The morning was a bit of a slow start due to the fact we had to pay to leave the camp but the owner was no where to be found which was slightly frustrating but after a 30 minute wait we are finally on our way.

This area of Montenegro grows a lot of figs so before we started on the mountain roads Al pulled into a layby to buy a bag, I asked if he had a conversation with the old man as they looked like they were. Al said sort of, the man was chatting at him but he had no idea what he was saying.

Rather than taking the direct route to Kotor, Al wanted to take the serpentine pass, essentially a route from the top of the mountains with numerous hairpin bends but some incredible views. Google suggested it should take just an extra 30 minutes.

It started off great, not sure I would have wanted to be the driver but you could not fault those views. We pulled over to get a few pics before setting off again.

Things started to get a little busy but nothing we couldn't handle until we got behind a truck also coming down and a steady stream of cars coming the other way. We figured eventually the upward traffic would ease off and we could take our turn but then a bus full of cruise passengers started coming up. Suddenly we had to reverse back in between 2 trucks and some people were trying their very best to negotiate with each other on how we were going to get out of what was this stalemate.

Traffic slowly started flowing for everyone except us as we were still stuck between the two trucks. Eventually we were moving and thought the 30 minute blockage was over. In reality it had only just begun, more and more buses were on their way up it would have been hard enough was it just cars they were faced with but the trucks just had no where to go. It was utter carnage, I had a wander about trying to see if there was a reasonable way out. As part of this I got talking to a lovely lady from Germany she was doing her very best to try get cars to wait so the buses and trucks had some maneuvering space but of course people were mostly out for themselves so as soon as a space appeared someone would make things worse by driving into it!

Really not sure how things managed to eventually untangle themselves but they did (only then to get blocked again but not quite as long the next time). Our new German friends asked where we were staying (they were also in a van) so I shared the details and they followed us to the waterfront parking which allows overnight stops. There wasn't much space when we arrived but we both were able to get a spot.

In the end the drive that should have been an extra 30 mins ended up taking an extra 3 hours. It was like the Hungary / Serbia border saga all over again and a Spanish lady I got chatting with in the hold up said we should expect the same getting into Croatia tomorrow 😭

Once in the car park we discovered the 2 ladies had a dog with them. The kids have been so loving and obsessed with any cat or dog they have seen so far on this trip so they went over to say hello and give it some cuddles.

Thinking we'd have time to explore the old town before our planned boat trip to the blue caves we now only just had time to get our things together and go straight to the boat. I had read you should say away from Kotor ( and Dubrovnik) in August and they weren't kidding, it's completely rammed but it's not like we had a choice.

We ended up with 15 mins to spare before the boat took off so of course the kids had spotted a park and just had to go.

At first it didn't look like they had enough boats for the number of people waiting and I don't think they did since they took another group off somewhere else but luckily we were then at the front of queue for the third boat and managed to get a spot under the shade.

Our first stop was to a man made island on which now stands a small church, we couldn't go in today as a wedding party was just arriving so they were getting everything ready for the ceremony. We did treat the kids to an ice lolly though for their early patience on the drive.

Back on the speed boat and the driver turned into a DJ and started playing club tunes, the kids were in their element dancing along.

Next was a quick stop inside an old submarine tunnel before heading to the blue cave.

Unfortunately due to the time of year and the huge number of boats it didn't quite have the same ambience I had expected and the blueness was a little underwhelming.

Also it was too dangerous to swim inside as there were too many boats so we had to come outside where he then let us all go for a swim. Once again the kids were eager to get in but Liliya wasn't at all happy, the calm water of the freshwater lake was very different to the salty sea so she didn't last long.

I recorded the route as a bike ride so I could see where we'd travelled to.

After a short while we headed back to shore and we were all now very much ready for food.

We couldn't be bothered to cook so decided to get take away pizza only to find when we got there they only had margarita sold by the slice for take away options so we sat and enjoyed a meal there.

I did think we should just go for 2 pizzas between the 4 of us especially as Liliya eats so little but Al wasn't willing to only have half so 3 pizzas were ordered and of course when they were delivered we could possibly all shared just one 😂🍕

Robert did a sterling effort though and got through 6 slices, I would like to think he won't wake up staving and asking how long until breakfast in the morning but that's unlikely.

Back at the van and most of the cars that were here for the day earlier had left and been replaced with motorhomes.

The first thing the kids did was look for their new doggy friend but their van was no longer parked. We did find a lovely note from them however since they had decided to move on earlier than planned and they left their number should we find ourselves in their part of Germany which was very kind.

The view at night is just incredible and as I drink a cider and capture my tale of the day I can't think of a more picturesque place to be.

Liliya is zonked out but Robert stays up to enjoy the atmosphere and throw rocks into the sea. This weekend happens to be some annual festival and we can hear the live bands playing from across the water.

I take a quick look at Google maps got our route tomorrow, it actually thinks going through Bosnia then Croatia would be quicker than going directly. I really hope we get lucky with the traffic 🍀