Autocamp Naluka is situated in the little town of Morinj, famous for its milling and seafaring traditions, equidistant between Kotor and Herceg Novi in the Boka Kotorska Bay.  Sounds idyllic doesn’t it?  Believe me, it is!

Within seconds of arriving, Duchan the owner of the campsite welcomed us. Although the campsite is small having only 22 pitches, Duchan had reserved his prime pitch for us. We took one look to know it was perfect for us.

 

Kotor bay was on our right driving in and Naluka on our left along side an islet which leads into the bay..  At the rear of the grassed area which takes our caravan is a tall bamboo screen shading a grassed private terrace with mooring.  It wasn’t long before we had the terrace set out with an array of our bits and pieces which included our inflatable sofa, dining table and chairs, BBQ, sun lounger, perfect for watching Spring come to life, reading, eating and chilling.

Upon arrival, Steve had inflated Teddy and moored it alongside our pitch.  He’s been enjoying every trip out and I’ve been enjoying seeing his enjoyment and capturing his special moments.

All set up by Sunday evening, we walked over the road to the small Italian place we’d been told about that does pizza.  What an understatement!  The Tramontana Beach Bar is a large, stylish, chic restaurant overlooking the bay and has a superb more than reasonably priced menu.  It has amazing reviews on Tripadvisor.  Opposite is a post office and small grocery store that so far has met our basic needs.

The following day we decided to have a tour of the bay in Teddy finishing at the Tramontana Beach Bar for an afternoon tipple. 

I’d safety got out of Teddy with Stella and as we were tying up on the left hand side of the pontoon (facing the Tramontana), Steve still in the dingy, there were some loud fog horn sounds.  We looked up to see a big boat heading towards us with two men signalling us to move out of the way.  I quickly released the rope I was holding to guide the boat in, so Steve could re-start the engine and do a circle round to the other side of the pontoon.

Steve having secured Teddy, now on the other side, walked along the pontoon, saw the gap between it and the restaurant landing. I told him I had made the jump, Stella bottled out, jumped into the bay, paddled to the beach shore, did a circle climbing onto the restaurant terrace and almost soaked a few customers. Steve obviously has longer legs than I have, so he made the leap in a more stylish fashion than I did. Once the other boat was moored and tied up, by two men of a certain age wearing longish hair and sporting the signs of many a good meal and bottle of wine, their two ladies walked down their gang plank on to the pontoon.  I was wearing a bikini covered up with a longish striped T shirt set off with unflattering boat shoes.  Behind my sunglasses, I studied the wives who were wearing large brimmed floppy hats, designer sunglasses, designer clothes and very designer handbags, noticing they were not loyal to any particular designer – obviously they had no class!

Steve and I finished our drinks and made our way back to Teddy still tied up on the pontoon.  You know how you know someone is watching you? I had that feeling from the yacht fab four as I jumped from the restaurant landing back on to the pontoon. You cannot imagine my delight that I made it (with my bad knees) not having to finish with an action movie roll! They continued to watch us from their beach front table especially curious now as Stella refused to jump from the restaurant on to the pontoon, her back legs shaking with fear. Steve with his soft encouraging voice assuring her she would be fine did the trick. I thought I’m sober and I’m not going to fall in between the bobbing pontoon and equally bobbing Teddy.  I pulled my not long enough striped T shirt over my bikini bottoms, got on all fours, my T shirt rode up, goodness knows what I looked like from the rear, made the transition from pontoon to Teddy in one go and thought to myself “I showed them”.

Pushing off, I said to Steve “I fancy one of those” pointing to the fab four’s boat.  Without missing a beat he replied “Don’t be silly, how am I going to tow that behind the Poacher?”.   I love that man.

As we returned from the trip, our only neighbour at that time Wolfgang had kindly taken some photos of us which I think came out pretty well.  What a lovely thing to do.  By the way, I’m not posing as Teddy’s figurehead, I’m keeping an eye out for fish and obstructions.

One of the many things Duchan told us about is that a Bread Van visits each morning around 8am and toots his horn for campers to queue up.  Well, there’s only us and Wolfgang so far so not much of a queue for Steve – I patiently wait in bed for breakfast service.

At random times, people arrive selling things out of the boot of their car.  This person catches my eye, and I’m drawn to see what produce he has.  Steve joins me and we require Duchan’s interpretation to help us make a purchase out of the selection of cheese, olive oil and recycled olive oil bottles which seem to contain alcohol.  The haul begins to look better.  Duchan explains the bottles contain Mint liqueur and Cherry liquer.  Steve chooses a bottle of each, willingly contributing to the local economy, and tells me how good cherry is for gout.  It must be, he hasn’t (fingers crossed) had a bout for ages, despite several test sessions.

Steve is in heaven.  His walks with Stella take him around the bank of the campsite, always equipped with our Nikon around his neck he enjoys spotting new birds and animals to his collection.  Now and then he hears a new bird tweet and gets all excited to share with Vron accompanied by photos and descriptions on WhatsApp.  They research their books, discuss what it might be and enjoy the finds. When I hear a tweet, I know it’s a bird. End of.

On our terrace, relaxed in his chair on our mooring, he can listen to and enjoy all the sounds of Spring and watch nature bloom and procreate from bull frogs, to drakes chasing ducks.  He’s becoming really good at his photography but when I asked for a selection to post, he couldn’t because he hasn’t catalogued them yet.  Sadly nowhere near as organised as I am.

We’ve taken a drive clockwise around the bay for a look see. We passed:

1. Strp, which is quite small
2. Risen which has a few bars, supermarket and an ATM.  Unlike Croatia where ATM’s are at arms length, ATM’s seem to be rare here
3. A very pretty place called Perast* which has a long coast frontage of colourful bars and restaurants, accessed by an incredibly narrow road with parked cars and obstacles to negotiate.  We’re definitely going to return especially as Duchan says he has a friend with a boat who will do a return trip across the bay for 20€.  I feel a booze cruise coming on. We then saw Lady of the Rocks* on an island in the bay and the Castle of Kotor*.
4. We drove passed Kotor* and saw the Monastery and Church of St. Clare* high up built into the mountain.  Apparently there are 1,350 steps to the top.  I’ll take the guide book’s word for that. 
5. Then we stopped off at Tivat*, but even in the current climate trying to find anywhere to park was a nightmare.  Another place to visit again. 
6. / 7. At the Lepetani ferry we caught the next crossing to Kaminari @ 4.50€ which left us with a short drive back to Naluka at Morinj

Thursday morning had one of those precious moments.  Steve, calling my name for attention, had found a weeny tiny tortoise in our awning.  We both took pictures.

Wolfgang, came to say goodbye, as he was returning to Germany, for a few weeks before he took off again.  As we exchanged travel and safety wishes, Steve showed him his find.  Wolfgang’s eyes welled up with tears.  Apparently Monty the tortoise was his and Wolfgang had been sad as he thought he’d lost the little fellow.  Steve was delighted to be able to return Monty safely after his attempt at doing a runner.  To think, if there was no camp camaraderie and Wolfgang had not stopped to say goodbye, his pet would not have been returned.  Kismet follows us. 

• Photos to follow from future trips