Dalmatian coast

Our seamless journey was in contrast to that of Blipper Blethers whose holiday sadly did not go to plan.

We were at the bus stop for the 5.50 bus round to T5, saving £14 by not using the Hoppa bus. The formalities were straightforward and our BA flight to Dubrovnik left on time. It was quite turbulent over the Alps but we landed in sunshine and our bags eventually appeared. We met our Exodus guide Fatima from Bosnia and some of the others in the group of 17. We waited on the bus for 4 people from a delayed Birmingham flight but only 2 appeared, the other pair having been picked up by a taxi and taken to the Montenegro border. They had to phone London who phoned our guide to get them another taxi to the border we crossed. Apparently our bus is Bosnian and can’t cross directly to Montenegro hence the detour via Bosnia. It was bright and sunny as we drove along the coast but apparently they’ve had 4 days solid rain after a dry summer with wild fires.

We drove to Montenegro via Bosnia Herzegovina, stopping for lunch en route and picking up the 2 missing persons. Portions are large so we need to order one thing and share. It’s heart attack on a plate - deep fried cheese in a batter etc. (Says someone from the country of deep fried Mars bars and Lorne sausage).

The group seem a jolly lot but it’s hard to hear because of the men with loud voices and a room with no soft furnishings.

Border crossings are tedious with queues as passports were checked in and out of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro.

It was a lovely drive over the hills to Bay of Kotor then even further round the lake to the old town of Kotor where we stopped for a meal. It was really poor and they charged €10 for a glass of wine. Apparently it’s because this is such a popular tourist destination. It’s certainly beautiful, a bit like the top end of Lake Garda with high mountains rising from the lake. We were told the locals are cross about the number of cruise ships setting down 2000 plus people from each ship and they don’t spend much in the town. Tomorrow there will be 5 ships in.

We are all tired, not arriving at Hotel Splendido till after 10pm. It is anything but splendido- room very cramped with no space for 2 bags, the mattress thin and too soft - and to sit on the loo we have to have our knees under the sink. We had more space in our steerage class cabin! And apparently it costs €212 a night!