We entered the natural wonder of the Kotor Fjord at approximately 5:15 a.m. just as the first dawn was touching the Black Mountains of Montenegro. This magnificent fjord is strictly speaking not a fjord as it was created by a river and not glacial ice. However, that is merely an academic distinction because as we motored deeper into the fjord, the mountains rose up sheer on both sides and as we entered its narrowest part, the channel was just 100 yards wide. We passed the prosperous village of Perast on our port side before docking at Kotor.
Our first visit was the picturesque and very Venetian village of Perast where we visited the most impressive St. Nikolai Church, a Roman Catholic Church in a majority Orthodox country. We saw the exquisitively carved full size marble angels on the altar, the creation of an 18th century gifted artist. We then boarded small motor launches and visited the postage stamp artificial island “Gospa od Skrpjela” in the middle of the fjord. This jewel like place with the sky blue dome has a rich history. There is a legend that says fishermen found an icon floating near this spot. They retrieved it and brought it back to St. Nikolai’s. The next day the icon was gone and found floating at the same spot in the fjord. This cat and mouse game continued for some time. Finally, the fishermen decided that every time one of them passed this place they would drop rocks in the sea. Gradually it formed an island and in the end they erected a church to the Virgin Mary and placed her icon in the church on this island. We then stopped at the local maritime museum the elegant former home of the powerful aristocratic family deriving their authority from Venice.
The walled city of Kotor was our next stop. We had a lovely walk through the old city and I found the Cathedral particularly interesting, as it is a largely intact Romanesque interior with a Baroque period façade. Of special beauty is the Baldachin over the main altar, elaborately carved and dating possibly from the 11th century. Some of the original boldly colored Romanesque frescoes still survive on the walls and the archway ceilings.
After a lunch of local produce, four types of olives, local smoked sausage, and other delicacies, we boarded motor coaches to visit the village nestled more than 3,000 feet atop the mountains overlooking Kotor Bay. The bus ride up takes about an hour and contains 28 hair-raising switchback turns. The views on the way up are stunning. I felt as if the Swiss Alps were placed on the sea. Njeguŝkiis a farming village that specializes in the world’s most delicately smoked prosciutto. Of course we not only sampled the local ham and cheese but we washed it down with cherry liqueur, Rakia (a local grappa that has the kick of a mule) and local wines and beer. The bus ride down seemed much faster!
Tonight, our indefatigable hotel manager, Simon, has visited the local fishmongers and treated us to fresh Montenegrin oysters. Yum. After the oyster feats we went to dinner! I shall be sad to leave this uniquely beautiful country of Montenegro and hope to return.
