R&L’s Excellent Adventure

Drivers in Croatia & Montenegro are insane! We decided the best way to see Montenegro was to rent a car and take a road trip. Our rental car was delivered to the ferry port so we could take off asap at the start of our day. As we made our way out of Dubrovnik, we only needed two u-turns then we were off! Lana drove while Rebecca admired the scenery of the Adriatic coast. After a stop for breakfast in Cavtat, Croatia and yet another u-turn or two (Is a pattern developing?) we made it to the border. The border crossing was actually very simple but the long line stopped us for about 30min. By this time in our journey Lana was wishing she had reserved a stick shift as her inner race car driver was dying to be released on the curves and switchbacks of the coastal mountain road. But alas she was only able let it out when the crazy local drivers swerved around on the 2 lane road. We decided speed limits & no passing zones were only suggestions for the locals.

We stopped for lunch at the beautiful seaside village of Perast. It was easy to see the Venetian heritage of Montenegro. A walk around the village then on to the small walled city of Kotor. We had a rather complicated discussion with the parking lot attendent in Kotor about how much & how to pay for the parking as he didn't speak English & we didn't speak Montenegren. We assume we finally got it right since he didn't chase after us when we left. The walls of Kotor climb up the mountainside with the castle on top. How they managed to built this fortress without modern machinery is a wonder. The magnitude of the walls can't be captured in photos. We managed to make it all the way back to Dubrovnik without any u-turns or being run off the road by the locals. Realizing that the 5 cruise ships that entered port this morning were now gone we took advantage of the smaller crowds to see the large walled city of Dubrovnik. It was so big & confusing & hot that we stayed for just a short time. Lana was worried about having to get the car out of the tiny parallel parking space & backing up all the way uphill on the narrow curved street to get out of the tight parking area. Rebecca was worried about climbing all of the slippery uneven stairs we descended to get to the main level of the city. Did we say it was hot? Finally, we succeeded in getting out of our parking spot without any damage to the car. LOTS of teamwork was required. We were soon looking forward to showers after the hot sweaty day. By the way, if a crazy man starts yelling at you in Croatian, double check that you are not going the wrong way on a one way street. Yes, one last u-turn was required. We finally made it to our hotel for those showers, glad we chose not to return to the island we stayed at last night. The small island was expecting their regular load of loud party all night sailing Australians. We had a wonderful dinner on the hotel terrace and watched the sunset on the islands of Croatia. Tomorrow? Belgrade Serbia here we come.Читать далее