So, we checked out of Italy and sailed 140 miles (took us about 24 hours) to Porto Montenegro in the city of Tivat. We arrived late in the day on Saturday (thankfully as almost everything including customs is closed on Sunday). It took a little over an hour and 6 stops to get checked into the country but Pedro navigated the steps and we were finally legal to visit. Rather than take a spot in the marina, we found a great anchorage nearby and just took the dinghy ashore. Our first task was to procure a new sim card. As we were no longer in the European Union, our EU sim cards no longer worked (don't even get me started on Google FI dropping our international data on us). As the phone stores were all closed (it's now Sunday), we wandered around until the very kind man at the marina sent us to a tobacco shop where they're sold. Well, long story short, it took 3 trips from the boat and 2 tobacco shops - they don't post hours because they close whenever they feel like it and we forgot that we'd need passports in order to get a sim card. Alas, we finally got it done and we were in business. We wondered around Tivat but not much was open and the marina area, while very pretty and exceptionally clean, wasn't very exciting. So, we headed back to the boat and made it an early evening.
The next morning, we headed out early and motored into the Bay of Kotor to the historic city of Kotor. After leaving Porto Montenegro, we felt like we'd just traveled back in time. If not for the huge cruise chips that we had to dodge (I'm kidding, they weren't bad), we could have sworn that we were in ancient times. As you enter the bay, you are surrounded on both sides by adorable little towns and gorgeous mountains. Montenegro gets its name from the Venetian words for Black Mountain (yes, Venice ruled the country for about 4 centuries and you can see the influence everywhere). While we didn't see the exact mountain (it's further north and inland), we did feel like we were sailing through the mountains going back in the bay. The bay itself is very narrow in certain spots and the scenery was just amazing. It's impossible to describe but, I think this is definitely one of our favorite picturesque waterways - so far anyway!
Not to be outdone by the beautiful bay, the actual city of Kotor was gorgeous too. Once again, we anchored out and took the dinghy ashore - It's amazing to me how hospitable most European cities are with both anchorages and dinghy tie-offs. Located at the farthest end of the Bay of Kotor, the fortified city (a double UNESCO world heritage site for both historical significance and natural beauty) is a sight to behold. Described as one the best-preserved medieval towns in the Adriatic, both the old town and the market area has done an amazing job of maintaining the old-world charm. Another aspect of Kotor that we also fell in love with are their cats. Almost everywhere you look, there are cats who for the most part seem to be well attended. The city also embraces its cats with its numerous souvenirs of whimsical statues to shirts and everything in between.
Both the city and bay are completely surrounded by natural limestone cliffs. The best way to explore the cliffs is via the Ladder of Kotor which was the only way to access the town until 1879. The entire walk from old town to the Fortress is 1350 steps with the entire route to the next city covering about 4 miles. Since we'd not planned our footwear well when we left the boat, we turned around near the top when the steps got even steeper. Nevertheless, the views were worth the hike!
The next morning, we took off and headed back out of the Bay of Kotor. Since we were on the north side of the bay on our way out (and not dodging any cruise ships), we were able to get a few pictures of the famous island named Our Lady of the Rocks. Legend holds that this artificial island was built upon a sight where local fishermen found an icon of the Madonna and Child. For years afterwards, following each successful voyage, the local fishermen would lay another rock in the bay. An island was eventually constructed by the sinking of old and seized ships loaded with rocks. Today the island holds only a church and attached museum. We weren't allowed to land on the island so we just took our pictures and sailed on.
Our next stop was the town of Budva. We found a great anchorage just off a nearby beachside resort and spent a couple of days enjoying the wonderful warm water and walking the beach boardwalk. We also took the dinghy ashore to explore the old town of Budva. While not a big as Kotor, this walled city was equally charming. We meandered around the sidewalk sized streets for a couple of hours enjoying the old city and the views of the water.
After a couple of days enjoying Budva and the hospitality of her people thanks in part to friends of a friend, we continued sailing south to the town of Bar. This port city was somewhat more industrial but had a very comfortable marina and a wonderful market where we got the best melons we'd had since leaving Portugal! We planned to stay in Bar just a couple of days but decided to stay a few days more. Montenegro is a relatively small country and we'd covered most of the coastline so we decided to rent a car and visit inland.
Our first stop - technically still coastline - was the city of Ulcinj. This city is believed to be one of the oldest cities on the Adriatic. The majority of its inhabitants are Albanian (most having flocked to Ulcinj during the Kosovo War in 1998 and 1999). The first thing we noticed were the mosques - last count was 26 in the town and surrounding countryside - with their calls to prayer over loud speakers which we both found fascinating. The highlight of the town is the 2500-year-old Ulcinji Castle. The castle surrounds what is now referred to as old town and sits atop the surrounding hills and is completely open to visitors.
Back in the car, our next stop was Stari Bar (or Old Bar as the locals call it). Located about 2 miles inland from Bar, this was the town of Bar until 1979 when a devastating earthquake destroyed the aqueduct that delivered water to the community. Following the earthquake, the town of Bar (technically Novi Bar meaning New Bar) was erected around the existing port where it stands today. While it's really hard to imagine, we learned from our dockmaster that the old town was actually the coastline in ancient times. The small town that remains is quite cute but the true draw to Stari Bar is the ruins of the old town which contains the ruins of over 240 buildings. The old town was massive and while we spent a couple of hours wandering the ruins and enjoying the view, I'm sure we didn't scratch the surface. Another nearby attraction that we didn't find is one of the world's oldest olive trees that's reportedly some 2000 years old. I guess, we'll have to go back!
For our last excursion, we left the city and drove about an hour to see Lake Skadar. Bordering both Montenegro and Albania and covering over 200 square miles, this lake is touted the largest lake in Southern Europe. We drove across the lake and then decided to visit the charming little town of Virpazar on the west side of the lake and grab a bite. The lake is home to 50 species of fish - 18 of which are found nowhere else in the world - so as you can imagine, we had an amazing dinner of fresh caught lake perch. We even got to share our food with a neighborhood cat. It was the purrfect (sorry, I had to do it) way to end a great day!
Back on the boat, we spent a couple more days waiting on an addendum to our insurance about a new requirement for sailing in Greece that we didn't know about. We took almost daily trips to the amazing local market for fresh produce and were fascinated by the grilled corn on the cob sold by the street vendors along the beach. We also found a vendor attached to the market who roasted pork so bought enough to last throughout our 2-day sail to Greece. Yup, we made it to Greece but I'll fill you in on that next time.
