April 5, 2023 – Kotor, Montenegro

Hey, do you guys remember Yugoslavia?  I remember watching the Olympics from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (1984 Winter Olympics).  Unfortunately, war devastated the country and eventually the country of Yugoslavia was split into many republics.  It’s changed again and again, but today the republics that make up what was Yugoslavia are: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia (including regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina) and Slovenia.  

So we missed Slovenia in the northern Adriatic and Croatia, but we are thankful to visit Montenegro.  First settled by ancient Romans, Kotor was founded in the early 5th century BC and later fortified by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 535 AD.  Due to the storm, a cold front has come through and it’s cold.  Get out the layers of clothes and bubble jacket.  

What a dramatic entry into the port of Kotor.  It’s 6 am and I’m looking out our window.  The sky is very overcast and gray, but the rugged beauty is still visible. The mountains are high.  The opening into the port is narrow.  Looks like a great place for a protected port.  We are seeing very old buildings that dot the coastline that are lite nicely before sunrise.  Old churches and grayish colored houses made of stone but some have colorful doors and shutters.  The water is just amazing.  Even with gray sky, this water is so blue and beautiful.  

We dropped anchor and were ready for our tour.  We boarded a water shuttle from the town that was open air.  Chilly!  The wind was ripping making the flags stand at full attention.  We joined our group for our tour.  We huddled together in a parking lot thinking we were boarding a bus first.  No.  We had our walking tour first.  That’s ok, it will warm us up.  The old city is a walled fortress.  The Venetian-built walls that surround Kotor measure 65 feet high and 49 feet wide.  It’s truly something out of a movie set.  Old Kotor was built like a maze for defense purposes.  It is incredibly easy to make one wrong turn and get lost in its labyrinth-like streets.  They say, even the locals do.  I found it a challenge for later in the day.  

We followed our guide and walked through a gate into the walled city.  Gorgeous!  She showed us all the places of interest and then into a museum to warm ourselves and learn about their history.  After a 1 hour walk, we departed the walled fortress and boarded the bus.  Turn on the heat!  We warmed ourselves on a short bus ride to a little town called Perast.  Perast flourished in the 1700’s, due to it’s busy shipyards and is arguably the best kept Baroque city in Montenegro.  We walked into Perast and boarded a boat for a short trip to a small island.  Our Lady Of The Rocks is home to a charming ‘Gospa od Skrpjela’ church.  We got off the boat and went into this tiny church.  Your eye is drawn to the alter at the front of the church and the ceiling.  There is a painting of Mary and baby Jesus with a red background.  Statues on each side and the ceiling above is green with small paintings of angels, outlined in gold braid.  After a tour of the church, we got on the boat and went back to Perast.  As we got off the boat, a young man assisting noticed Groot in Bob’s backpack.  He said Groot, smiled and pointed.  He was wearing a “Marvel” hat and then pulled up his pant leg to show us his Marvel sox.  He spoke no English, but knew when I pointed to Groot, I wanted a picture of them together.  Groot has been a good ambassador.  We’ve been to so many countries where I hear someone say ‘Groot’ with a smile.  Many have been police officers recognizing a fellow super hero 😉

Perast is a small town right on the edge of the water.  We walked down the street and stopped at a restaurant for lunch.  A few days ago, it was very warm so reservations were made at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the gorgeous blue water.  We all took a seat as the waiters brought us big bowls of beef and vegetables.  It warmed our inside.  Then I had some beef and Bob had fish.  It was very tasty, but we were anxious to go because we were cold.  Our table sat right on the edge of the water, no railing or anything from stopping you from falling in.  I’d be careful with a few too many drinks there.

We walked the street along the waterfront and then it was time to go.  Our bus took us back to Kotor where we walked through the old city to buy a few souvenirs.  So many fat cats in this town.  Lol.  They all live here and are fed by the town.  We walked through the maze of streets, but I found our way back.

We boarded the water shuttle and went back to the ship.  Time for a hot cappuccino or two!

All aboard and time for our sail away.  We watched as we left the harbor, around a corner, through a narrow strait with steep mountains surrounding us the whole way.  We saw dolphins swimming near us.  As we watched, we saw some interesting, cave like openings in the mountain, right at sea level.  Bob guessed it, a submarine tunnel that use to be disguised with rocks over the opening.  There were 3 of them.

Soon the gray clouds began to break and in the distance, sunshine was hitting a very tall mountain just as the sunset into the sea.

Thank you Montenegro! We had a great time. You have a beautiful country and we would love to explore here again someday.

**THANK YOU BOB FOR TAKING PHOTOS AND SHARING THEM FOR OUR BLOG**. LOVE YOU!