeked of charm!!
The beach front covered with people in various stages of undress, there really are people that should not wear bikinis! Just back from the bodies were loads of bars, all with plenty of shade, tables and chairs, back again and along both sides of the road, more like a pedestrian mall really as no one bothered where they walked were the souvenir shops, ice cream sellers.
You even had to pay for a cone before you.got the ice cream. There were considerable choices in the ice cream flavours, then it was the question do you want one ball or two!! There were massage professionals plying their trade mostly along the beach front.
The sheer numbers of people on the beach, including many children, it was probably school holidays amazing!
The three hours flew by punctuated with stops for a cold coke every so often. Come 3 pm and the boat was on its way again for the return trip along the Adriatic coast to Bar.
The hour stop on the return was at a small bay complete with restaurant and …. squat toilets for which one had to pay the princely sum of .50 euro. Total rip off. They should be banned particularly in an almost modern country. The music these countries seem to , play is dated from the Bee Gees first appearance! I don’t mind a bit , its almost like a time warp! But decent toilets have been around for a long time there is no excuse.
Getting off the boat here was from the bow, and down a ladder and into the water and pebbles. The stones weren’t as big as some on other of the beaches, but you still sank in them. I had taken my sandals off to avoid them getting wet. So left them off for the walk up to the restaurant and toilets. The sand was extremely hot , so I walked quickly between umbrellas for the shade and some cool sand!
Polishing off a chicken fillet burger saw dinner taken care of, and indeed, was very tasty. Time for a paddle in the water before climbing aboard again for the trip home. A pleasant walk home with the young couple from the hotel, as we could walk to the beach easily from the hotel. We all agreed that it was a serendipitous trip, thoroughly enjoying the day!
