A simple day trip turned into a slightly drawn out affair. The 7.30am pickup after a great hotel breakfast, went according to plan, but after that it was slightly Faulty Towers kind of a day. Firstly the minibus had brake problems so we had to wait twenty minutes whilst a new minibus was sent, next a few issues on the Croatian border control (machines not working) and then later in the day we almost left two Muslim Belgium ladies behind as they failed to return to the bus (they were located twenty minutes later having a coffee in a bar a the complete opposite end of Budvar). Montenegro is an interesting place. The fact it is not a member of the EU but still uses the Euro as the national currency was an intriguing story. It's a country celebrating its tenth anniversary of independence this year, and hoping to be accepted into the EU in the near future. It's also a country that has been badly affected by earthquakes. Budvar for example has largely been rebuilt with Russian money after the large 1979 earthquake, which in turn has brought a very large Russian influence. The hotels, casinos etc are largely Russian owned, along with key landmarks. 30% of the population is now Russian origin. (Budvar is also the location of the casino in the James Bond movie Casino Royale). The earthquake history was of interest to me as we walked the crumbling walls of Kotor. This walled town has over 4.5 kilometres of walls, covering a very steep and high rocky outcrop above the town. I would not like to be on them or below them during a major earthquake - the rock is very brittle. Much of the town has been rebuilt in the old style since 1979, but the walls and related pathways have not had the same attention. Indeed the cobblestones appear largely to be original as they are very rough semi rounded stones. Areas of the wall pathways were very steep and slightly slippery even though it was very dry. We took on the challenge of how high we could get in the limited time we had, thankful with each zig zag completed, for all the exercise we have been getting this week. Michelle's Fitbit registered 145 flights of stairs this day, and this was only halfway up before we had to return to the minibus. It was an impressive structure, although the walls of Ston yesterday are said to be the second longest in the world (we passed through Ston whilst travelling to Dubrovnik). The location of Kotor, sandwiched between the sea edge (of a major inlet) and very steep 2000m plus rock mountains. Most of Montenegro relies on tourism for its income, and Kotor and Budvar are its two primary earners, so it's no surprise to see a cruise ship docked at Kotor. This reliance on tourism is strong, and there is little evidence of farming in this country. It must be there, but the land we saw was either natural or used for dumping rubble, on which abandoned industrial shells are located. The country we covered today was largely very high and rocky on one side with a few sparse trees and sea on the other, with limited open land area. We did see what appears to be old Russian submarine pens bored into the rocky hillsides, and can only speculate they are now long abandoned. After Kotor we travelled through a tunnel and onto Budvar. We spent an hour in Kotor and two hours thirty in Budvar. I felt the time was not appropriately used. I could have spent a little longer in Kotor than Budvar. An interesting day, discovering another country, with very different scenery. Time now to plan tomorrow, or last day in Dubrovnik before we take an overnight ferry to Bari, where we have not arranged any transport to Matera yet! Footnote: It's hayfever season here in Croatia. It has hit me hard today, which might explain the slight lack of sleep last night, in what was a very comfortable and large bed. The weather continues to be bright and sunny with low to mid twenty degree temperatures and a slightly cooling coastal wind. Michelle is developing an unexpected tan...