When one travels, some of the most memorable moments can result from unplanned events. 'Memorable' can mean a wonderful thing or it can mean having a steering cable break out on the ocean.

Today as we drove around Montenegro looking for a national park, we pulled over to look at a map when we were approached by a man who will be referred to as the 'roper' who told us he could help us. He led us to a restaurant in the Hotel Pelikan and told us the park where we were was actually Lake Skadar. After some indecision, we agreed to take the 2 hour boat ride following a visit to a little museum in the hotel conducted by Jelena, a lovely young lady who spoke very good English. After the museum tour, she led us down a dirt road to a boat which sounded like, was at least as old as, and smaller and in poorer shape than the African Queen. 9 passengers seated on hard benches, the captain, and 1 young crew took off on a venture that promised an English narration of many sites and beautiful birds.
During the trip, 2 passengers , a guy and his (disputably) good looking girl friend climbed onto the bow causing her frilly skirt to fly, showing us more than we paid for. This was one of the only two fine moments of the trip. The other fine moment was a brief respite from the heat when the captain stopped the boat allowing us to swim. Other than those moments, the young man who was to provide the narration was mostly involved in conversation with the lovely ladies therefore forgetting his primary job until well into the return trip. Unfortunately, he was difficult to understand so the promised tour was disappointing; and the best thing about it was that we chose the 2 hour, not the 3 or 4 hour tour.

All's well that ends well, however, as the tour was followed by a lovely lunch at the hotel. Jelena came to the table to ask if we had enjoyed the trip. Lil provided some constructive criticism which Jelena took very well. She departed, only to return with a generous bottle of raki, which more than soothed our ruffled feelings. It was a very memorable day at the Hotel Pelikan which, incidentally, had a picture of Clark Gable on the wall.