Archives

All posts for the month August, 2013

Montenegro

Posted by Mark Sullivan on August 24, 2013
Posted in: Montenegro. 1 comment

Arriving in Montenegro yesterday was only half as exciting as meeting our old friend Rezart, who drove up from Albania.

We met up in Budva, a holiday town on the stunning mountainous coast, where we had a nice dinner and stayed the night. Today we are driving deep into the mountainous interior of Montenegro, and we’ll eventually make our way to Valbona National Park in Northern Albania.

We just made a brief coffee stop in the sleepy Montenegran capital of Podgorica.

A coffee stop in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro

A coffee stop in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro

Jim and Rezart at coffee stop in Podgorica

Jim and Rezart at coffee stop in Podgorica

 

 

Dubrovnik

Posted by Mark Sullivan on August 19, 2013
Posted in: Croatia, UNESCO World Heritage Site. 1 comment

We are settled into Dubrovnik for six days of R & R at a beach resort on a beautiful peninsula. It takes about an hour to walk into the spectacular walled town of Dubrovnik, and it’s a beautiful walk. It’s also easy to catch one of the frequent buses that gets you into town in 15 minutes.

So far we are spending long, leisurely days on the rocky beaches and beautiful coves of this peninsula. Then we walk into town for an evening of great food, atmosphere, and Croatian wine. After months of traveling from town to town for countless three-day stops, it really feels like we are on vacation.

From here, I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

The view from our terrace

The view from our terrace

The beach at our hotel

The beach at our hotel

The beginning of our walk into town

The beginning of our walk into town

Later in our walk to town

Later in our walk to town

On our way into another wonderful evening in old Dubrovnik

On our way into another wonderful evening in old Dubrovnik

Getting close to town

Getting close to town

Arriving at the spectacular walled old town of Dubronik

Arriving at the spectacular walled old town of Dubronik

The perfect wine bar, inside the walled city of Dubrovnik

The perfect wine bar, inside the walled city of Dubrovnik

Today's lunch

Today’s lunch

Today's after-lunch swimming spot

Today’s after-lunch swimming spot

Coffee in Bosnia

Posted by Mark Sullivan on August 17, 2013
Posted in: Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1 comment

We traveled 3-1/2 hours by bus along the spectacular Adriatic coast of Croatia today from Makarska to Dubrovnik. But at one point along the way the Croatian coast is broken by a little spot where Bosnia and Herzegovina extends to the Adriatic. Bosnia’s Mediterranean coastline is just 12.4 miles long.

Immigration officials got on the bus and peeked at everyone’s passport before letting us into the country. But instead of just passing through and back to Croatia in 20 minutes, the bus stopped for a 20 minute break at a Bosnian town. It was just long enough to grab a cup of fine Bosnian java.

Even though we spent a grand total of about a half hour in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I won’t count it as one of the countries I’ve been to, since this stop was something akin to an airport layover, which I also don’t count. So no 78th country yet. Even though I did have coffee there. And went to the bathroom.

Coffee break at a bus stop in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Coffee break at a bus stop in Bosnia and Herzegovina