The Kitties of Kotor

My last full day of holidaying has come so quickly and the end to my Balkan adventure looms but with one last day trip booked I was off to Montenegro. After an early collection from my hotel (7:45am) Nic, our guide, informed me that we were only a small group of 4 today. I was soon joined by Britt and Sarah, North American teachers currently working at the International School in Brussels, and Wendy, a Hong Kong business woman. With the group assembled we were on our way. Nic turned out to be an excellent guide (driver & guide in one) who gave us a potted history of Montenegro and its relationship with Croatia.

The Montenegro tour takes in 3 basic elements – a ride around the incredible Bay of Kotor, a stop in the city of Kotor with a tour of its old city and a late lunch in the seaside playground of Budva (with a quick tour of its old city). Coming via Croatia the road to the Bay of Kotor winds like a twisted liquorice ribbon around the Cypres lined hills. Towns dot the base of each hill, all active with boats and fishermen going about their trade. My favourite stop was a little town called Perast, a town that dates back to the 15th century, dominated by the 50+ foot steeple of St Nickolas’s Church. The reason I fell in love with this rich nautical town was due to the two little islands just off of the shore. St George’s Island contains an abandoned Monastery guarding the graves of long passed nobility shaded by the cool of tall cypress trees. The island is off limits to tourists and locals; a permanent and solitary graveyard. Just next to St George’s Island is the man made Lady of the Rock Island that contains an active church (boats ferry to the island every weekend for service). The notion of rowing to Church struck me as a romantic and truly Adriatic one.

On arrival in Kotor I was immediately struck by the glamour, wealth and power of this ancient city. This is Montenegro at it’s finest (some shots from Kotor were used in Casino Royale). Kotor’s Old City is guarded by a 4.3km wall that snakes up the mountain and draws resemblance to China’s Great Wall. The UNESCO listed Kotor Old City is an intricate labyrinth of marbled streets dominated by the beautiful people sipping their espresso in the populated squares. Cats sun themselves on the doorsteps of ancient Churches hoping for a scrap of pastry from one of the local patisserie, being gobbled by the members of the tour-groups milling around the sights. After a quick climb to the Church that sits atop one of the hills overlooking Kotor it was time for some souvenir shopping…it was then that we chanced upon an American film crew shooting a scene for the horror film Road Kill in one of the cool little cafes. (unfortunately they did not require any Australian extras…doh!).

With Kotor left behind it was onto Sveti Stefan, a tiny island crammed with terracotta roofed houses. This playground for the rich and famous is connected by the tinniest of isthmuses and has been a holiday spot for the wealthy since the 15th Century. It was with dismay that we were informed that Sveti Stefan has been leased for 30 years to a Singaporean hotel company and is currently under renovation and inaccessible. Oh well – photos from afar will have to do. The bonus was a glimpse at Tito’s old holiday house in the cove next to Sveti Stefan.

Last stop on the tour was the touristy Budva – basically a little beach and boat town with a cute little old city. All four of us sat with our guide Nic and ate an excellent lunch right on the pebbled beach with more cats milling at our feet. I tried the local dish of a seared pork steak stuffed with local cheese and prosciutto accompanied by my new favourite dish, a cucumber salad. Washed down with the local Pivo (beer) this was a perfect way to finish the tour of Montenegro. A quick look in Budva’s Citadel and we were back on our way to Dubrovnik via a cute little ferry ride across the bay of Kotor itself.

Farewelling my new friends from Brussels I was greeted with the most amazing sunset – a rich red, like the pomegranate fruit - a sensational and fitting final sunset for this Balkan adventure.

Eurovision Rating: Crazy solo female singer in a ridiculously large dress single a Europop track with lyrics like “la la la” and “dum de de dum”. Costume reveal and glamorous backing dancers see this entry qualify to the final and place just inside the Top 15.