You can't polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter

In reference to my last post when I likened Budva to a Montenegrin version of Rio - I may have over stepped the mark with my initial judgement.... think a teenage Benidorm. The town may have a striking back drop and the beautiful blue water around it but on closer inspection it turned out to be a work in progress. We walked along the water front taking in the array of wildlife on the beach basking on top of each other on cracked sun beds under an assortment of umbrellas advertising cheap spirits and larger. Particular highlights on the promenade were the 10 metre tall replica of the Eiffel Tower complete with a rusting façade and Dino World, advertised all around the region on giant bill boards but in reality some plastic dinosaurs in a wire mesh enclosure in a tumble down park. In its defence the old walled town was charming - although having visited Dubrovnik and Kotor the wow factor had worn off somewhat. Here we visited our first Orthodox church which had very bright frescos showing the acts of Jesus after his resurrection (including what looked like his apparent moon walking’s – one of my favourites).

Further down the coast however Sveti Stefan (5 km away around the bay and connected by frequent buses heading to Bar) is one of the iconic images of the coast and acts as a beautiful backdrop to spend the day on the pebbled beach.The swimming area protected from water traffic around the island is immense and we were able to enjoy the warm waters and see fish some 20 metres below us making the clear waters of the Caribbean look cloudy. Although the Island used to be a fortified village against the Turks it is now an all-inclusive resort for the mega rich, but the peasants are still allowed to enjoy the small beach in the inlet. 

From Budva we made our way down the coast speeding up our progress as a few bad days weather were forecast. The further south we have travelled in the Balkans the more apparent the influence of Turkish culture has become on the region. Minarets are visible out of every town we passed and as the mountainous coast became flatter plains we crossed into Albania.