This is going to be a very short post, but since I’ve been separating them by countries, it seems fitting that Montenegro gets its own post.

While in Croatia, Semester at Sea offered an overnight program to its southern neighbor Montenegro and of course I want to see as many countries as possible, so I hopped on the opportunity.

This program took place the third day in the port of Dubrovnik. There were about forty of us, both students and lifelong learners (not sure if I explained lifelong learners, but I can elaborate during another post). Anyway, we left around 0730 that morning and I was dragging due to a late night out the prior night, but I made it on the bus, and we had a little over an hour drive to the border. Crossing the border took longer than was expected. They took all our passports, checked, and stamped them, which was super exciting, because we didn’t get stamps from any of our four other European countries.

After getting across the border, we had about another hour drive to get to Perast. If you’ve ever heard of Our Lady of the Rocks Island, this is where it is. This island is located in the Bay of Kotor and the story goes that seamen found an icon of the lady on the rock upon which the island was built and after having a safe voyage, decided that it protects sailors. The island is man-made from rocks and old ships. A small church has been built on the island and the alter is supposedly where the icon was originally found. Also, in the building is a small museum type deal and an art gallery. The views of the bay from this island were spectacular and I wish we would’ve had more time in Montenegro in general to explore.

After getting off the island, we headed to a place in Perast to have lunch, which again was an excellent three course meal. It took about two hours to get all the courses and eat before we were back on the road for about 15 minutes. Our next stop was the small village of Kotor. We had a short walking tour here and got to go in a unique, small church and then back on the bus. The town had a bit of a hike up to some old fortress type buildings, but unfortunately it was not something we could do with our schedule.

Our next stop was Budva, where we would be spending the night. We did a short walking tour again. This town was very different with its medieval type city walls and narrow streets. It was definitely something I’m glad I got to see. After checking into our hotel, we were given some free time to wander around the city on our own since the hotel was right outside the center.

One interesting thing about Montenegro is that they aren’t a member of the European Union, although they are a candidate, but they still use the Euro as their currency. I didn’t think this through and did not bring my few left-over Euros. I also only brought my credit card so I couldn’t take out money, but the ATM was broken anyway so most people couldn’t get money out. It was interesting too because most places only took cash, no card, so most of us had a very hard time buying anything.

Once we were done with our free time, we met back at our hotel so we could walk to our dinner restaurant. We went in the back side of the place, so we were all a little uncertain, but we were all so wrong. The food was incredible, the place was very quaint and cute, and there was a man playing live music. Technically after we finish our dinners, we no longer are within program hours, so we were all set free to go do our own thing. I walked around with a group for a bit before heading back to the hotel to play a few card games, hang out at the hotel restaurant, and watch a bit of a movie (Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates). After that, I decided it was bed time.

The next morning, we left the hotel around 0900. Besides one restroom break and a photo stop, our route was directly back to Croatia. Once in Croatia, we stopped in Leut for lunch and a bit of free time before hopping back on the bus and finishing the last hour of driving back to Dubrovnik.

Montenegro is definitely a place I would go back to, especially the Bay of Kotor. The cliffs were insane and I think it would be incredible to hike or rock climb there. The water was absolutely gorgeous and so clear that it would be perfect for snorkeling. Sailing would also be something I would’ve loved to do and although I’m sad I didn’t get more time in Montenegro, it gives me a reason to come back!

With Bated Breath, Abby Lynn