We left for Kotor, Montenegro first thing in the
morning. More border crossings, of
course, and another currency change!
Although Montenegro is not in the EU, they use Euros. Tourism in Montenegro is mostly from Russia,
so they hadn’t recovered from the pandemic.
Russian tourists were staying away due to the effects of sanctions, and
many of the men being involved in the military.
Montenegro’s economy was already shaky when China offered to loan the
country $1 billion to build a 25-mile highway.
The Chinese reserved the right to take over any part of Montenegro they
wanted in case of default. The loan was
US-dollar denominate and had an unconscionably high interest rate. The highway was only partly competed and the
Chinese workers left behind “a highway from nowhere to nowhere” as our guide
put it. It remains to be seen whether
they will be able to keep up the loan payments.
Kotor, however, was beautiful. We started with a boat trip around the bay, which is actually classified as a fjord.
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| Cruise ship- a blight on the landscape |
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| The central square. |
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| The local market. I brought home some dried mushrooms. US Dept. of Agriculture regulations and my plan to use carry-on baggage only greatly restricted my purchases! |
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| Meat and cheese tasting arranged by our guide. |
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| Lunch! Our guide sure knows the good places to eat. |
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