Our Travels

SAT. OCT. 27, 2012 - KOTOR, MONTENEGRO

This was our second and last (for this cruise) port where we needed the use of a tender to get ashore. We arrived about 8 a.m. and our group for the private tour was soon aboard the tender headed for land. Once there we met our guide and started the tour. Picture shows the ship anchored in the harbor, followed by a shot of the shoreline taken from the tender.

The old Mediterranean port of Kotor is surrounded by an impressive city wall built by the Republic of Venice. The ancient walls which stretch for 3 miles directly above the city are shown below.

First mentioned in 168 BC the city was settled during Ancient Roman times. The Bay of Kotor is one of the most indented parts of the Adriatic Sea. With the nearly overhanging limestone cliffs Kotor and its surrounding area form an impressive and picturesque Mediterranean landscape.

Once in the vehicle we immediately began the climb up into the mountains for the lovely view.

Proceeding around the mountain we then descended again to a seaside village where the tides were battering the coastline.

We returned to the old city. Here Sylvia pauses before walking through the opening in the wall.

And continues through the opening along the cobblestone walkway.

A tobacco shop and a sign directing us to an Irish Pub (there should be one of those everywhere!) are part of the establishments inside of the wall.

Then we proceeded to one of the churches with its round baptistry.

In the courtyard outside the church is an ancient public well, reported to still be in use today.

Here is the bell tower of another church inside of the wall.

And, a beautiful lemon tree.

At this spot the wall of the city raises above the top of this picture

and curves around the edge of the shore.

A sign identifies the area as "Citadela" - fortifications of Kotor.

And entering, one realizes the exposure to the sea.

Below is one of the remaining towers.

We depart from the city and drive along the coast stopping at a park area adjacent to the entrance of Sveti Stefan, once an island village now an expensive luxury hotel complex.

Two guards and a gate prevent our entering the resort.

We walk through the park that borders the coastline that connects to the resort and encounter a wedding party. A man that we assume to be the father of the bride is carrying a large bottle of vodka. He is very excited and even though we don't understand him or he us, we do realize that he is inviting us to take a drink with him in celebration. We pass the bottle around; most of the men in our group take a drink. The vodka was very strong.

We congratulated the bride and groom as best we could and continue on our hike.

Approximately 3/4 mile around the coastline we came upon a lovely place that our guide explained was the seaside palace of the royal family of Montenegro. According to my research the last ruling member of the royal family to be acknowledged ended his reign in 1986. Since that time a "Pretender to the Throne" of Montenegro has lived in France. Our guide told us that the palace is now owned by the state and is rented out for weddings and other occasions.