Mooching around Montenegro 17/10/2017

When you mention Montenegro to most people, they either aren't very clear where you are talking about or, if they are cruisers, they think Kotor. The Bay of Kotor or Boka as the locals call it is usually referred to as a fjord and this is just what it looks like with very steep sided valleys plunging down beneath the waters giving access to ocean going cruise ships. Some geographers however argue that the bay is a submerged canyon. The surrounding terrain is limestone which I suppose supports the canyon theory. Whatever the origin of this phenomenon it is achingly beautiful and undoubtedly Montenegro's top tourist trump.

Scattered with photogenic medieval towns admiring their reflections in cobalt blue inlets, the Boka is stitched together with scenic serpentine coastal roads and mountain passes. We drove north from Budva passing the Tivat airport whose runway almost masquerades as the main road. At Tivat the old naval base has had a multimillion dollar makeover into a first class marina for the uber-rich. In fact you could be mistaken for thinking you were in Monaco.

We drive on to the short car ferry across the Verige strait from Kamenari to Lepetane which is rather reminiscent of the one on Lake Windermere.

This allows us to drive clockwise round the inner bay stopping first at Perast, after which, you might notice, our ferry is named.

Looking down towards Perast which is port side of the distant narrows. Further round and now starboard of that same narrows is the principal town of Kotor.

Normally we encounter this sign when someone has been mopping the floor, this however is a little more serious.

Part of what the fuss is about in Perast. This is the island of Our Lady of the Rock. It is in fact an artificial island. On the 22nd July 1452 an image of Madonna was found around a single rock. The locals rowed out to add to it, as they have done every year since on the anniversary of the first sighting. The church was erected in 1630 and contains sumptuous Venetian paintings and hundreds of silver votive tablets. In other words the usual medieval church catchpenny. Meanwhile today thousands of tourists pay €5 for a boat trip to the island. The town itself, on its single road, boasts 16 churches and 17 formerly grand Venetian palazzos and is a shadow of its former self.

Now what could possibly bring these sea-going juggernauts to the very end of this beautiful fjord /ria? The answer is, of course, the ancient town of Kotor. It is wedged between the water and the towering mountains, enclosed within its own walls but also snaking up the mountain to peer down on itself and check the waters for visitors or invaders.

This picture does not really give you the impression of the old town, but the next one of the cathedral inside the town also shows the fortifications above, if you look carefully. 

The town itself is a jumble of shops, museums, bars, churches and palaces. There are a good number of people still living within the old town along with hundreds of cats who are allegedly are the descendents of sea-going cats off the ships. In the right hand tower of the church above I came across this pile of rusty metal which in fact the ancient movement of the church clock.

We had a great lunch in the square outside the cathedral and after a walk around the town, we make for the hills. Having read in the guide book that the road from Kotor to Mt. Lovcen is one of Montenegro's great drives. It is 17 kms of good but narrow road that snakes up 25 hairpin turns, each one reveals a vista more spectacular than the last. From the top, the panoramic view, takes in the entire bay and across to the Adriatic. 

We go up, 

and up.

and up some more. Until the full monte as it were.