It was when watching Casino Royale in 2006 that Montenegro first come on my radar. I’m not entirely sure that any of the actual shooting of the film had taken place in Montenegro but nonetheless, I was still very much drawn to the idea of the lush, mountain scenery, and it went onto a subconscious list of places to visit. Since that time much has happened and lots of things were put on hold, shelved, or just remained on a bucket list.
There is nothing like a worldwide pandemic, bereavements of family and friends, plus retirement to name a few, as major wake-up calls to kick start that bucket list, and ignite 'you only live once' touchpaper!
During lockdown there was a lot of time for reflection, dreaming, and future planning. We had owned a boat 20 years previously, and since that time there had been relentless searches that seemed to indicate that my Paul – my husband – had in no way let go of the idea of boat ownership.
Though at no point did I ever expect to end up buying a boat, certainly not one we had only been able to see virtually; online or via Whatsapp FaceTime, which was based in Montenegro. The extension of lockdown, travel restrictions, and the cancellation of several trips meant that we ended up having to exchange contracts and complete the sale without ever actually seeing the boat for real. It was a risk. Needless to say, when we finally could travel to Montenegro, we gladly set eyes on our Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 439 Performance for the first time. The boat did exist, it was exactly where we were instructed
