Herceg Novi, Montenegro 21 Jan-13 Feb

Part 1 of 2

We waited at the bus stop (with all the smokers) to board our (mini) bus to Herceg Novi. A Russian woman chatted to me about her daughter who lives in Germany with her husband from NZ! There were 14 of us on the mini bus. As we pulled out of Trebinje, 2 women crossed themselves which worried me at first but then I noticed one of them cross herself again every time we passed a church. The drive took just over an hour: dramatic rocky mountains, the Adriatic glittering below, tiny ancient villages clinging to hillsides, and at one point a man appearing from nowhere to be picked up in the middle of absolutely nothing. Hard to imagine living out there. Hard to imagine why anyone built there in the first place.

At the border crossing everyone got out, presented their passports for stamping, walked a few metres, got stamped again, (while bus driver moved bus forwards) and climbed back in.

We arrived in Herzeg Novi to drizzle, forgot we had no data, and I navigated from memory, uphill (and steps) as usual. Herceg Novi apparently has around 100,000 steps and is often called the “city of steps” Carrying on from Dubrovnik’s rainy season, it rained pretty much every day that we were there.

The area and airbnb are nice. Stunning views over Boka Bay.

The first day, there was a cat sitting on the railing out the window staring in at me, like “are you going to let me in?” I went outside to see her and she immediately jumped onto the wall, came straight to me, purring as I patted her. I tried to get her to come to the front door but no — back to her spot she went, watching me type, looking at me like I was so mean. I asked our host if we can let her in and she said “of course, her name is Daga” and basically Daga moved in with us for the rest of our stay. She rarely left. We’d assumed she was one of the strays, they’re everywhere here, same as Croatia, the community looking after them collectively. We carried a container of cat food everywhere we went, on top of feeding Daga and a few others that hung around our place but only Daga had inside privileges. It was only later we found out Daga belonged to the stone house out front. Not a stray at all. Just a cat who’d decided we were hers for a few weeks.

We walked down loads of steps to the Tourist Office in Old Town to pay the tourist tax, which you have to do within 48 hours or face a hefty fine. It was a beautiful wander through winding lanes with oranges hanging on gates and fences everywhere, leftover from Christmas, we found out. Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7th in the Balkans, and it’s traditional to decorate with fresh oranges and red ribbons as symbols of prosperity. Some people keep them until they naturally decay for extra good luck.