The Balkans - Montenegro, Kotor and Perast

The walk from the bus station felt rather long since I was tired, sweaty and had my flipflops on. The old town was again surrounded by this brick wall. I hadn’t booked anything but had checked this Hostel Cent out beforehand. I struggled to find it but with the help from some men in this restaurant I found it. I first only took one night for 11€. In the third floor there was only girls room with 10 bed and four girls. Right outside the room there were toilets, showers and mirrors. Really nice and clean place with someone at reception all the time (a guard at night) and they also had lockers for you stuff.

I took a shower and left to wander the streets and actually quite straight a way walked out from inside the walls and found a shopping mall with gym and then went to walk along the water. These guys told me about this boat trip tomorrow and gave me a number, so I can register also later. I walked maybe 10 minutes and noticed that I was at the main gate and realized how small the place was. I walked back in and went to sit in this restaurant when this waiter comes to me asking if I found the hostel okey. I was shocked that he remembered me and I hadn’t even realized it was the same place that’s how much of a maze then small streets were. I ate, sent the guys message saying that I was in for the boat trip and went back to hostel and realized I do need another night at the hostel cause the next morning I should already check out otherwise.. In nice hostels it’s nice to stay more than one night. Small things matter like this guard, them lockers and that by your bed you had a charging point and your own lamp.

The next day I had a minute schedule that looked like that:

9-12 the boat trip

12.30-13.30 food + coffee + chilling

13-15 climb the mountain

15-16.30 bus to Perast

16.30-17.30 work phone call

17.30- wander in Perast

The next morning, I woke up at 8 o’clock put my bikinis on since we where supposed to stop at this Blue Cave for a swim during the boat trip. Left to find some breakfast and then headed to the small harbor. Our captain on the boat was this ex professional football player Alex who said that he was once good then made stupid things and that’s it. The trip cost me 30€ for only three hours from 9-12 so it was rather expensive. 

Alex was from Serbia but had live in Kotor for over 30 years. On the boat I of course went to sit on this sundeck at the bow of the boat. He explained a lot about the history and I could put some pieces together what the Bosnian guy had explained in Mostar. Alex put it well: There was once a war and that’s long gone now and now we all just hate each other (Croats, Bosnians, Serbs, Montenegrins etc.) and don’t know why. He also said that the war still plays a big part in there. That the young parents are teaching their kids to hate other people and in 10 years they will be monsters and will not get along and it might and up in a war again in the future.  

We left and the sky looked really cloudy and I noticed that he kept looking at the sky too.. When we made it to the Mamula island which used to be a prison the waves were really really high.. Still last summer you could visit the island but now it had gotten a permission to be transformed into luxury resort even though it’s like a grave yard for over 2000 people… Now there was a guard with a gun so people couldn’t visit it.  We had to turn back and didn’t see the Blue Cave’s because of the weather.

Next stop was closer to shore again and it was called Our Lady of the Rocks. There used to be this little stone formation close to the shore and two fisher men had found a picture of the woman and a baby and took it inland to the church. It was stolen from there and the same picture later on appeared back on the same rock on that rock formation, so it was decided to build a church there. The problem was that the water was from 60-100 meters deep. So, they started dropping huge rocks in to the ocean around the rock formation to make the ground for the church. It was too slow so they started sinking enemies ships there and there are said to be over 100 ships there.

He also told us that the Bay of Kotor was never conquered since their tactic was so good. So Perast, the town closest, has stayed unbeaten. The bay was rather narrow so whenever they saw enemies coming they lifted this chain from both sides of the bay and no one could go through and after they defeated the enemy. The chain was hidden underwater, so enemies couldn’t see it.

During our trip he also showed us some area where Russians had bought 80% of the houses and also the first ever luxury resorts build on water (reminded me of little like Venice) was about to open 2020 for the world’s million and billionaires. It was now only being built so couldn’t tell how nice it was :D

Since, we had to skip the Blue Cave we stopped to wander in Perast for around an hour. Definitely wouldn’t have needed more. This tiny village was 300 meters long by the water with restaurants and coffee places. We arrived back to Kotor around 12.30. I went straight to eat something and after to find a coffee place for my work phone call. Also realized the same morning that with the time difference the call would be already at 14.30. After the phone call I put my shoes on instead of flip flops and left to conquer the castle up on the hill.

It wasn’t as difficult of a climb as the Dubrovnik one but still sweaty. I went this a bit longer way where you didn’t have to pay 8€ for the entrance but back down I came the normal way. The view from up top was quite amazing. I climbed on this rooftop up there and went to sit on the edge and just hang around there for ages. After I got enough I walked down I decided I’m gonna go to the gym now that I’m sweaty already. Went to the empty gym, did upper body and left without paying (5€) since there was no one to pay to. Then it was shower time and I went out to eat. 

I agreed seeing this local guy to hang out with him and spent couple of hours with him. Bad decision he ended up being a total idiot.

The next morning, I was supposed to go to gym again since it was so close, but my legs and my back were killing me. I left from the hostel little after nine to eat breakfast in the Old Town. Of course, it started pissing down. When it was a bit calmer I walked to the bus station and bought a ticket to Budva which was supposed to leave in 9 minutes. Perfect timing. The ticket cost me 4€ + 1€ to pay to the driver for my luggage. The bus was late for at least 30 minutes and when we left for Kotor there were MASSIVE lines to Kotor. Good luck in the future when the place gets more touristic.. In like 30 minutes we were already in Budva.