Driving through Dubrovnik to pick up another passenger for our Albania day trip. I was picked up at 6:20 a.m. Two Canadian men, college professors, were picked up before me. Our driver/guide was named Dave (one of several names he said we could call him including "Hey You.")

Our new passenger, a woman from the U.K., was picked up at her hotel very near here. It was down a side road, one offering a view of an old building, perhaps a church, that you wouldn't see unless you went exploring all the side roads around Dubrovnik.

Passing by Dubrovnik's Old Town, lit up in the background.

Looking back at the beautiful Dubrovnik coast.

Traveling through a cedar forest.

At the Croatia/Montenegro border, not a far distance from Dubrovnik, I got into trouble with a Croatian customs agent as I was taking photos of the border, which I found out was a no-no. The agent demanded my camera so he could delete my photos. I said no, that he could come to my side of the van and watch me delete them, which he did. He got bored and left but I kept deleting them but I inadvertently (really) had left one on my camera.

Entering Montenegro after a slow-moving border crossing.

An old fort that we passed.

More of the fort.

Houses and apartments on a hill. On the coast of Montenegro, you will see many newer buildings and fewer old buildings, many of which were destroyed during a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in 1979.

The peaceful, bright blue Aegeam Sea.

All through Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania, oleander trees were in bloom along the roads.

Here, mussels were being farmed.

Alongside Kotor Bay.

We would take a car ferry from here to get to Budva, Montenegro.

The car ferry. The ride across was about 5 minutes.

Old buildings on the pier.

More of the buildings.

Crossing the bay. Montenegro means "Black Mountain." Its mountains do have a dark appearance.

Church on top of a hill on the other side of the bay.

Close-up of the Orthodox church. The major religion in Montenegro is Eastern Orthodox followed by Catholism and Islam.

Houses and apartments on a hill.

Closer-up.

Back on land and another Orthodox church.

Coming into Budva.

Many new buildings including numerous hotels have been built in Budva. Much of the building has been done by Russians and my tour guide called Budva a "Russian city." However, a local guide in Montenegro later told me that there was money coming from many countries and she wouldn't call it a "Russian city."

Budva has miles of sandy coastline and it is a major resort. Many Russians vacation here (no visas required) and there are three flights from Moscow daily during the summer. Montenegro is very dependent on this tourism, which may run into a snag about in 2022 if it is accepted into the Europen Union, which Russia is against.

An island off the coast in the background and lounge chairs on the sand in the foreground.

Sveti Stefan on an islet off the coast.

This is similar to the photo that you often see to entice you to come to Montenegro. Sveti Stefan is a five-star resort.

Looking back on Budva.

We took a rest stop here. Euros are used in Montenegro even though it is not a part of the EU. Awhile ago, Germany, on the deutsche mark, helped Montenegro financially. When Germany changed to the euro, Montenegro asked for permission also to use the euro.

Back on the road.

A church, most likely Catholic.

A view.

Getting closer to Albania. (The plastic hooks in the photo were on the van's window.)

A mosque.

And then the Montenegro/Albania border. Photo allowed as we weren't at the border yet. See next the Albania-1 slideshow.