Montenegro: Kotor and the Adriatic Coast

From Mostar we headed via Dubrovnik straight on to Kotor, a little town on the shores of a fjord-like inlet. There truly could not be a more picturesque setting. The steep mountains start virtually on the shoreline leaving the town to hug the small sliver of land at their base. Surrounded by fortification walls that then continue up the steep slopes to a dizzying height, the Old Town is a maze of tiny cobblestone alleys, numerous churches and endless cafes and restaurants.

We managed to find a gorgeous little apartment right at the south gate to the Old Town and made this our base for three days of exploration. The first of these was spent recovering from the previous day’s miserable tour around Mostar and roaming the Old Town.

The second day started with a 5am wakeup and an ascent up the 1350 steps to the peak of the fortification walls to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately although we found ourselves at the top by 6:30am, the sun remained hidden by a cover of gray clouds.

Given the early hour we figured there was no point to commence our descent immediately. Instead, we found a little whole in the fortification walls with markings of further trails and proceeded to visit an adorable little church built on the mountain. From there we found signs for Lovcen peak, one of the highest peaks in Montenegro. Unfortunately none of the markings included distance or time calculations. We continued climbing for another 3 hours but having reached the summits of the local hills and having views of the entire fjord-like peninsula and beyond, we decided it was time to turn around. Lovcen’s peak was, according to our best guess, at least another 3 hours hike and we did not have enough food or water for such an endeavor.
We returned back into the Old Town just as all the tourists were starting to emerge from the recently docked cruise ship. After a delicious breakfast and some well deserved relaxation we caught a local bus to the little town of Persat. This proved to be even smaller and quainter than Kotor with two little churches on tiny islands a hundred or so meters off shore.

Our third day was an excursion to the nearby town of Budva which was to have a similar reputation to Kotor. However, we found that it lacked Kotor’s charm. It had greatly outgrown its tiny Old Town and the development of large scale hotels, apartment blocks and shopping centers greatly detracted from any charm that it may have once possessed. But it did have some pretty nice beaches that for now were not yet crowded. After a bit of beach bumming and a short swim we headed off to Sveti Stefan. This tiny island resort, although quite picturesque in its own, did not make much of an impression on us. Maybe the fact that we were not able to enter it played a role, but once again, the charm possessed by Kotor simply seemed to be missing.

We managed to return back to Kotor just in time. It had started to drizzle and by the time we were done eating our home-cooked spaghetti on the patio, it had began to pour.

Hopefully the weather will be nicer in Croatia as the plan is to head to Dubrovnik tomorrow morning.