Perast and Kotor, Montenegro

Perast, Montenegro

Unlike Bosnia, Montenegro was on our original itinerary (the very first itinerary that also included Istanbul). Our hostel was offering a trip to Montenegro, so instead of trying to figure out how to get there and what to see, etc., we let Ivica (the hostel owner) take the reigns. While it’s nice to schedule and create your own itinerary, sometimes it’s just easier to book a tour and let someone else do the legwork. I am generally opposed to tours, but since the Bosnia tour went really well so we knew that we were in good hands.

The first stop was Perast, where we took a boat to Our Lady of the Rocks Island, one of two sister islands in the Bay of Kotor. The island is artificial and was created by rocks and sinking old and seized ships filled with rocks. The island houses the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rocks. Legend has it that the island was made over the centuries by seamen who kept an ancient oath after stumbling upon the icon of Madonna and Child on the rock in the sea. The other island, The Island of Saint George, houses Saint George Benedictine monastery (from the 12th century) and an old graveyard for the nobility of Perast. This island was not open to visitors.

Kotor, Montenegro

Next, we visited Kotor, a small coastal town. The port of Kotor is surrounded by fortifications built during the Venetian period. The old town of Kotor is the main attracted for the influx of tourists that have recently been drawn to the area (most via cruise ship). While the surrounding landscape is beautiful, there isn’t much to see within the fortifications, aside from a few churches. The contents and size of Dubrovnik’s Old City also dwarfs Kotor in comparison. After exploring Kotor for a bit, we headed back to Dubrovnik and ended our day at a small, secluded beach encased in large rocks and went for a swim while the sun began to set.