Budva

The journey was as picturesque as the bus trip which made it all the more annoying that it was pitch black. We arrived in the coastal town of Budva a little before 05:00, switched to a local cab and then spent around 40 minutes for a hostel that was so well hidden that I expected Bin Laden himself to be sharing my bunk. It was too late for us to check in so Hans took the inflatable mattress and I took the couch, this improvised waiting area provided us with a few hours sleep and by the time the hostel owner was up and about we were able to check in properly and meet some of the other guests. The first couple to launch themselves upon me were an American couple made up of a regular looking sort of bloke and his very annoying wife Jane who's complete lack of chin made Gail Platt look like Jimmy Hill! The onslaught of stupid questions proved too much to bear and I used my overtired manner to full effect, returning to the couch and pretending to go back to sleep. Once the beds were ready I was chuffed to bits to see that they had wireless Internet and whilst Hans continued to snooze, I tried desperately to catch up on my blog, which I'm sure you'll agree I have been extremely bad at.

Later on, Hans and I wandered off toward the beach as it was an absolute scorcher and we couldn't think of anything better than a quick dip. We didn't get far before the tiredness gave us a slap in the face so we fought back with a double espresso at one of the cafes along the shoreline. After the caffeine fix, we thought we'd have a quick look at the old town on the way to the beach. Budva's Stari Grad is quite nice but after Dubrovnik it's difficult to be impressed by any of these marble labyrinths. On the plus side, I did manage to replace my swimshorts so it was worth going after all. Finally we got to the beach and although we were charged entry AND sunlounger rental, it all seemed worth it as we swam out into the crystal clear water. That night we had a barbecue in the garden and kicked back with a few cans of the local brew, bliss!