When I was young I was intrigued by the fact that Yugoslavia was made up of what were once different countries. The break-up of Yugoslavia caused a war here that has settled down but tensions (and scars) still exist. It has been a great visit so far, wanting to see more and Montenegro being so close how could we not go for a quick visit?
Unfortunately this left us with two long drive days in a row, poor planning on my part, but our driver was good and it flew by. He took us in via the ‘little border crossing’ instead of the main crossing because it would be busy on a Sunday. He explained that this was also the road to Albania and Albanians, who are now working all over Europe, are also notorious smugglers and their cars are searched throughly at the border into Montenegro thus slowing things down. So down a small, two way road we went that only locals know and although he was worried about this border crossing as well there was no line. After leaving Croatia he mentioned a no-mans land and I thought he was mis-translating something until I realized we were in a no-mans land between the two countries that ran for a half mile. Fences make friends and so do wide border crossings as well.
The Bay of Kotor has very steep mountains that end up right in the water giving Montenegro what looks like fiords but are in reality steep and deep river valleys. Very scenic, reminded us in some ways also of St . Wolfgang in Austria that also has such dramatic mountain and water locations.
Our first stop along the Bay of Kotor was in the town of Perast and a visit to Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks) and a picturesque chapel out in the bay. Originally just a rock sticking up in the water an icon of the Virgin Mary found on it and considered good luck. So the fisherman started dropping rocks in the deep water to build up the island to build it up. The were joined later by sailors and captains who survived long trips or bad experiences at sea. Pirate ships were also sunk then covered with rocks thus building up to the islet we see today. The finding of the Virgin Mary icon is celebrated on July 22nd, the day after our visit by men (only men we were told, much to Syd’s disgust) ceremonially adding more rocks to the island.
After Perast we headed for the Town of Kotor, a Unesco World Heritage site and one of the best preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic. A very compact place it has very large walls by the harbor and into the mountains for protection. By the location deep in the bay I would have thought it would have been a pain to get to by sea or land but it was an important commercial and artistic center making it ‘interesting’ to many empires including the Venetians. Unfortunately the mountains around Kotor that make it so scenic are raised by earthquakes so the town has been devastated several times, most recently in 1979. There are enough structures that have managed to survive these temblors to give us a good visit.
They do sell postcards in Kotor that have a list of they rules for being a lazy Montenegrin man so at least they have a sense of humor about it.
After driving back to Dubrovnik, a nap for some and a swim for others. We crossed over to Old City area of Dubrovnik for dinner and a general walk around. Another place with a great night scene, it was booming on a Sunday night
The road to the Montenegro border.
The Montenegro side of the no-mans land.
Out on the Bay of Kotor.
Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks)
Bay of Kotor
Inside Kotor
Syd on the Vaporatto to Dubrovnik.
Entering Dubrovnik Old City via the harbor.
Rock divers jumping off the rocks in Dubrovnik’s old city.
Dubrovnik Old City
The crowds in Dubrovnik Old City.
Sydney and the Old City
