We’d obviously seen a lot of similar sights along the hills we passed during our boat ride up the Bay of Kotor and return trip back down it earlier in the day but there was a lot that appeared different. For a start we were at a greater height but mainly the lighting was completely changed with the sun now having dropped below the hills we were passing on the port side of the ship. The heat from the day hadn’t quite vanished so there was a cooling effect on the stored warmth in the surroundings that was throwing a lot of desaturated, hazy conditions to contend with. Despite this I elected to use my lower quality zoom lens for the vast majority of the photos in order to pick out distant details that hadn’t been identifiable with the higher quality, wide angle I’d used exclusively up to that point.

In addition to the many churches we’d seen dotting the hillsides earlier we also spotted fortifications that had been built up during World War II. The waters of the Bay of Kotor were fairly busy and we passed numerous other boats. The shoreline as well was dotted with small towns and beach-like areas with plenty of people enjoying the last of the day’s sunshine and many of them taking photos of us as we passed by, often waving to other passengers on balconies elsewhere. To avoid sending waves crashing ashore the Royal Princess transited the bay at a very slow speed and this made for a very serene experience and a great way to finish off a visit to a spectacularly beautiful and fascinating European destination.

At the point where we disembarked from the boat there was a monument and some nice views beyond the town to St. John’s Fortress that was situated up in the mountains.

Our ship was anchored in the bay which is why we’d had to use tender boats ashore earlier in the day. The Cunard cruise ship Queen Victoria was alongside the town.

The town is no more than five minutes’ walk from the waterside area where the boats tie up. Probably one of the most photographed sights on the approach to Kotor on foot has to be the impressive fortifications built during the period when the town was under Venetian rule.

The town is surrounded by walls and the main entrance was through a large, arched gate.

Outside the walls were a number of vendors and places to grab maps of the old town but for the amount of time we had to spend there we didn’t bother picking any up and headed straight past the queues of tourists and through the crowds of more tourists into Kotor’s lovely interior. The architecture was fabulous and the town had plenty of narrow alleys and tall buildings; shops, houses, museums, and churches could be found at every turn. While the place was somewhat maze-like at points Kotor was not large enough to really get lost in especially with the imposing views of the mountains behind it that always gave a good indication as to what direction you were facing.

We mostly wandered at random, taking photographs naturally, but also did a little bit of shopping for souvenirs. Finally, to eat up the remainder of our time in the fabulous Montenegrin location and because it’s something we like to do when we’re abroad, we sought out a bar away from the main and very crowded square and ordered some local beers. The place we selected had free Wi-Fi, was shaded, and gave us ample opportunity to observe the many cats and kittens wandering around to passing tourists’ and our delight.

Exploration, shopping, and sampling of local wares done we headed back out of the town to the bay and found our Princess Cruises boarding area. Gratefully accepting the cool towels they handed out to help freshen us up from the intense heat of the day we then boarded a local boat rather than one of the ship’s tender boats – both types were in operation carrying passengers and crew back and forth and it was good to see that sort of aid to the local economy taking place as well – and headed back to the ship.

Some photos and information about Kotor’s cats as well as another cruiser’s view of the town can be found here: Adriatic medieval gem for cat ladies – port of Kotor!

I didn’t take anywhere near as many photos heading back to the port as I had on the original boat trip up the Bay of Kotor towards our excursion destinations, taking advantage of a swifter pace with less commentary on the return leg to allow the increased breeze to cool me down when possible. Nevertheless, there were some lovely sights captured along the journey; the hills around Kotor are dotted with churches and attractive buildings.

One of the other excursions that we could have booked from the ship or undoubtedly arranged from the port upon arrival was a group kayak trip along the bay. If that’s your sort of thing then it looked pleasant enough as we passed several groups on the boat ride. Needless to say, it’s not our sort of thing. Effort? On holiday? The very thought!

Inside half an hour we were alongside our home for the week in the Mediterranean, the Royal Princess cruise ship, anchored out in the bay. Our balcony was on the port side of the ship so not visible as we passed it and made for the docking area in Kotor. We’d overheard some people remarking that they were planning on taking the tender boat immediately back on board in order to grab some food before heading back to the town to explore it but that seemed a horrible waste of time to us and we would head into the town directly. I understand that the food on the ship is technically already paid for but to give up time (and quite a bit of it when you’re tendering, then heading to the buffet, then coming back to tender again) in order to save probably very little money that could probably benefit the local economy (part of the reason we love to cruise) seems an odd decision-making process to me.

Perast is pretty much a single road running along the shoreline with buildings set inland from that. The hills behind stop much building too far back so the town feels long and thin rather than spread out. The population of the town was around 300 which gives you an idea of the small size of the place but it was incredibly picturesque. The architecture was lovely and very typical of that whole area of coastline.

A number of shops and vendors were around but we headed as a group for Perast’s museum in the first instance. In truth there wasn’t a lot of interest in the building but what it did have was an air conditioning unit which we took advantage of for a few mintes to cool down in front of and a balcony flanked by stone lions affording lovely views out across the Bay of Kotor and along the shore of Perast.

After the museum we had some time to ourselves to look around. Most of the tour group headed to get drinks or do some shopping where they could but we decided, despite the incredible heat, to wander about for a bit to see what other photo opportunities the Montenegrin town had to offer.

The most notable landmark in Perast was the church of St Nicholas.

The church more-or-less marked the extent of our wandering as we didn’t really have enough time to walk any further along the shoreline without risking a hard march to get back to our tour group in time, something we were most definitely not keen on doing in the temperatures there. We took a slow wander back the way we came with just a few more photos of Perast on the way.

When we reached the meeting point for our tour we had a few minutes spare so we grabbed some gelato from a vendor and stood in the shade of a building to try to regain some composure. We spent a few minutes talking to our guide while we were there who remarked that Montenegro made better gelato than Italy but that he grudgingly conceded Italian pizza was just a bit better. He also mentioned that the temperature was just shy of forty degrees but it had been several degrees hotter a month before and they’d had to shut down the government because nobody could work. We could well believe it.

Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks is a great little excursion for a few hours if you’re in or around Kotor. We’d happily spend a few days in the region without a second’s thought.

Our Lady of the Rocks is an artificial island created by sinking ships loaded with rocks and rocks dropped on top of them. The tradition of dropping rocks was allegedly started by sailors to give praise for a successful voyage and still takes place in a more ceremonial form to this day. On the surface of the island stands a Catholic church and museum.

While the boat ride had been just about perfect temperature-wise on account of the breeze off the waters of the bay as we moved the same couldn’t be said for Our Lady of the Rocks itself. The sun had risen as we’d travelled so it was hotter than it had been at the start of the cruise excursion and there was barely a breath of wind. The exposed location on the island was uncomfortable for me and my wife – we don’t handle hot temperatures very well – but that was nothing compared to actually going insde the church and museum, neither of which (as you can imagine) were air conditioned. We had to wait for another tour group to vacate the place first as it can’t handle too many people at once. It was still very crowded with just our boat-lot visiting but inside it was very interesting. Decorations in the church were modestly impressive and throughout it and the museum there were plenty of examples of local art. We would have appreciated it all more if we weren’t so intent on getting outside for some air but none of this should put you off considering a visit if you’re ever visiting Montenegro.

We couldn’t see the medieval town of Kotor from our state room and we had an excursion booked that would take us well away from it. We knew we would have time after our excursion to see what the town held in store but after breakfast we gathered with our excursion group, took a tender boat across to land, then immediately headed to a nearby boat that would take us nearly ten kilometres back along the bay for a sightseeing tour of Our Lady of the Rocks then the town of Perast (photos to come in later portfolio posts). The Royal Princess wasn’t the only cruise ship in the Bay of Kotor when we visited, with the considerably smaller Queen Victoria alongside the town ahead of us.

One of the things we noticed was the large number of churches in the hillsides that we passed. I’m not sure what the ratio of churches to people is in Montenegro but it wouldn’t surprise me to discover it among the highest in the world from observation.

The boat ride was lovely and the gentle breeze that came in off the water was very welcome. We could tell every time that we slowed down for one reason or another or as we started to approach our first stop at Our Lady of the Rocks that the temperature was ridiculously hot. From talking to our guide we discovered this wasn’t unusual for the region and that temperatures had got so hot the month before we arrived that entire towns and the government itself had to shut down. The water we’d taken with us for this excursion did not last very long at all.