Day 45: Kotor, Montenegro - A Little Beach and then Karnivale

Beach near Sveti Stefan.

Last beach day of the trip (I think). Near Kotor is a little village called Sveti Stefan. Right off the shore is a natural island that some developer turned into a super luxury resort complex, reserved for royalty and extreme celebrities. He also created a little man made bridge leading from the shore to the island. The hotel has since closed, but the property is still lovely and there. Walking into it costs 6 Euros. Chilling on the beaches next to it costs 15 Euros. Hiding underneath a tree on the beach without renting an umbrella or chairs is free. Guess which one I did.

The resort at Sveti Stefan.

Long distance view.

The beach was very nice. It's not sandy so much as it is pebbly. However, the water was probably the clearest I've ever seen, including the Marshall Islands. After swimming out about 30 meters, I could see straight to the bottom as if I were looking through glass. My legs were kicking clear as day right underneath me. It was a great swimming experience. I don't know how these guys managed to develop without crapping up their water, but they did it. Take note, other countries.

Other side of the beach, with incredibly clear water.

At night, it was Karnivale time. Our heroes included me, two Irish girls, two American girls, a Dutch guy named Ruud (all Dutch should be named Ruud, like all Austrians should be named Bruno), Canadian Paul, and British Nick. The old city of Kotor was completely packed with well dressed people in a variety of different costumes, from traditional masks to a Smurfs conga line (they even assigned identities, i.e. Papa Smurf, Smurfette, etc.). 

This is Karnivale.

This is also Karnivale.

Every public square in the old city was occupied by a different musical group/DJ (except the ones with churches, ha!). Nick spent a great deal of time asking the Irish girls to say the "th" diphthong and laughing at their attempts. "Haha! You can't say 'thirty-three!' You say 'tirty-tree!' Wankers!" We also spent time commenting on the unusual physical makeup of Montenegrans, particularly the women.

As one Irish girl put it, "I've seen the longest legs here!"

The other Irish girl said, "Wow, have you seen a gargantuan 6'3" female model walking around?" Ruud responded, "Yes, but only when I open my eyes."

I'll just end with a Blair Witch Project style video. You might have to turn up the brightness of you monitor a little bit.