September 10, 2022
This morning we bid adieu to Bosnia & Herzegovina and later today we’ll say hello to Montenegro. After a hardy breakfast, we load all our bits and bobs on the bus for the 4.5-5 hour drive to Kotor; a coastal town in Montenegro located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor.
Enroute we stopped, not far from the Montenegrin border, at Monastery Ostrog built by Saint Basil in the 17th century, to pick up some of the wine that we’d enjoyed at Mustafa’s home a couple nights ago night during our Bosnian cooking class.
The border crossings were again easy enough though this time we were greeted by two cows “guarding” the border as we entered Montenegro. Sitting in the front of the bus, Filip regaled us with historical trivia throughout the drive which I can say we didn’t exactly excel at!
Driving into town, Filip pointed out two islands in the Bay; one natural and the other man made. We should get a closer look at these on our speed boat tour of the harbour tomorrow; Our Lady of the Rocks and the Island of Saint George.
Our Lady of the Rocks is the manmade island in the inner portion of the Bay of Kotor. The history of this island stretches back to July 1452, when two fishermen allegedly discovered an image of the Virgin Mary on a pile of rocks that would later become the island as people dropped more and more rocks on the same place. A tiny Orthodox chapel was built in the place where the image was discovered. By 1630, the Venetians were running the region, and they replaced the Orthodox chapel with a Catholic one. They also built up the pile of rocks into a proper island.
Nearby is the Island of Saint George which is a natural island. The island features the Saint George Benedictine Monastery constructed in the 12th century, and the old graveyard for the old nobility.
We’re staying in Old Town so on arrival, we schlepped our luggage into town and then up the stairs in the hotel; no elevators in these old buildings, sigh. After check in and a quick moment to freshen up, we hit the bricks to meet or guide for the walking tour of Old Town, Toni.
Kotor is a fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Old Town is characterized by winding cobblestone streets and quaint squares with a vibrant café culture, well-preserved city walls you can walk, old fortresses, and churches galore, including the Kotor Cathedral. It’s also home to the Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history. The fortified city of Kotor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our first stop was the Sea Gate, named when the town was accessible only by boat. The symbol of Venice, a winged lion (Griffin) is displayed on the walls here. Above the gate November 21, 1944 is engraved; the day the city was liberated from the Nazis during WWII. There is also a communist star and a quote from President Tito of Yugoslavia.
Inside the tunnel leading from the gate into Old Town is a slit which was formerly a “complaint box” where all complaints went straight into the sewer. I guess things never change!
From the Sea Gate, we entered the old walled city onto the beautiful square lined with Venetian-style stone buildings now filled with cafés and shops. Also here, is the three-story high Kotor Clock Tower with two clock faces; a city focal and meeting point that dates back to 1602 featuring a mix of Baroque and Gothic architecture.
The town has many larger homes that once belonged to rich families. Most of them had a coat of arms and many had their own private churches; many of these churches are now museums or shops.
Kotor has always been home to a lot of sailors and there is a school here whose graduates are captains and officers on many ships including my favourite – cruise ships.
One of only two Roman Catholic churches in all of Montenegro, Saint Tryphon Cathedral is considered by many to be Kotor’s most beautiful building and a symbol of the city. The cathedral, with uneven towers, was originally built in 1166 and is one of the oldest in Europe. The church has been reconstructed over the centuries after damage from the earthquakes that plague the town and has gotten smaller.
The main market square used to be in front of Catholic church. As the haggling was too loud during services, a bishop chased the merchants away and they scattered around old town into smaller square dedicated to the marketing of specific products. City Hall is on the same square as the Church.
After a big earthquake in 1979, Old Town residents were given properties outside Old Town and the city took over their properties; now rented out to shopkeepers on the ground floor with higher floors used as lodgings for tourists. One requirement for shop owners renting from the City is that they must stay open year round even in the winter though there’s not much happening in winter and very few tourists as it is quite rainy.
Next stop was the 70 year old Maritime Heritage Museum, a beautiful 18th-century Baroque mansion, for a quick photo stop before heading to the nearby Karampana well.
The Karampana well used to be the only source of water in this medieval town and is a favourite gathering place.
St. Nikolas’ Church is Kotor’s most important Orthodox Church and is on St. Luke’s Square. It was built over the foundation of a building destroyed by a fire in the late 1800s. Construction on St. Nikolas’ began in 1902 and was finished in 1909.
The church has two bell towers on its main facade and a large cupola that rises above the surrounding rooftops. The style is a mix of Byzantine and Romanesque. The golden crosses seen atop the black domed bell towers were a 1998 addition – a gift from Russia.
Kotor is also home to one of the oldest (still functioning) pharmacies in Europe. The skull on wall with snakes come out of the eyes significies you can find medicines there!
In town there is a gate which features a lion with an open book that leads to the stairs along the city wall. After the tour was done, some of the most energetic members of the group hiked up the 1500 or so steps to the very top of the town for mesmerizing views. You know I was drinking wine in a café while they were sweating up the hill, right?
We headed out of town to check out the walls.
We came to an area “infested” with cats (as is most of the town!). Wherever you go in Kotor, you will see street cats and I’m pretty sure that each of them has a favourite restaurant. So it’s not a surprise that Montenegro’s self-proclaimed “cat capital” of Kotor has a museum dedicated to felines. The Cats Museum of Kotor opened in 2013. For cat lovers, apparently it is a must-see but as a dog person I gave this a miss.
Our next stop was a door decorated with the story of Osanna of Cottaro (25 November 1493 – 27 April 1565); a Catholic visionary. She was a teenage convert from Orthodoxy. When the city was attacked on August 9, 1539 by Khair ad-Din Barbarossa, the citizens of Cattaro ran to her for help.They credited their deliverance to her prayers and counsel. Later, her prayers were credited to saving them from the plague. She was posthumously venerated as a Saint in Kotor and beatified in 1934.
After enjoying a couple of glasses of rosé at the hotel bar, Linda and I joined the band for a group dinner at a local restaurant. After a bit more wine and a bite, we headed back to the hotel to crash for the night.
Tomorrow is another day. Adventures await…
September 11, 2022
After a nice breakfast, we out for a morning of kayaking in the Bay of Kotor with a quick swim break is the refreshing waters before heading back to the other side. Toni, our guide from yesterday was our leader.
He regaled us with a few stories, notably the legend of three sisters who fell in love with the same sailor and watched for him from their individual windows for his return. He never did and none of them married. As they died, the other sisters would close the window used by the deceased though there was no one left to close the window when the last of them died. The house, apparently haunted by one or all of the sisters remains vacant.
Back on dry land, we headed back to the hotel to shower and grab a quick bite; pizza for Linda, Jen and I at a café close to the well before meeting at the hotel for an afternoon ride in a speed boat.
When boarding the boat for our three hour tour, I was reminded of the theme song for Gilligan’s Island and as it turns out we may as well have been on the SS Minnow. The skies were threatening out on the Bay when we took off but the Captain assured us it was a squall that would be short lived. Man, was he wrong! As we were heading out, we passed a number of boats coming back to shore (I guess they were move savvy mariners who had the right idea!).
As we skipped across the Bay, the rain came down in torrents and we were soon all soaked to the skin even those of us lucky to be sitting beneath the canopy. At some point, the captain (too late) figured out that it wasn’t going to clear up and, in fact, was getting much worse (think lightning, high winds and precipitation that felt like sleet when it hit you at high speeds) so we turned around. Though never at risk of capsizing, visibility was almost nil and the rods holding the canopy started flapping so it was a scary enough ride back to terra firma.
When we got off the boat, we squished and dripped our way into town passing cruise ship passengers and other tourists who were trying hard to stay dry during the storm. I’m sure they wondered what in the hell had happened to us. Back in the hotel, warm showers for everyone. We didn’t get to see the Blue Cave or the two little islands in the Bay but we did have a funny (now that we were home safe) tale to tell those who hadn’t opted not to take the speed boat tour. Sadly, there was one casualty of the storm – an iPhone owned by one of the women from Canada.
Dry and warm, it was time for a couple glasses of wine at the hotel bar before heading out under clear blue skies to grab a bite at a seaside eatery close to where we’d launched the kayaks that morning.
Sated, we headed back to the hotel and crashed in a heap.
Tomorrow is another day. Adventures await …
Judy’s Rambles 