SV ICE BEAR

Bar, Montenegro was a midsize town there were a few navy ships on the customs side of the port but on the other side where we were parked we could see along the beach which was covered with
the palm leaf cabana things and lots of people swimming. After setting the boat up we went for a walk to check things out. We found a industrialish town that was definitely trying to encourage tourism and at very least along the beach they were succeeding. With out much trouble we found a outdoor type market it was a little late in the day for it to be busy but there were still enough vendors and customers to get the feeling. Pretty much everything was in the market fruit, veg, cheese, breads, meat, fish and all types of olive oils and what we think was local alcohols I couldn't really tell as is was in water bottles. When we got back to the boat there were waves coming into the harbour and we needed to adjust our fenders thank you to the observant dock attendant for looking out for ICE BEAR. Once we had everything sorted we noticed the waves crashing against the beach wow the lifeguards must have worked fast there wasn't even sunbathers left. As the night fell the town lit up kids were playing in a waterfront park on bikes and other peddle powered vehicles. Further down the beach there was a carnival with rides and games and you cant forget
the booths full of souvenirs this is when we realized the predominate language seemed to be Russian. hmm all in all we decided we liked Bar. late the next morning we left Bar for Budva it was a fairly uneventful trip along the way we recovered two little inflatable tubes and stopped to take pictures of a chapel on a really rocky island. As we neared Budva we started to see those parachutes that are pulled by speedboats then some of those boats that look like submarines then it got really nuts two chutes, 3 subs then add rental boats, seadoos, taxis, swimmers and boats both big and small looking for moorage for the night. We could see a mass of humanity on the beach and hear the boom boom boom from several locations. It had the this is a place to be seen kinda feel. We stern tied at the marina then went for a walk down the beach people, bars, umbrellas, this place that had people dancing while being sprayed by a gun shooting foam. Once again all in russian. I think we found the Russian fort Lauderdale.
One street back from the beach and you found all the food stalls pizza, burgers, gyros all the same stuff you would find at home they even had a carnival. However the other end of the town had a
walled city it was really nice and a lot quieter and a little cooler with the small streets and shade there was even a outdoor theater that was advertising an evening show. We wandered back towards the boat passing by the Marina office to collect out papers and pay for moorage omg ouch 149.75 eu a night up until that moment we thought ok this isn't to bad its kinda cute. ok not that cute. The walled town also has the dubious honour of being where the waiter at our restaurant launched a bowl of ketchup at us the best part we didn't order ketchup it was for the table next to us. Although we didget to make ketchup related jokes for the next few days. After the mass of humanity in Budva we went into the bay of Kotor. As we motored into the bay we noticed a big tunnel dug into the side of the surrounding cliff side at and below the water it was well camouflaged from the sky and not easily visible from the water. It took us a bit but we think it was a hiding spot for submarines. As we continued into the bay we saw two more tunnels into the cliff which made us wonder if they were all connected?. We motored to the island of Sveti Marco and anchored on its north east side. The water was amazing and although we did see some things that could have been restaurants and we were really close to an airport everything was nice and quiet. The next stop was Kotor we motored up the bay and then played frogger with six little ferries running back and forth between the two shores. When we arrived in Kotor we tried to get fuel but for some reason the fuel attendant waved us away from the pumps and said come back tomorrow afternoon. As we approached the dock we couldn't see anyone and no one was answering the radio. This dock had slime lines and usually there is someone on the dock to help with those so
we called over to a Danish boat leaving to ask what they had done. They pointed to a guy on the dock who was cleaning a yacht and sure enough we had our wharfenger. Parking went well and he charged us 60 eu for the night. This City looked like it was going to be worth two days :)