Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
I have to say that my normally organised self was anything but when I arrived in Kotor. I knew a few things I wanted to see in this town and in the country but had no idea how I was getting around to see most of those things. Montenegro is still developing its tourism business so it's hard to find stuff online. On the way in last night I stopped at the visitor information booth.....but they had no information except a map of the town itself. They recommended that I stop by the travel agent in the morning. So that was my first stop after breakfast.
They made a few phone calls and found that there were no bus tours over the next couple days but they arranged for me to have a private driver take me to few other spots in the country I wanted to visit. I was told the driver would speak English so I could ask him all kinds of questions and get him to take me to what I wanted to see. With that out of the way and set up for tomorrow I headed back out to town to see a few things.
One of the old streets in this old town. Not sure I will ever get enough of this.
This is the Cathedral of St. Tryphon. It was consecrated to the city's patron saint Tryphon in 1166 and like many buildings in Dubrovnik, it suffered heavy damage in that earthquake in 1667. It has been rebuilt in stages since then (due to budget restraints). On this day I only viewed it from the outside but I had other days to tour the inside.
I was actually on my way to the stairs that lead up the mountain to the remains of St. John Fortress. It is roughly a 4.5 kilometre (2.8 miles) and 1350 steps to the top and since I've never skipped the opportunity to climb up something and check out the view it was on the list to do today. There is a small fee to get in (like $2 CAD or something minuscule like that). The fees are being used to make the climb safer but it is still precarious in places.
Not recommended for just everyone.
A view of Old Town Kotor and Kotor Bay from very low down on the trail.
Looking down at the Chapel, part of St. John's Fortress. This isn't even half way up by the way.
Still smiling so the climb isn't that bad.
As I got higher.....so did the risk.
Looking down at the remains of some of the fortress.
A little higher, the risk is again increasing. It wasn't that bad but you really did have to watch your step. I did pass a couple people who slipped and fell.
Looking down out over Kotor Bay. Really is a spectacular place.
The town just got smaller and smaller.
Some way above half way I ran into a nice Montenegrin man who was selling water and beer (yes beer) to those climbing the mountain. I had the following conversation with him. Please keep in mind that he spoke no actual English and was mostly using hand signals so I'm loosely translating here.
Man: Hello there.
Me: Hello.
Man: How are you?
Me: I am good. And you?
Man: I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Have you seen any snakes along the trail.
Me: SNAKES? No I have not seen any snakes. Are there snakes up here?
Man: Yes there are many, many snake up here, and you must be careful because they are very poisonous.
Me: Oh my. I wish you hadn't have told me that. Perhaps I should not keep walking and return to the town away from all the poisonous snakes.
Man: Oh not to worry pretty foreign lady, the poisonous snakes only live in the long grass so if you stay on the trail they should not bother you.
Me: Well thank-you for the warning Sir. I'll be sure to be on the look-out for them.
Man: Take care my Dear and remember to stay on the path. I'll will see you on the way back down.
Me: Thanks again. I will see you in a bit.
I did manage to make it all the way to the top......and as you can imagine I was constantly on the lookout for those snakes. And I stuck to the trail as well. I did in fact run into that same nice man on the way back down and he was very happy I managed to avoid all the snakes. That made 2 of us.
Another look at the Old Town of Kotor from the stairs leading up to St. John Fortress.
The old entrance leading to the staircase and St John Fortress. Of course before you get to the staircase you must pass old ladies washing the sidewalk and young ladies hanging out laundry and children playing. Quickly reminded that people actually live here.
After a break and changing my clothes and getting re-hydrated from my hike up the mountain, I decided to hop aboard the Kotor Open Tour, which is an open top bus tour that travels from Kotor, along Kotor Bay to a few other small towns in the area and then back. The tour is narrated so you get all kinds of information about the towns and churches and buildings you are passing.
One of those churches we quickly drove by. Sorry I didn't write down any information on it so the picture will have to do.
Oyster farm. A very common scene along the bay.
Ok this picture is partially of that island but mostly of those clouds. It rained on me for about 30 seconds. That's pretty good since I haven't seen a drop at any other point on this trip.
Ok back to the islands. And I mean those 2 little ones. The larger one is the Island of St Djordje also known as the "Island of Dead Captains". According to one legend a french soldier, shooting a cannon towards the town of Perast, hit the house of his true love, killing her. Not sure how that gives the island the name but it does. The smaller island is the Island of Gospa Od Skrpjela and was created artificially by seaman from Perast and Kotor bringing large stones to the location. There is a church on the island that was built (according to legend) because after one shipwreck a stone icon of the Holy Mary of Christ was found so they built a church at the spot. The church was built in 1630. Seaman continue to this day to bring stones to the island to maintain it.
One of the stops we made was at the Roman Mosaics. They were found on the remains of the floors of a 7 room summer house. They area dated from the 2nd and early 3rd century AD. They were originally found in the early 1900's although some were destroyed during World War II. They have been restored over the years but interesting to note that many of the stones that were restored are now faded while the original ones still hold their colour. This is due to the fact the original mosaics got their colour from the original stones while during the restorations, the rocks were painted and that paint has now faded. Of the 7 rooms in the house you can tell the ones that would have belonged to servants due to the fact that the floors contain no mosaics. I could not take any pictures but if you are interested check out this picture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Risan-Montenegro.RomanMosaics.jpg It is believed that there are many more in the area but most are likely under houses and stores and other buildings in the town of Risan. They may never be found.
The main street in Perast, a very cute little coastal town. We checked out the little one room museum (just a few pictures and items from over the years) before walking down this main street and back to the bus.
The archway above the museums entrance.
One of the small churches in town.
You can spot this on the opposite side of the bay. I can't remember the name of this village but this is the upper portion of it. Still home to about 15 homes and a church the only way to get here is by foot (maybe donkey). That means all people and supplies have to make the hike up the hill. Most people have moved to the lower town but there are still about 25 people who live up there.
The outer wall of the Kotor defences. This wall is the most intact section of the wall that remains.
Once I made it back to town I made a quick visit to take a look inside St. Nicholas.
I tried to avoid people in my picture but that one lady would not move. Stood there forever so she ended up in my picture.
Another look at St. Nicholas.
I felt that was enough touring for the day so I found myself a nice comfortable spot on the patio outside my hotel with a book and my computer and a menu. I manged some very good cosmos, some great little spring rolls and a bottle of Montenegrin wine before heading to bed. I had another great day of touring planned for tomorrow.
Julie
No comments:
Post a Comment