Kotorfjord, Montenegro
Although many of us were out late last night on a beautiful evening in Dubrovnik, the decks of Panorama were full for the 0630 sunrise entrance to the inner depths of Boka Kotorska, or Kotorfjord. While it is technically not a true fjord because it is not carved from glacial ice, the steep limestone walls and 1500-meter peaks certainly were reminiscent of Norway or other fjords of the world. The 10-mile Kotorfjord is actually composed of four separate bays that are connected by narrow and easily defensible straits.
We passed by Tivat Bay with its newly built mega-yacht marina, and the old Yugoslavian Bijela shipyard, which now belongs to Montenegro and is used only for ship repair. Continuing through a narrow passage of Konsancija, we were all surprised when the bay opened to the ancient Roman port of Risan to the left (west) and Kotor to the right (east). Strategically positioned in between and guarding the strait is the small but wealthy maritime town of Perast with its two beautiful offshore islands.
Cloaked in Italian Cypress trees, Sveti Dorde (St. George) Monastery is a natural island, while the barren but beautiful Gospa od Skrpjela (the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks) is man-made. Fifteenth century fishermen found a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary after a tragic storm, and rowed their boats out to drop rocks one-by-one on a reef to create a small island chapel for the icon. As Perast became a maritime center for captains and officers of the greatest ships of the Venetian world, mariners gave thanks and paid tribute to the Virgin Mary and the church grew in size and wealth. Gospa od Skrpjela and the town of Perast were the morning highlights of a day with many highlights.
We returned to the fortified city of Kotor for the early afternoon, before venturing out of the Dalmation Coast and into the mountains of Crna Gora (“Black Mountains,” or “Monte Negro”). In the 19th century Kotor and much of the Dalmation Coast belonged to the Catholic Austro Hungarian Empire, and in 1884 an amazing road consisting of 25 hairpin switchback turns was built up the mountain to connect the trading city of Kotor with the Orthodox Slavic interior of Montenegro. We thrilled at the dizzying elevation gain and then finally relaxed in the cool mountain air of the small village of Njegusi. Famous for its smoked ham that results from varied breezes in the bowl-shaped valleys, it gave us a short but pleasant insight into the interior of this rugged and rural country.
After snacking on Njegusi ham, cheese, bread and wine, we drove back down the 25 serpentine switchbacks to Kotor , which was alive with the anticipation of Saturday evening. We cast off under the dramatically illuminated city walls, all with thoughts of one day returning to Crna Gora, or Montenegro.
