Kotor, Montenegro:a little gem no one knows about…yet…

Our two stops in Greece, Crete and Corfu, were not very exciting. In Crete, we just tendered in, walked around a bit, and took an exciting tender ride back to the ship.

 

In Corfu, the weather was a lot nicer so we did about the same thing, but Corfu is "cuter" than Crete. We had a wonderful lunch overlooking the Cricket field (yes, in Corfu, the Greeks are Cricket-crazy rather than football (soccer)-crazy. We also managed to make a minor assist to the Greek economy (ask Bonnie about her new ring...). Then it was back to the ship for our next real port of call, Kotor, Montenegro.

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We just finished a delightful day wandering around Kotor. Kotor is, ostensibly, on the Montenegrin coast, but one has to navigate over a kilometer of narrow twisting channels to get from the Adriatic Sea to the Bay of Kotor.



The wall relief map in the Maritime Museum gives a better idea of how we had to "thread the needle" to get in to the dock at Kotor.

 

However, once you get there, it is definitely worth it! We had been to Dubrovnik several times and we will be there again tomorrow for a day. We had also been told by other “seasoned” travelers that Kotor was a “smaller version of Dubrovnik.”

 

The lessen we learned today is that you cannot believe everything you hear – especially if it comes from a few people who consider themselves “real travelers” rather than “just tourists” simply because they took a real flyer and ate lunch in the town…and even had some of the local beer…

 

Kotor is indeed smaller than Dubrovnik. It has about 35,000 total inhabitants – 900 of whom live in the old city – while Dubrovnik has about 43,000 total, of whom almost 28,000 live in the old city. Quite a contrast… But then all of Montenegro only has about 650,000 population compared to Croatia’s 4,250,000.

 

Okay, enough of the statistics. Kotor is a jewel nestled at the base of some of the most magnificent mountains we have ever seen. Since our ship is much smaller than most other cruise ships plying these waters, we were able to dock right in the heart of the city adjacent to the old city walls. A short few hundred feet from the gangway and we were back in the 12th Century again.

From the ship to the central square is only about 500'.

Here are several montages of street scenes. No matter where you look, it just gets better...

 

Although there was a gigantic earthquake in 1979, Kotor has managed to rebuild without losing its charm and with a monumental restoration program for the old buildings. It was also designated a UNESCO World Heritage site and that certainly helps.

 

We took a short (about two-hour) walking tour of the old city and then got turned loose to browse on our own. The tour began at about 9:00 Am – lucky for us. By noon crowds of bused tourists from eastern Europe and Asia descended on the old city for the afternoon and we made a bee-line back to the ship.
 

The walking tour was only to point out several of the most important historical highlights and to give us a flavor of the city. Our guide, the delightful Slandge (“That’s hard to pronounce, so you can just call me ‘Sweetie’…”) was very knowledgeable and like most eastern Europeans, she spoke better English than one finds in many parts of South Florida…

Sweetie telling us about the city she loves.

 

Almost all of the former Yugoslavian Republics (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Macedonia plus two the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina within Serbia) require English as a second language from the first grade onward. In addition, they also require an “elective” language from the fourth grade onward. Sweetie’s was French. She is a graduate of Kotor’s own College of Tourism and Hospitality. Tourism is the main money-maker for Montenegro; however, they are also blessed with a good agricultural infrastructure and several mineral resources.

 

After our tour, we wandered back to several shops that caught Bonnie’s eye during the tour and got a couple of shirts, some wine (to drink on the ship), and the obligatory refrigerator magnet. The magnet is probably one of the most interesting items we have picked up on the entire cruise. It is a typical 2” X 3” piece, but it is hand-made inlaid glass by a local artist. Although they churn these out by the gross, they are well-made and since they are hand-made, each is just a bit different. All this for only €2.50 (about $3.00).

 

After our contributions to the local economy, we happened upon two of our fellow cruisers at a restaurant we had been considering, so we joined them for a fabulous lunch: I had grilled octopus with garlic spinach and potatoes; Bonnie had grilled squid stuffed with local prosciutto-style ham and local farmer cheese (and the spinach and potatoes). Local wine (her) and beer (me) topped it all off. The tariff for this repast was a mere €31 (about $35). In Dubrovnik (or anywhere else that depends on tourism) it would have been almost half again as much…

 

I remember thinking, when we were in Myanmar visiting Bagan, that in ten years Bagan would be just another tourist attraction (assuming Myanmar gets their political act together). Political issues aside (Montenegro does not really appear to have any), I fear that in much less time, Kotor will be more than a “mini-Dubrovnik” and not the better for it.
 

Here are a few photos of what we saw from the ship on the way in and out.

 

The scenery and history are stupendous, the people are friendly and speak English, the economy is trying to get stable enough to join the EU (they are already on the Euro), the standard of living is at least as high as anyplace else in Europe and higher than several others. They have only to keep up their hard work and hope that their own success does not do them in.

B and me in the central square.

B and me on the dock opposite the ship's berth.
 

Tomorrow we are in Dubrovnik. Since we still have to pack, and since we have been to Dubrovnik several times, we may just take it easy, pack, and make it a sea day. Perhaps we will try for one more great Mediterranean lunch – and another refrigerator magnet. Stay tuned…