Budvanski Riviera #1of2

As we drove down the mountainside and neared the coast, Petrovac looked interesting, but was nothing special when we finally got to the town. Now that requires an explanation. It was nothing special when compared to Budva, Stari Bar, Dubrovnik, and thousands of other European towns and cities, but it was so very special when compared to New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and any other town we have visited in 49 of the 50, and across Canada. It’s always, compared with what!

The Budvanski Riviera extends from the Albania border to Budva, and it includes about forty villages and hamlets and twenty beaches that twist and wind along the sea coast. The old town of Budva lies on a little island that was linked to the land by a sandbar, that in time turned into a peninsula. The lady at the Rent-A-Car office was born and raised in the old town of Budva, but had been visiting in California when the great earthquake of 1979 hit Budva. Most of the old town was destroyed, and 10 years later they finished reconstruction. This lady and her neighbors, could finally return to their homes.

The town wall, the church spire, stores, houses, and stone streets, are just magnificent. It’s as if Budva is a brand new 1,000 year old town. We parked on the fishing dock for lunch, and walked and walked and enjoyed. The next time you visit the Public Library in Budva, Yugoslavia, be sure and ask if they have a book on travel in France. We’re sure they do, our book!

The old houses on the island of Sveti Stefan, a hundred yards or so off shore, have been converted into hotel rooms with furnishings as cozy as a rich country cottage. When we visited, it was not the “in-season,” so it wasn’t busy, but they charged $5 each, just to visit the island. In 1989 the cost was at least $100 a night (or maybe it was $100 “per person, per night”) to stay in the hotel. A plaque at the little church says Sveti Stefan has all been renovated since the 1979 earthquake.

We spent some time talking to a couple of young men about their country and way of life. Even though inflation is bad, wages also go up constantly, and if the paycheck is carefully and quickly spent, they don’t make out too badly. They said they pretend to work, and the Government pretends to pay them. When possible, they exchange their paycheck for US dollars, re-exchanging to Dinar only when needed.