Our adventure started once again at Gatwick. Our flight was booked on Montenegro Airlines, and the first challenge was to find the check in desk. The airline does not operate online check in so it was back to the old days of standing in line to get your boarding pass. After waiting in area "D" we were finally directed to area "H". It was here we started to meet some of our fellow cruisers for the week.
With bad weather across Europe following the heatwave it was no surprise that the flight was delayed, and delayed, we eventually arrived in Tivat one and a half hours late, and flew around numerous thunderstorms as we passed through Croatia. The rain had eased as we disembarked but you could see there had been a lot of rain through the day. The pick up and transfer to Port Montenegro in Tivat was quite smooth, and we were able to enjoy a welcome dinner and the opportunity to get to know our fellow travelers.
We had a cabin at the back of the boat, the bed was adequate, but we were kept up for a lot of the nigh with heavy rain, and a vibrating fan. Waking up on the first day of the trip we were greeted with more heavy rain, overcast skies and low cloud lingering around the surrounding mountains.
Port Montenegro was the first luxury marina development on the Adriatic coast, and the marina was full of expensive yachts and cruisers, and also very expensive ships!. The focal point of the marina was the old crane that went back to the Yugoslavian era when this marina was a strategic naval port.
The crane is floodlit with changing light colours by night, but under the overcast skies casts an eerie reflection, that resembles the Ack-acks from Star Wars.
With the rain easing before breakfast I took the opportunity to look around the marina from the front of our gulet. The many boats moored looked quite dispirited beneath the grey clouds and surrounding mists on the mountains.
After breakfast we were to visit the Naval Heritage Museum, which was a short walk around the marina. Fortunately the rain had stopped and the sun came out, which produced a much more spectacular view of the marina, Port Montenegro. Our gulet being the red and white yacht on the left hand side
The walk passed under the iconic crane.
The whole area was very up market with designer outlets, plush apartments and smart hotels. The front of one hotel reflecting here in the water of the marina.
Tivat as an urban settlement has developed since the end of
the 19th century when the military port Arsenal was built in 1889 by Austrians,
and was later used as a military base of Army of Yugoslavia The museum focused on the area's past from the Venetian influence, the Austro-Hungarian era, and of course Tito's Yugoslavia, and there’s even a restored Yugoslav submarine on site. The
P-821 Hero was launched in 1967 and during its 23 year career sailed 46, 659
nautical miles, submersed 901 times and spent 726 days at sea.
We were able to walk through the submarine and able to experience the cramped conditions the crew had to work in, when temperatures would easily top out at 45 degrees celsius. In an effort to link the past with the current time. the periscope was targeted on one of the luxury yachts in the marina.
We were due to leave port at 11.00am, and as we walked back the rain started to fall once again, only lightly this time though and there were a few windows of opportunity for some photographs.
A yacht anchored out in the bay.
A display of fountains that were pleasing to the eye.
A better view of our home for the week, the gulet Sadri Usta.
And an outside view of our cabin at the back of the gulet (more on that later!)
Back on board there still some time to capture some more reflections of the crane in the waters of the marina.
While the straight lines of the anchor chains morph into something else when reflected in the water.
We left port on time accompanied by our sister ship the Sadri Usta 1. We would shadow each other for much of the trip, and it was a good opportunity to get a sense of what we looked like at sea.
Unfortunately we didn't get much chance to to see much scenery as we cruised in the Bay of Kotor or Boka, which simply means "bay". The bay is about 28
kilometres long with a shoreline extending 107.3 kilometres. It is surrounded
by two massifs of the Dinaric Alps:
the Orjen mountains to the
west, and the Lovćen mountains
to the east. The narrowest section of the bay, the 2,300-metre long Verige
Strait, is only 340 metres wide at its narrowest point.
The bay is sometimes referred as the most southern most fjord in Europe, but geographically it is in fact a submerged valley, known as a ria, of the vanished Bokelj River that used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen.
The bay is sometimes referred as the most southern most fjord in Europe, but geographically it is in fact a submerged valley, known as a ria, of the vanished Bokelj River that used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen.
We passed through the Verige Strait, and turned right heading towards Kotor. However we came to a stop in a small bay where we anchored and had time to swim. While not being ideal swimming weather, at least it had stopped raining, I did jump in. The water was cool but very still, with excellent buoyancy from the saltwater.
The view looking towards Kotor with the low clouds hugging the surrounding mountains. Our sister boat is on the far right, in the foreground another gulet that was to accompany us through the week.
More views of the gulets and the moody mountains.
Kotor is a UNESCO site, a medieval town, a very popular destination for tourism. As we left the bay we could see at least two massive cruise ships in the bay.
The weather then turned for the worst, and heavy rain fell as we docked in Kotor. Alongside us was a large cruise ship, and there was an endless stream of tourist leaving the ship and heading into the Old Town of Kotor. Some of our fellow travelers also braved the rain, but we decided to sit it out, and finally the rain eased and we were able to get into the town where we had dinner.
Coming back the large cruise ship had left port, leaving an empty dockside where the lights reflected in the water.
Looking out across the bay the lights of the small villages reflected in the water.
And there were signs that maybe the next day would be a better one.
After a marginally better night's sleep we awoke to a much better scene, the first view of the day through the cabin port hole.
And once on deck it was clear that normal service had been resumed with regard to the weather.
It would seem that another day in Kotor meant yet another cruise ship. Today's monster anchored away from the dock.
The plastic windows were still down as we assembled for breakfast.
But were assured they would be wound up once we returned from our tour of the old town of Kotor.
The old port of Kotor is surrounded bu fortifications built during the Venetian period. The town itself is thought to have been around for over 2000 years, and was first mentioned in Roman documents in 162 BC.
The town has been fortified since the early Middle Ages. The town was part of the Venetian republic from 1420 until 1797 and thses four centuries of Venetian domination gave rise to the baroque architecture that today has earned it's UNESCO status. Good examples of this are the balconies that can be seen around the main square.
Windows and shutters provided plenty of photographic opportunities.
The Cathedral of St Tryphon is one of two Roman Catholic cathedrals in Montenegro. It was built in honour of Saint Tryphon, the patron and protector of the city. In 1979 the earthquake that devastated the Montenegro coast, severely damaged the cathedral, and it has been salvaged and restored, which was only completed a few years ago.
Cats are an important part of the town, and feral cats can be seen around the squares and streets. They were seen as a way of keeping the population of rats down during the Black Plague, the rats being the carriers of the disease. Kotor was not badly hit and this has been credited to the presence of the cats, and they are considered an important part of Kotor life. This is a metal statue on a wall.
Some more pictures around the Old Town.
Here a Serbian church, flying the Serbian flag.
Piazza Cinema.
A floral balcony
A view out into the harbour from the fortifications.
Some of the Ottoman and Hungarian architectural influences.
And finally the clock tower in the main square indicating it was almost time to set sail.
We were finally sailing in blue skies and warm sunshine. The breeze helping to cool things down.
We also had the chance to see along the shoreline of the Boka, yesterday being a wash out for sight seeing. This the village of Dobrota
Then just before turning once again into the Verige Strait, the town of Perast, we will visit here on the last day of the holiday.
Through the strait we headed into the Bay of Tivat, heading towards the Adriatic Sea. We passed man made caves which were used as submarine bases during world war two, and into the period after. It reminded me of James Bond films, where the secret lair within the mountain is destroyed by the fearless secret agent.
Turning out on to the sea saw a lot more rolling of the yacht, but nothing uncomfortable. We were followed all the way by the sister ship Sadri Usta 1.
After two swim stops in bays and lunch we pulled into a very noisy Budva. Here we had to anchor off shore, and were tendered into the town. There is an old town here, with narrow streets and an old citadel. It was though very busy. We were fortunate to find a restaurant with a terrace that looked out over the harbour, and we enjoyed a very nice evening. The night though was dominated by loud club music that went on into the until, finishing around one o'clock. This really gave the wrong impression of Budva, and you have to hope that in the future maybe this can be controlled better.
As well as the music we also had to endure the lapping of the water onto the hull of the boat. Being offshore the water was quite rough and at times the slapping of the waves on the hull and bottom of the boat was very loud and it made for a very difficult night.
Up on deck it was a beautiful morning, today we were heading further south to the town of Bar. This is the main port of Montenegro, and reading in the guide books it was clear they did not consider it one of the most attractive locations.
But first we had to have breakfast, looking across the bay the Old Town seemed a lot more peaceful this morning than it did last night.
Closer in a view of the Citadel overlooking the harbour.
After breakfast we set sail, leaving the hustle of Budva behind, sailing across the bay towards Sveti Stefan an exlusive island resort that was once the destination for 60's stars such as Sophia Loren. As always we were followed or shadowed by the other gulets.
After passing by the island we headed out into the Adriatic. Heading south the coast line of limestone cliffs and mountains appeared like torn paper shapes on the horizon.
A beautiful cruise.
Our first stop was offshore from the town of Petrovac. Here there was the opportunity to go ashore, but we opted to stay on board, and to spend the time swimming.
Off shore from Petrovac were small rocky islands and on top of one of these was a small monastery, with a bell tower, that chimed on the hour. As we left Petrovac we passed close to the island known as Sveta Nedelja.
We stopped once more for lunch in a bay where the water was a little more choppy, and after lunch another stop saw us in a bay within sight of Bar. We finally entere the marina at Bar around 18.00 and moored at dock, which was welcome as we did not want another night of lapping water.
The marina led to a promenade which was tree lined, and as the sun set there was a huge roost of House Sparrows noisily ending the day. A recommendation for dinner proved a big success, and we made our way back to the gulet with a wander along the promenade. Tomorrow we would be visiting the old town of Bar first thing, and then after that heading north, on the return journey
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