ciao, Kotor

Kotor was so much fun. I think this will be my third post from this internet cafe. It's not the cheapest in the world, but it's comfortable and convenient, plus I've just had so much to say from here!

This town has been a blast. Last night I decided to go out and make an effort to find someone to eat dinner with. I got all cleaned up (the water was on, yay!) and then hit the street. I had resolved to wander the old town looking for anyone who was obviously sitting at a table by themselves. I was going to go up and ask if they spoke English, and if so, explain that I was on my own, looking for someone who'd enjoy some company over dinner. It took a few minutes to find a likely candidate, but I spotted a young guy staring into a solo beer, so I went up and asked about English. "yes," he responded in an Aussie accent (there's a surprise). I explained what I was doing and he just said, "oh, I've already eaten." No attempt to continue the conversation there, so I thought I would move on, but the older couple at the next table leaned over and asked "oh, where are you from?". I said Vancouver, to which the woman said, "I lived in Vancouver for 10 years!". Turns out they were Canadian ex-pats now living in Cabo san Lucas. We got to talking and I eventually joined them for dinner. We must've chatted for almost 4 hours over dinner and then later over coffee and dessert that they insisted on buying. It was great! I even have an invitation to visit them in Cabo if I ever felt compelled to go to such a place.

Anyway, there are buses to Budva ever half hour, so I'm going to wander over to the bus station and grab one. The travel agent hasn't been in her office all morning, so I'm going to go to Budva for now and look into the rafting trip once I get there. I realized after looking at a map that Budva will actually be closer, as the bus drives, to Durmitor Park than Kotor is. The bus will also go through the capital, Podgorica (Pod-gor-itza), on its way, so there should be easy connections. I may stay in Budva tonight and then travel on to the park tomorrow. If I arrive in time I could go for an afternoon hike and then the day after go on a full day rafting trip. It should only take an hour or two to get to Budva, so I should be able to spend this afternoon on the beach. Sounds like a decent plan, doesn't it?

cheers,
Mike