How hot is it? Well, on the mountain across from the monestary there were several forest fires last night burning from (they say) the hot sun shining on glass shards and igniting the really dry timber. Probably it is just as likely to be from cigarette butts being thrown out car windows, but who’s to say?Anyways, Montenegro is temporarily famous as the newest country in the world. I am now in an outdoor Internet cafe in Budva (very expensive at 2 euros for 30 minutes), and I don’t have my camera with me right now, so no pictures till later.
We stayed at the Ostrog Monestary last night. It is a beautiful church built into the side of a cliff. This is where the body of St. Basil is and he is said to be responsible for many miracle cures. If you buy a postcard you also get a nice plastic water bottle with holy water from the monestary.
The view should be really nice, but all the smoke from the forest fires and the haze from the heat are putting a bit of a damper on our holiday. We are all very hot and the bus rides are a bit miserable as the air conditioning just cannot possible keep up with the incredible heat which continues day after day.
Just for the record, if you are from somewhere out of the U.S. and are reading this blog, the beaches in Western Michigan are MUCH nicer and less crowded than the beaches I have seen so far in Montenegro. In fact, I just walked all the way out to one of the beaches just to see the incredible crowd of people, walk on the “sand” which is really pointy small pebbles that hurt your feed, and decided not to go in the water after all. You can all save your money by booking a hotel in West Michigan instead. Plus, Montenegro is being rapidly purchased by Russians, and may not be owned by Montenegrans much longer.
I guess it’s fair to say that I may actually look forward to returning home at the end of this week. Of course, I hope not to take the heat wave with me.