The early morning light and the scenery of Boka Kotorska was extraordinary for the photography. No one expected that in the mid European country like Montenegro you could find similar landscape as in the fjord of Norway. The entrance into the Bay of Kotor was breathtaking. We passed the islet of Sveti Dordje (Saint George) and the tiny island with the Church of Our Lady of the Rock that we planned to visit the first thing in the morning. The bus ride to the town of Perast was very short. From there a local boat took us to this small island built by fishermen bringing one rock after another during the last few hundreds of years in order to have the right place for the icon found floating in the sea. So the small but beautiful church Gospa od Skrpjela was erected and now is dedicated to mariners.
Next stop was the town of Kotor with its Venetian walls and picturesque narrow alleys, colorful cafes, and boutique shops. It was great to wander through the alleys watching the Sunday easy life under shining sun. In the afternoon some of us decided to see another face of Montenegro. We drove the 25 switchbacks to the top of the mountains surrounding Boka Kotorska to see the Njegusi village famous for its smoked ham. But for the rest of us the sun and water were so inviting that we preferred to go to the nearby beach and have a swim under the Montenegrian “cliffs.”
When we came back to the ship the surprise oyster party was ready on spanker deck followed by the barbeque buffet with some local specialties. Full of delicious food and great memories of the day we watched the movie Around Cape Horn—one of the best movies of the early voyage of Peking, the sailing ship in the film.
But that was not the end of the evening. The Sea Cloud shanty gang was ready to sing. Having a lot of fun we sang along with them under the sky full of stars. Definitely it was one of the most memorable evenings of our voyage.
