22 july 2005

...sitting on a stony beach in Kotor. Things are looking up considerably.

I caught the train from Belgrade to Bar. In the hallway young beach-goers were playing music and running between cabins with beer. In my cabin were three 21-year-old girls from Belgrade going on a beach holiday and a 26-year-old Montenegran guy returning from school. First they were friendly, sharing food, asking questions. We pulled our seats down and had a slumber party.

Eventaully, though, my novelty wore off, and I kept contradicting their stories about how all Americans eat only fast food and are evangelical Christians. By morning when we arrived they said quick empty goodbyes.

In Bar I met Guro and Marianne from Norway, also looking for the bus to Budva. I clung to them with fervor. We got the bus and found an eight Euro room with a balcony overlooking the mountains.

Budva has a walled old town all white and yellow and winding and lots of tourist ammenities. It has a long awful boardwalk with tacky souvenir shops and cheesy bars. We found a quieter beach for the day and in the evening drank wine on our balcony over the orange-roofed houses.

Yesterday morning we caught a van to Kotor, another small coastal town with fewer tourists. I could stay here drawing for a week.