Kotor, Montenegro (written 2 days ago): We spent the day tied up alongside in this very quaint near-medieval walled port city at the head of a fjord off the Adriatic Sea. Very steep but not-quite-sheer granite cliffs surround the town and there are fortifications running up the scarp behind the city.
Kotor was an outpost of the Venetian empire back in the day, fortified against the Turks no doubt. Venice was a mighty sea power for several hundred years during the renaissance, a part of the west that traded with, and fought off, the east. Basically the Adriatic coast was all controlled by Venice.
The other DrC and I spent the midday sitting at a sidewalk cafe in a plaza eating smoky thin-sliced Montenegrin ham - a local delicacy comparable to prosciutto - plus cheese and bread. A very local lunch and delicious.
The weather started warm and cooled as some clouds rolled in, it’s that season where you’re too warm in a coat and too cool without one. I kept putting mine on, getting hot and taking it off. Then cooling off and putting it back on.
Last time we were here, which the other DrC informed me was 8 years ago, the women were all wearing expensive-looking spike heels on these cobblestone streets. Today I saw not a single pair, and I was looking. Then it was June, now it’s late November, perhaps the shoes are a spring/summer thing. Or maybe the local taste has changed.
If you get the chance, come to Kotor and be charmed. The natural setting is amazing as are the old buildings.
