I arrived in Montenegro four days ago. I’m ashamed to admit that two weeks ago, I knew very little (read: nothing) about the country. I was contacted by a DJ acquaintance of mine who did lights and sound for me last summer in Bodrum, Turkey at Kervansaray Hotel. He’d recommended me for a position performing at a casino here in Kotor, Montenegro, and convinced me that a trip out here to work would be worth my while.
I was skeptical at first, but I’m not one to turn down the chance of a trip to a beautiful country, and with a gig and housing there waiting for me, there wasn’t much risk, so I packed my dance costumes, my bikinis, and my sunglasses, and flew out Wednesday morning after a Baba Zula show the night before in Istanbul.
My first day was exhausting and unorganized, but when I was (finally) shown to my accommodations, things began looking up. I’m staying in a house within the stone walls of Old Town Kotor, (an ancient city that was first fortified in the early Middle Ages!) in a lovely bedsitter.
This is my first visit to such a town, and now I can better imagine the towns authors describe in books like Pillars of the Earth.
Over the past few days, I’ve been lazing around on the beach (a rocky bay, really) at the appropriately named Lazy Bar with my new-found Montenegrin friends, exploring the city, and trying to learn a bit of the language (Serbo-Croatian.) I’ve found it a bit tricky as locals are more likely to cut to the chase and speak to me in English than to humor my attempts at speaking their language, but I’m making some headway. I’ve become a PRO at saying “Hello? How are you? I’m fine thanks. Water, please. It’s very hot today.” Not terrible, considering I didn’t even know the name of the language two weeks ago.
My first show at the casino is tonight. Opa!
Below are pictures of “my” neighborhood here in Kotor.
So many docks and so many boats
Lazy Beach Bar
Just outside Old Town Kotor’s walls
In two weeks, I’ll be off to do another show with Baba Zula in Cyprus, but if things continue to go well in Montenegro, I might return for another four weeks or so before flying to England. (!!!)
