Jim and Kim's Travels: A Day of Discovery in Kotor, Montenegro

Today we would be in Kotor, Montenegro. This would be a new country for Jim's list. He still thinks he will hit 100 countries, but I think he's about 10 short!

Montenegro was part of Yugoslavia, and then known as Serbia and Montenegro until they each declared independence in 2006.

It was a beautiful sunrise as we sailed past tiny Mamula Island, which was built in 1853 as a military fort. It became better known as an isolated concentration camp in WWII. No one has lived on the island since.

A photo pilfered from the internet...no where to go on this island.

I thought we were docking pretty early when I saw the lights of Kotor ahead. Nope, just a town we were passing by...

The TV was showing our arrival, but we hadn't stopped sailing yet.

What the heck was that hole in the mountain?

After I read a sign later on in the day, I found out that these were submarine tunnels. You can see a video of a boat entering one here. Most of the tunnels were built during the German occupation in World War II. The former Yugoslavian army was based there for almost 50 years during the period of communism, and used these tunnels to hide.

Sailing past yet another town...

Around a corner with a fortress...I was feeling very closed in with mountains all around.

It was a very interesting sail in, with lots of towers and fortresses hidden in the trees. This was clearly an area accustomed to defending itself.

A tiny fishing boat with lots of gulls looking for breakfast...

All these neat rows which turned out to be mussel traps...

And we were still sailing past little towns...

Looking back...we were completely surrounded by mountains. There was only one way in, which would have made it difficult for the enemy to sneak up on Kotor.

Yet another town...you could always spot the spire of a church.

Beautiful, but isolated...travelling by road in this area can be long and tedious. It can take three hours to go 60 km!

Wow! Look at that tower up on the hill. The manpower it must have taken to build all these...

Yup, still sailing...

And finally we arrived...look where Kotor is situated. I'm not surprised we haven't been here before!

With no place for large ships to dock, we took the tender (or water shuttles as they are now calling them) into town to meet our guide for the day. Barb was trying to see the scenery out the window. Another church in the background...

This little town of 23,000 people would be overrun with tourists. Another cruise ship was coming in behind us.

Everyone had the same idea...pose under the welcome sign!

Fortresses everywhere...

Love the zig-zaggy road...

We met our guide, Ana, and were soon off to the town of Perast. Beautiful mountains...I wasn't feeling quite so closed in anymore.

Now we knew that these are mussel traps...

We arrived in the town of Perast a few kilometres from Kotor. Our destination was Our Lady of the Rocks island.

Stunning landscapes...

Our driver dropped us off and we walked towards the ferry that would bring us to the island. The fishing village of Perast has a population of less than 200 people.

Our lovely guide, Ana...

You never know where you will find a little church...

Perast spent much of its history in the shadow of heavily fortified Kotor, but thrived in the 17th century building palaces and churches, some of which are now roofless and abandoned.

It was lovely and peaceful, even with many tourists milling about.

On the ferry to Our Lady of the Rocks, we first passed by the island of St. George, which is largely occupied by an abbey. I believe Ana said there are about 12 monks living there.

And here is the man-made Our Lady of the Rocks. An icon of the Virgin Mary was discovered on a rock, and one of the people who discovered it was miraculously cured of his disease the next day. He vowed to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the rock. From 1452 the people of Perast began to scuttle ships and deposit stones until there was a platform large enough for a church. To this day on July 22, locals go to sea and deposit rocks widening the island.

Loved this bench...

Inside the 17th century church are beautiful paintings like these on the ceiling.

It is also known for this collection of silver tablets...

Love the feeling of the sky on the ceiling...

This is the icon of the Virgin Mary and Child that was discovered on a rock...

One of the silver tablets...

A lovely view out the window...

Ana asked if we noticed anything wrong with the painting on the bottom. Yup...the man appeared to have three hands. She said often they would take old paintings and paint over the top of them, sometimes just adding a different head.

Many artifacts have been left in thanks for dangers avoided and sicknesses survived, including kitchenware, clocks, keys, a sewing machine, an ancient gramophone...

And this is the prized possession, a tapestry by a local woman created while waiting for her darling to come home from a long journey. It took her 25 years to finish it, and eventually, she went blind. She used golden and silver fibers, but what makes this tapestry so famous is the fact that she also embroidered her own hair in it. Crikey, no wonder she went blind.

I'm not sure what the story was on this faceless piece, but I'm sure there was one!

The glass in the windows reminded me of the bottom of bottles...

The island of St. George in the background...Ana said there wasn't enough light to take our photo, so I was surprised to see this on my phone after.

Many people (OK, mostly younger girls) were having their picture taken in this opening. It was a pretty background.

Ana directed us around the side of this building to a lesser-known washroom. She was right. No line up and we only had to navigate the pigeons.

You could tell how much pride Ana has in her country with the stories she told. It was time to move on to our next site.

Goodbye Our Lady of the Rocks!

Ana had arranged for a golf cart to take us back to our vehicle rather than walking the length of the town. While we were waiting, Jim spotted a cat.

He quickly jumped up on the wall when I called him...

But was less than impressed with receiving only petting.

Ana said that cats are loved in the area for their role in keeping the villages free of rats.

Loved these old homes...

And here is where I discovered what the holes in the mountains are...submarine tunnels.

This was a dilemma...someone had parked their car and left it, causing a traffic jam. The road barely had room for two vehicles to pass as it was. Quite a bit of maneuvering was going on.

Barb, Ed and Ana were in the cart behind us waiting for the traffic to sort itself out. I cannot imagine what this place is like in the height of tourist season.

Back with our driver, Ana took us to a restaurant with stunning views of the old town of Budva. She said the restaurant doesn't like people just coming in to admire the view (can't say I blame them), but she had no problem bringing us through and telling the staff that we wanted to look at the menu. Thank you, Ana!

Look at that crystal clear water...the red roofs are from the Venetian period.

And around the back of the restaurant were views of the beach...

The lovely Ana...she was a great guide.

Next stop, through the gates into the old town of Budva...

Budva was ruled by the Venetians from 1420 to 1800, but has history dating back to the 6th century. It suffered serious damage from an earthquake in 1979, but was completely reconstructed as originally built.

I believe these are apartments or Airbnb's that you can rent, but they didn't look too welcoming with all the shutters closed.

Poets and writers gather here for performances, aptly named The Square of Poets.

Awww...cats!

The church of St. John, originally built in the 7th century, has been destroyed by earthquakes and reconstructed several times. The bell tower was erected in 1867.

The city walls were rebuilt by the Venetians after a powerful earthquake in the 17th century.

These are part of the square of churches built between the 9th and 12th century.

Holy Trinity Church...

By now, Ana was realizing that we weren't going to complete the itinerary she had set out for us, and we were about ready for some refreshment. Declaring the restaurants within the walls as "touristy," she brought us to a local restaurant.

We were in need of refreshment!

This lemonade was sooo good!

After lunch, it was time to head up for a panoramic view. Look at these switchbacks!

Kotor will remain one of my favourite places for the scenery, for our guide, and for the relaxing day that we had.

Happy people!

We decided we would head back to the ship and join the line-up for the tenders. It was insane. Too bad this wasn't our ship. The line snaked past it...