November 2018
Kotor has been a city since 5 Century BC, but I had never heard of it before this trip, and I knew practically nothing about Montenegro except for the fact that it was on the Balkan peninsula where there was a complicated history and many conflicts. Now in peace, countries in this area, including Montenegro and Croatia, seem to be thriving and enjoying a great influx of tourists pouring in by all modes of transportation. In our case, we arrived on a cruise ship.
Celebrity Eclipse ship holds over 2,800 passengers, and a ship this big could not be docked at Kotor (population: 12,500)port. So the ship was anchored in the bay and Celebrity provided a tender service which ran very efficiently and brought us to the shore in 5 minutes.
We had reserved a
boat tour for 10 people, and the boat dock was in a little park(
Slobode Park) on the left side of the port gate. We were delighted to find that “welcome to Montenegro” free WiFi actually worked right by the port gate.
It was rather chilly at 9AM in mid November, and the fast moving boat added wind factor to already freezing temperature. Well, not really freezing but cold enough. Luckily the sun came out and warmed us up quickly. The boat ride was exhilarating and fun. After 20 minutes or so, we arrived at a little island on which the
Lady of the Rock church stands.
There is a total of two buildings on this island: the church and a small community hall where any feuding families would be kept till they resolved their differences.
The church was a gem, and the admission fee of 1.50 Euros was the best bargain in the whole wide world! The interior is highly decorative and full of interesting details.
The boat tour continued to a little old fishing village of
Perast, a short 3 minute boat ride from the island. It was a more photogenic town looking from afar, but, once we got there, there was not much to see or do.
The two hour boat tour was well worth the 15 Euros per person fee.
We walked into the
old town of Kotor, and it was such a charming place. Twisty alleys were rather confusing, but we did not mind getting lost since the whole place was small enough so that we could find our way soon or later.
We walked out of the city wall and followed the road hugging the coastline to reach our lunch spot,
Galion. The best view of the bay, superb food and wine, and free WiFi: what more would you need?
We decided to splurge and ordered their grilled sea bass. A 2.8 kg fish was big enough to feed 10 of us, and it was out of this world!! And 3 orders of the grilled octopus was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us – so tender and simply delicious! They added lots of different vegetables and potatoes to the grill, and their bread was excellent. We finished 3 bottles of Montenegro wine(30 Euros per bottle) with great enthusiasm. Their 5 Euro desserts were all very good, too. The final bill: 40 Euros per person. We would have paid at least $100 per person for a meal like this in the U.S. I learned about this restaurant from
this article.
In Kotor, I celebrated peace.
WE Celebrated peace.
🌱
Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more.
Come, clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I
And the tree and stone were one.
– Maya Angelou
Small Wide World 