Montenegro / Personal

A Montenegro Confession

Perast, Montenegro

Perast, Montenegro

My feelings about Montenegro are rather ambivalent. It was beautiful, just stunningly lovely… but I didn’t feel as inspired as I hoped to; my heart wasn’t captured.

Budva, Montenegro

Budva, Montenegro

I was fighting a cold the entire time I was in Montenegro.

It was the one place I went that I had the hardest time finding affordable restaurant meals. Because most of the cities I visited were old towns filled with tourists, the prices at proper establishments were high. In cities, I always try to find less expensive options– cafes, bars, places that serve students. It was nearly impossible to do in Montenegro.

The "beach" in Herceg Novi

The “beach” in Herceg Novi

I had a Balkan adventure two years ago with my sister, so maybe some of the novelty had worn off. Plus, with Hillary, we managed to find some nice quiet places to swim– from our private rock ledge on Lokrum to the hidden beach near our hostel in Dubrovnik to the quiet seaside we swam at on Brac, we never felt crowded. In Montenegro, the beaches were all crowded and developed… or were barely beaches at all.

Swimming off our personal ledge in Lokrum, Croatia. June 2011

Swimming off our personal ledge in Lokrum, Croatia. June 2011

This is a personal reaction. All my memories from Montenegro are good, minus the memories of sickness. I made glorious friends and saw natural wonders and waters that were truly breathtaking.

Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor, Montenegro

But I wish I’d gone at the beginning of my trip, or perhaps traveled there with my family, who would have ADORED Montenegro. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic, maybe being sick affected my experience more than I was consciously aware of.

Budva, Montenegro

Budva, Montenegro

Will I dream of Montenegro? Yes, of course. It was a special time and I was lucky to make such beautiful personal connections. All the posts I’ve previously written come straight from my heart. But I think it’s important to acknowledge my own ambivalence about that leg of my trip. Some places make us fall in love… Some places don’t. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

No Comments

    Leave a Reply