As usual, we don't book ahead.....we just get to the center of town and look for rooms. Usually, there are signs indicating rooms to rent. (Sobe, Zimmer or Rooms). If not, we just ask a waiter, bar tender etc, if they know of anything available. Most times they know of someone who has something and it goes from there.
There is no pedestrian walkway in Przno, but rather just a pathway that runs in front of the half dozen or so restaurants that line the beach. Prices are higher as of June 1 to kick off the official tourist season. Too bad for us!! A beach chair is now 5 euros each instead of 2! Preparation continues everywhere for the upcoming tourist season... it's like getting ready for a carnival.
Speaking of the euro...the cost of everything has probably doubled from Albania ... a rum 'n coke and a rye 'n 7 cost 15 euros ($20 Can)......
....we are deliberately paying a premium when we look for rooms...in a beach town, we want to be as close to the water as possible, with a view, possibly a little deck and close to town center.....
...in an old town, we choose to stay as close to the historic center/plaza as possible, with some sort of view and up high, off the ground floor.
For those standards: we pay about 40 - 50 euros/night in Montenegro. In Albania, we paid a bit less...25/30 euros/night. There are cheaper places - we looked at a hostel in Kotor for about 15 euros/person.
Cleanliness worry has been, basically, a non-issue, throughout our journey. Rooms are clean, most tiled, smell nice, and toilets/water work. Some get cleaned out daily, some provide breakfast. We look for small, family run places and have generally been rewarded with great digs. Very little to complain about!
Washrooms have been interesting. In Albania and southern Montenegro, toilet paper is never flushed!! It always goes in a basket\garbage beside the toilet. Surprisingly, there is rarely an odour! In some more public washrooms like bus stations or restaurants, there are no sit down toilets but rather squatters. These have porcelain footsteps and a hole on the floor to aim for. For those of us with knee problems these are always a problem especially because there are no hand bars either!
It is a good time to travel through this region in May/June, before the European invasion descends from south and from all points east to west.
Have not come across any bugs in rooms and very little mosquitoes anywhere. Although, we have seen some giant, black bee-like creatures on the flowers! We watch them!
Przno beach/bay north of Petrovac, is quiet and has some great snorkeling around the many limestone islets. We swim every day, several times a day, when we are on the coast. Waters are cool, clear, clean, for the most part, of garbage and plastics. Around Przno, along the cliffs, the water depth easily reaches 15-25 m, just minutes from our beach. No need to scuba here, as snorkeling over these clear, deep waters provides the same thrill.
This part of the Montenegrin coastline, bunched up near the Croatian border is rugged, filled with many bays of varying size, beaches of rock and sand, small, quiet coves, tiny, ocean side villages and old towns. In fact, the stretch of coast from the Albanian border to Croatia is ( again) spectacular. With views that are similar to our Gulf Islands or San Juan's (WA) on a road that winds its way like a Californian ocean road, it is beautiful.
Because of the ruggedness of these limestone shorelines, many of these towns do not have beaches. So, to remedy this they have created 'concrete beaches'. Simply put, they are slabs of concrete where people suntan, swim and fish. Some hotels and restaurants even provide beach chairs or loungers for their customers.
One of these in the bay has a very old stone structure perched on top. Lovely to look at!
There is hardly any English heard here...mostly eastern European languages and some Italian.
One evening we check out some neighboring beaches and come across the very exclusive town of Sveti Stefan - an island resort.
Looking out our window with the church on the right.
Cheers from us to you! Take care!
One evening we check out some neighboring beaches and come across the very exclusive town of Sveti Stefan - an island resort.
This resort island charges 900 euro per night ($1400)!!! Not quite in our price range!! Ha!! But, so beautiful to
look at!
Here some nice scenes from Przno...
We head north to Kotor. Located at the head of an inlet/bay that winds its way in from the coast, Kotor is said to be in the most beautiful bay in the world.
We look to stay in the quaint old-town walled portion of Kotor. We wander for a bit, then ask around for rooms. One of the restaurants we stop at, contacts someone with available rooms. Several minutes later, we get to our room.....looks good......only much later... as in 5:37am, as the church bells begin ringing, that our room is just metres from the bell tower. And, then at 5:54am, the bells are rung again. These times are odd....not on the quarter or half or hour...but somewhere in between.
We tour old town, watch the cruise ship parade of passengers stumble zombie-like by, climb the mountain and all the nearly 1400 steps to the old fortress.
Another summit in the bag....must be at least 7 by now....(Coba, Holguin, Pyramids of the Sun, Mausoleum).....
But, we are itching to move on. Montenegro has been wonderful.
People we've met, like Svetlana, are kind and gracious.
Language concerns are not difficult to overcome. It is friendly, safe and has much to offer. Not a lot of tourists travel through the country. Transportation works fine, rooms to stay everywhere.
We are heading into Croatia next, maybe Bosnia. But....bus schedules make it a bit of a plan......stay tuned..... see you on the other side - somewhere!
Here are a few more random shots...
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