Above: View of Kotor with cruiseliner; it was very humid with lots of cloud before a long torrential downpour.
Buses from Podgorica to Kotor are frequent so I didn’t really need to think about what time I had to go to the station. I went down the road for a coffee and burek for breakfast before 0800 and returned to my room to pack.
As I was nearly ready, it started to rain. I waited for it to pass and finally left after 1000 for the short walk to the station. A bus was available in about 20 minutes so that suited me well. Unfortunately I forgot that some buses are more direct than others. This one took about 2h40 rather than the fastest 1h40 (not so common though).
The bus passed Budva which was quite pretty in its location but overbuilt outside of the old city and over-touristed with its beaches full of people. Then it overshot Kotor to Tivat, passing its airport before backtracking and taking a long tunnel to Kotor.
Upon arrival at Kotor, I started walking from the station towards my accommodation (Apartment Coso) but a taxi crossed my path. It was a bit of a mistake as the traffic was really bad and we crawled for most of the way. The driver didn’t know my accommodation so I asked her to drop me off where I thought it was (kinda) and she didn’t keen on going up the narrow alleys.
After a brief but sweaty walk, I found my home for two nights. It was very pleasant with a kitchenette. I put my laundry in the wash gratis and went to the mall/supermarket to get some food for a very late lunch. The weather was very humid with lots of cloud; it felt like the moisture was condensing.
In the evening, I explored the old town with its cobbled marble lanes, squares and churches. In Goa last year, some friends and I discussed how a certain nationality “sex up” their young pre-pubescent daughters by dressing them up in very revealing clothing and encouraging them to strike up sexy and suggestive poses. Well, well, the same nationality is doing it here. They get their daughters to pose sexily on stairs, railings and anywhere for the camera. I don’t understand.
Strange-looking boat.
As I sat down for dinner, a howling gale came past. All was good until it started spitting. I moved to a sheltered outdoor seat as there wasn’t much of an inside seating area.
Soon after I left the restaurant, it started getting torrential. I had left my raincoat behind in my room, not that it would have kept me that dry. I waited along with a crowd in the arch of the main city gate. There was thunder and lightning. It was dark even though there was an hour before sunset. As the rain was relentless, I gave up and bought an umbrella and waded my way home. Streams were starting to build up in places.