It was overcast, but not raining when I got up this morning.

I went straight to work and was delighted when the owner surprised me with coffee and mandarin preserves! My first project of the day went quickly and it still wasn’t raining at 11:30 when I finished it. So I thought to take a break and make a run for Kotor before the inevitable rain came. But guess what showed up just as I was able to shut down? Yep, more coffee. 🙂 So I figured I might as well get the other job done (it would take less than an hour). A heavy downpour arrived at the same time as my coffee. I wouldn’t have gotten very far…

I was finally done around 1:00 and the rain appeared to be letting up a bit. I gave it some time and it finally stopped altogether. I hurriedly headed out, hoping to at least make it to Kotor before another downpour.

En route, I noticed this pomegranate bush. Wow! I’ve never seen pomegranates in their natural habitat!

So pretty!

This one that was open is what caught  my eye and made me realise what the fruits in the bush were.

I made it into Kotor with nary a drop from the sky and decided to continue on to the bus station to double check my departure time for tomorrow.

There really isn’t much to Kotor. People come here for the old city and for the beaches. There were barely any restaurants and no fast food type joints.

This building is right across from the bus station.

I was able to confirm that my bus for the first leg of my trip tomorrow leaves at 12:15. As long as the information I found for the second leg is correct, I will be in Prizren, Kosovo, by about 10PM.

This sign reminded me of one I saw outside the Ley in San Carlos, inviting customers to have their meat grilled by the store.

I was famished by this point, so I headed back towards Old Kotor to get a slice of pizza at a place across from the Museum snack bar where I had my Kotor breakfast.

The pizza was really good, but 2Eur (3.06CAD), wow! I’ve had equivalent quality pizza for 1BGN (0.78CAD)! I then got an ice cream (comparable price to what I’ve paid so far in the Balkans for half the quantity) and then just wandered aimlessly in the old city, delighted that the rain was holding off.

I purposely did not look for landmarks and frequently found myself going around in circles and completely turned around. It was so much fun!

Marco of Montenegro…

Rather reminded me of Neelix of Canada…

I was ready to head home when I noticed people walking along the top of the Old City walls. Curious, I decided to find the way up there. It wasn’t from outside the city, so I went back in.

And managed to find the way up without too much trouble.

I was standing down at the lion when I noticed people above me. I rather felt like I was in a video game and had found my way to the next level! 🙂

I love the old aerials on these houses!

The terracotta roofs in the Balkans are interesting. They use cement to keep everything together. I’ll have to see how the Mexican roofs are constructed.

And, boom, a dead end! I had actually come up a staircase on the other side of that yard the other day and was disappointed that there wasn’t much. I think the homeowner would be better off letting people walk that very short bit through their yard with a prominent, “Passage: 0.50Eur” sign. 🙂

I turned around and marvelled at how different the view was in the opposite direction.

Here’s the main entrance, with a lot fewer people than there were on Sunday!

October Revolution Square.

I couldn’t believe the rain held off all that time! What a gift! It’s pouring now.

What was not so much of a gift was that I got ripped off by the taxi driver with a fast metre (same scam as in Belgrade) who charged me a whopping 6Eur to get home. 🙁 I’m going to have my host call me a taxi tomorrow if it’s raining as I’m sure she’ll get someone who is reputable to take me to the bus station. I would actually rather walk since it’s only 3KM and straight downhill, but rain will probably be an inevitability.

The taxi ride not withstanding, what a great bookend to my Kotor getaway! This stay was exactly what I was hoping it would be! I got as much work as I was hoping I would, but not so much as to be overwhelming, and with two non-rainy afternoons, I completely got my fill of Old Town Kotor. This is a super expensive and touristy area, so being able to self-cater at the hostel (and having a host who kept bringing me coffee and fruit!) was a bonus. With prices being at Canadian levels, this was definitely not a “vacation stop” for me.

So I’m off to Prizren tomorrow for two nights. Accommodation there was twice what it costs in Kotor, which is about twice what it has cost me in the rest of the Balkans, so it’s another hostel and non-vacation stop, I think, but I did want to spend a full day there. Then, on to Skopje for the weekend ahead of my flight on Monday. Can you believe I’ll be having my first dinner in Barcelona at this time next week?!