Kickin' it in Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor, Montenegro was the next stopping point on our tour down the coast.  From Dubrovnik, we boarded a mid-morning bus and 3 hours later we arrived in the stunning city of Kotor.  The border crossing between Croatia and Montenegro was fairly easy on the bus, but it was the first time I've seen a border agent return with an entire bus' worth of passports and just hand the entire stack to the poor souls in the front of the bus to pass them back and redistribute them to their owners.  If you've ever traveled internationally before, you'll know what I mean when I refer to that "feeling" you get when you are separated from your passport, even for a few minutes and despite the fact that it's all part of the process.  It just puts you a little bit on edge.  I guess it's a lesson in trusting your fellow travel companions, and we had already made friends with the German couple sitting across from us.  =)  

View of Bay of Kotor from the Kotor Fortress

The last hour of the bus ride was spent winding down the road along the Bay of Kotor, which is a must-see if you're in the area.  The views (and the heat) were incredible.  We were becoming very happy that we had elected to take the morning bus instead of the afternoon one.

Matt doing a little food prep in the kitchen =)

After a couple of wrong turns ("detours" as Matt calls them), we found our little hotel called Vicky Apartments.  After doing the budget in Croatia (yikes! -- we knew Europe was going to be expensive!), we were tightening the belt buckle a little and went for a place without our beloved WiFi to save some $$$.  As it turns out, it was one of the best decisions we've made so far.  

The stairs along the terrace at Vicky Apartments

Were the rooms a little small?  Yes.  Were the mosquitoes a bit annoying?  Yes.  Was it ridiculously hot, and were we without air conditioning?  Yes and yes.  However, we had Vicky, some fellow travelers, a shared kitchen and a mosquito coil.  Life over the next few days would only get better.  Vicky (of Vicky apartments) was simply the best.  This lady has had some experiences.  She studied art history in Rome, then became a math teacher, and has lived under communist rule.  She and her daughter currently run the summer guesthouse in which we were staying.  She spoke fluent English, Italian, German and of course Montenegran and was a wealth of information and opinions.  We didn't want for anything while we were under her care.  

A view from old town Kotor

Kotor is also a fantastically welcoming place.  It's easy to walk wherever you need to go, and the old town is a fun maze of tiny walkways and squares.  It was quite a treat to spend a few hours getting lost and getting found again over and over.

A spot with WiFi, and beer for Matt  =)

Kotor is a cat-friendly town, which always makes me happy.  They even have a store dedicated to cat stuff (I splurged and bought some cat earrings, my second souvenir of the trip.)  =)  We would spend a few hours every day wandering about, occasionally finding the ever-elusive decent WiFi and then furiously researching our next destinations and how we might get ourselves there.  And when the WiFi inevitably failed, we would sit peacefully sipping our coffees (or beers as was the case for Matt.)

On our second day in Kotor, we woke up early and began the climb up the walls of the Kotor Fortress which flanks the main part of the town.  The bay is beautiful from the ground, and the views only got better as we ascended.  You would think that by starting at 0830 (I know, it's really not all that early, but when you're traveling anything before 0900 begins to get filed in the "early" category...) we would have missed most of the heat, but you would be wrong.  It was already scorching.  We did, at least, have the shade of the mountains for the first half of the walk (1350 steps per the guidebook).  The fortress dates back to Illyrian times (~4th century B.C.), but like many fortresses, has undergone fortifications, modifications and destructions, sustaining the most recent damage in the 1979 earthquake.  It was an invigorating walk with little side excursions around several churches and even down a path behind the fortress.

The reward at the top of the climb

Up on Vicky's terrace

Vicky had been telling us since we arrived that we had come just at the right time as the last, and biggest, summer festival known as Bokeska noc would occur that weekend.  This is a fisherman's festival that includes a boat parade.  During our time in Kotor, we had come to know our neighbors and had made tentative plans to try to catch some of the festival together.  

Part of the boat parade

That evening, Vicky's daughter and granddaughter returned from visiting some family friends in Albania (whom they brought back to Kotor with them) and over the course of an hour or so, we had all formed an impromptu party up on Vicky's terrace.  

New friends from England and Sweden

It was so fun to try to talk to everyone -- it was a curious mix of italian/spanish/english/montenegran.  We had our new friends from Sweden and England, the Spanish & Italian couple, Vicky & her daughter and granddaughter, their Albania friends, and us.  What an amalgam of cultures and languages, but it was one of those times that everything seemed to come together perfectly.  We spent the evening drinking cheap wine and talking about travel while watching the boat floats parade by in the bay (Vicky's terrace has the best view of the harbor!) and then meandered closer in to join the throngs of people waiting for the fireworks.  

Vicky (in red), her daughter (stripes) and granddaughter watching the fireworks from the bridge

Vicky's knowledge once again reigned supreme as we had the best seats in the house for the fireworks show -- a tiny bridge on the way to the abandoned luxury hotel (not a spot I would have thought of on my own!)  After marveling at the fireworks, the "youngins" headed into old town for a bit of dancing.  

The party late at night in Kotor

It was already 11PM (late in my book), but the party was just getting started.  The little alleyways were alive with people dancing and laughing; music was coming from every direction.  We wandered around, picked a place in the midst of it all and got our grooves on.  The weather was great, the companions were great, and the atmosphere was great.  The perfect end to our brief, but now beloved, time in Montenegro.  Matt and I said our goodbyes (1AM was late enough for us old folks) and made our way back to Vicky's apartments.  We feel asleep with the windows open and the techno still blaring from old town, happy to have booked a place without WiFi, but with the best hospitality around.

The crew on the bridge in Kotor after the fireworks =)

In the morning, we boarded a bus for the border town of Ulcinj where we made our final preparations for our adventure into Albania.  (On a side note, Vicky's Albanian friends had offered to give us a free ride to Albania since they were heading back, but we had already purchased our bus tickets -- looking back now, this would be a preliminary indicator as to how wonderful our Albanian experience would be!)

Click on the photo collage below for more Kotor sights and fun!  =)