Trip to Pick up Ryan - Kotor, Montenegro
We woke up early on Friday, got ready and headed to the hotel’s breakfast. Then we got on the road for Kotor — a two hour drive! On the way we passed Sveti Stefan Island - a small islet and now 5-star hotel resort. I had discovered it in my research before arriving and wanted desperately to stay here but it is outrageously priced and the only way on the island is to spend the night. Still it was fun to see it from afar and continue on. The whole coastal drive was just amazing.
I wish I could remember the temperature of this day but it was HOT. HOT and so humid. Without notice, as we walked into the Old City, Chris pulled up his shirt ahead of me and I started laughing so hard. We had seen and commented on SO many Albanian men doing this in our two days in country. It was pretty funny.
Within the Old City Walls - Kotor, Montenegro
The Old Town in Kotor was awesome. Fantastic cobbled alleyways and stairs. Chris read that the town’s streets were specifically planned to be confusing so as to throw off intruders wanting to take over the city. We joked about it all day as we thought we knew where we were headed and then ended up somewhere completely different. It was fun to wander but Chris was also on a mission to visit all 10 churches within the Old Town walls. I’m pretty sure we ate gelato as we searched.
The Castle Climb
Even though it was so hot and humid we decided to head up the side of the mountain to the church and then to the castle ruins. Wow. So glad we did. Every 10 or 20 steps I had to turn around and take another picture. It was just incredible.
Just so pretty!
It’s a good thing that there was a chair at the very top of the castle ruins because we were hot, sweaty and T I R E D but that’s what you get for climbing in high heat mid summer. But really the chair was kind of amusing. We just had to sit in it.
The view was beyond spectacular. No words.
We took a few pictures coming down. I kept taking the same shot over and over again because the view was so incredible. It was so hot and humid that by the time we were finished we were soaked with sweat.
We grabbed a drink from the town fountain, wandered a few more streets and then headed back to the car to drive to another little city on the bay.
Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks
We followed the water from Kotor to Perast, another cute town right on the Bay of Kotor. We pulled off into an already full parking area (I use the term loosely because no parking is very official) and a local comes up to the car to let us know that the lot is full except he has a spot for anyone wanting to go on a boat ride to the Lady of the Rocks.
We look at each other and agree that even though we are now paying 2 Euro for a free parking spot and committing to 5 Euro each for a boat ride, we ended up with a good deal. He moves a car which was blocking the one wanted spot and we pull in. Chris silently applauds them for their money making scheme. The truth is, if they weren’t there with the ‘saved’ spot… we wouldn’t have been able to stop at the city. We quickly headed down to our private boat and sailed across the bay to Our Lady of the Rocks.
Our Lady of the Rocks is one of the two islets off the coast of Perast in Montenegro. It is an artificial island created by bulwark of rocks and by sinking old and seized ships loaded with rocks. The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rocks is the largest building on the islet with a museum attached.
According to legend, the islet was made over the centuries by local seamen who kept an ancient oath after finding the icon of Madonna and Child on the rock in the sea on July 22, 1452. Upon returning from each successful voyage, they laid a rock in the Bay. Over time, the islet gradually emerged from the sea. The custom of throwing rocks into the sea is alive even nowadays. Every year on the sunset of July 22, an event called fašinada takes place, when local residents take their boats and throw rocks into the sea, widening the surface of the island. - Wikipedia.
What a cool view of Perast from the island. We walked around the church and hung out on the balcony taking in the view of Perast and the other islet: the Island of Saint George.
Such beautiful views on our boat ride back into town. We got some lunch (pizza and Caesar Salad) and then headed to the very small section of beachfront to get in the water, which was so refreshing on such a hot day. We enjoyed a swim and then headed on our way, stopping briefly in Budva for some dinner under a cabana just as it started to rain. 2 hours later we were back at our hotel playing a game or two of Istanbul surprised at everything we were able to fit into this day.
