That summer there were quite a mix of guests in Niksa's home, whose father runs an art gallery. Every once in a while (usually the coolest months in nearby Serbia) painters from Belgrade come down here to get inspiration from the colorful houses that dot the lower end of mountains around the Gulf. When they don't feel like painting (or writing, like a journalist from Politika) they just walk a few steps out of the house and lay down to enjoy the sun and the warm waters of summer.
With four storeys, Niksa's home fairly accommodates every visitor. He estimates the house is over four centuries old, and he is proud of it. As for myself, I couldn't resist swimming from one end of the fjord to the other. 'Why did you do it?', a painter asked me after I did the near 12-14 kilometers in about two hours (The way back took longer because of bad orientation). 'I just did it' -I told the painter.
After the exhausting swim, Niksa and Vukman asked whether I really wanted to climb the stairs to the top of Stari Grad, Kotor's Old Town. I told them that I hadn't any problem doing it, but since they were tired themselves, they left me alone. 'Just go straight this road. We'll meet you later in the gallery', Niksa said.
Kotor shouldn't be exhausting, but actually charming and picturesque. The old town walls a number of shops, churches and cafés, getting lively by night. At midnight we entered an old prison now turned into a hotel. The owner invited us inside, and we saw an assortment of very old things, artifacts and parafernalia of all kinds. Another girl living upstars was a photographer, doing rather weird artistic photos. As we walked from cell to cell, I inquired: 'Are there any ghosts here?'
'No ghosts, only God lives here', she said.
During the first day in Kotor, we drove along the Bay, eventually reaching the small town of Perast.
Perast is a charming town with Venetian architecture and cobblestone streets. The place has a very deep feeling sorrounding it. As I descended the stairs off the asphalt road, I spotted the two small islets which give fame to the place: one of the islets is an Orthodox Church; the second, a Catholic.
Some have described Perast state as 'in charming decay'. What I saw was a small, peaceful town undisturbed by modern life or politics around. People navigated around in barges, setting out to fish. One doesn't know whether glory ever existed here or is it the next thing to show up.
The Montenegro coast is full of contrasts, for if Perast is quiet and spiritual, Budva is cosmopolitan and fancy. Everywhere around in Budva, people in dark glasses promenade around the beaches and the cosy boutiques of Stari Grad. Mercedes, Alfa Romeos, BMWs and Audis speed up in highways. Yugoslavia's most prominent businessmen, politicians (and gangsters, who knows?) fill its hotels and resorts. By day, its Old Centre is reminiscent of nearby Dubrovnik; by night, its discos keep busy until 3 or 4 in the morning. Sveti Stefan, the jewel of the crown, attest to this rapid rise in popularity of Montenegro's coast: once an old fishermen's village, it has been turned into an expensive hotel. Before war broke out in neighbouring Croatia, Hollywood stars made the islet their favorite in the Adriatic.
Venture even far to the South, and you'll reach Ulcinj, the last stop before Albania. Although the beaches are better than in Budva, some people confessed avoiding them 'because they're full of Albanians'. Ulcinj feels like entering a very different country. The busy town centre is dominated by minarets, and one could listen the muezzin's call to prayer.
While driving along Montenegro coast, the visitor crosses resort after resort: Milocer, Petrovac, Budva.. In general, it is fair to say that Montenegro's fate depends very much on that of its neighbours'. Even before war broke out in 1991, most tourists arrived in Montenegro via Croatia. When the Yugoslav army started pointing its guns against Dubrovnik's Old Town (a Unesco site) that sealed the fate of tourism not just in Croatian resorts, but in all of Montenegro as well. As the numbers of tourism start to pick up (as they are doing in Croatia already) Montenegro must be able to lure visitors with a distinctive product, for the country is not only plentiful in sun and sand, but there's also the majestic scenery of its mountains.
