9th November 2017. Kotor, Montenegro
/We wake following a night of storms and some quite solid rocking to a near perfect morning as we sail and take in the stunning views of the 28 km waterway into this beautiful bay surrounded by stark mountains.
we have breakfast in the dining room and sit watching the scenery and the wonderful sites as we come through major carved valleys into a spectacular bay. We are berthed only a block from the Old Town and Castle, which we will visit later in the day on our return to the port prior to returning to the Riviera.
Our guide meets us only 100 yards from the ship gangway. Our tour party consists of Phil and Carole, Ellen and Jack Rosen and ourselves with our guides Gojko Samardzic (gojash30@gmail.com).
We depart the port and drive through a range of hairpin bends climbing out of the town and stop and tak3 photos at several vantage points, which highlight the magical views and stunning scenery.
He speaks fluent English, is a locale with several years experience and proves to be outstanding. We board his vehicle at9.20am and commence our trip to the small but significant township of Cetinje, where we alight and spend some 40 minutes taking in the township and its multi faceted history .
We had made a good decision to leave just after the ships tour buses. We do see them later but our smal” group is able to get in and out ahead of them.
The stop at Cetinje involves sampling their famous smoked prosciutto, cheeses and bread, which is similar to our damper plus a bottle of their Shiraz wines. All very enjoyable, then a mandatory toilet break ahead of us climbing further into and then over the mountains.
The subsequent stop is in the historic administrative centre of Njegusi, which prior to the wars had been the State Capital and has the requisite infrastructure for government, but post the wars it has no administrative base and is struggling eceonomically. But it is a pretty township, albeit very 1970’s type.
We walk here visit a Museum and some shops. Yes historically interesting but also you very quickly take in the devastation of the war and it’s impact on all facets of life.
The tour then takes us to Perast another small picturesque township where we also visit the small island where Our Lady of the Rock Church is a feature. It is a tiny fishing village with a very small church and this rock. Key ingredients of both history and tourism.
From here we drive back to Kotor where we have about90 minutes guided tour through the Old Town , kale in St. Tryphon Cathedral ( Catholic) as well as several beautiful other churches. This was a fortified town and there are many walls surrounding the town centre areas. Catholics make up only a relatively small percentage of the population and this is one of only 2 Catholic Churches in the entire country.
The walls and fortifications guarding Kotor , date back to the 10th century, are some of th3 reasons why this is a UNESCO World heritage site. From Kampala Tower you sense the power and importance of these stone fortifications in protecting Kotor over hundreds of years. We also take in Trg od Oruzja Square, which is the old covered market. Our guide also showed us the clock tower from 1602 as well as the stone pyramids which mark the spot where pilloried once stood to maintain law and order.
We visit the Maritime Museum of Kotor, reflecting the dominance of Kotor on the seas particularly in the 18th century, when it had over 400 ships.
We also visit the tiny island of Budva which was linked to the main land by a sandbar and in time turned into a Peninsula. It is surrounded by Ramparts originating from 15th Century. Today it is a centre of tourism and is a delightful centre for theatre, festivals and celebrations. It is 25km from our pier.
We return to the ship at 4.30pm having enjoyed a brilliant day of scenic sightseeing with an excellent group and impressive knowledgeable tour guide. Our arrangements all work well. We are on board well ahead of the afternoon buses.
Time for a shower and cool drink. Our butler has left refreshments on our side table.
The ship leaves at 6.00pm and it is picturesque to see th3 Castle floodlit, the Bay in dark shadows as night fall approaches .
Dinner tonight in one of the specialty restaurants. Just superb.
The show is the Musical Comedy Actress , Sally Jones, who presents an excellent 55 minute show of singing dancing playing and a little comedy. A terrific evening. Back to our suite at 11.30pm.
An excellent day.