Accessibility

I’ve been on my sabbatical for almost seven weeks now, and traveled many of times before this trip. But the past few days have been some of the most difficult for me when it comes to accessibility. I’ve spent a few days really absorbing some of the events that have unfolded and am trying to understand why I’m struggling so much. Let’s be honest – this is not the first place I’ve traveled to where accessibility is a challenge.

We arrived into Montenegro mid-afternoon with our rental car. We needed to return it near the airport and parking by our AirBNB wasn’t really an option, so I dropped off my two sisters who took as many bags as they could and I returned the car at the airport. When I arrived, the wheelchair was still in the trunk of the SUV, so I parked the car and crawled to the backseat, where I was able to pull the wheelchair over the seat and push it out the side door. It was a long process to get back to the AirBNB. I had to find an ATM to pay the taxi, find the taxi driver, find the AirBNB, and then climb the two flights of stairs up to our room. We were staying in the Old Town of Kotor which is covered in cobblestone (and doesn’t do well with a wheelchair). It was, however, quite lovely in the evening with restaurants lining the streets, which we enjoyed both nights we were there.

Montenegro

On our full day in Kotor, Montenegro, we had another relaxing day by the beach absorbing the scenery of the mountains. I was grateful that we were taking it slow that day, as the city itself was nestled in the side of a mountain, it was virtually impossible for me to walk (or wheel) around. The following morning, we had a three-hour bus ride into Dubrovnik, Croatia.