After breakfast we contacted Marcus, Jacquie and Max on FaceTime and were pleased to hear that all was well in the Southern Hemisphere.
At 09:00 we walked along the waterfront of Kotor past the cruise ships and their several thousand passengers who’d just arrived in town. Our stopping point was at the beach where our kayaking trip was to commence.
We had two guides who were very tall, strong and super fit looking young men who quickly had us organised into our double kayaks although Chris being a highly experienced ‘paddler’ was the only single kayak in our group of seventeen.
Group kayaking, Kotor, Montenegro
Scenery from kayak, Kotor, Montenegro
We spent a very pleasant hour or so paddling along the coast and then crossed to the other shore where we stopped for coffees and a swim. The crystal clear water was around 18°C we guessed and most of our group ventured in and stayed in for about half an hour.
Kayaks on beach, Kotor, Montenegro
Group swimming, Kotor, Montenegro
We then kayaked further along the shore across from Kotor to a turn around point that was originally an old fishing village dating back to the 16th century.
Jak & Corinne kayaking, Kotor, Montenegro
Scenery from kayak, Kotor, Montenegro
Group kayaking, Kotor, Montenegro
Old house from kayak, Kotor, Montenegro
High on the hill behind are the remains of a small church built by settlers to this area in the 12th century. The nine hundred year old church looked in a remarkably good state considering its age. The building of houses higher up the hillside was to give more warning and protection from Turkish sailors and other potential pirates. In the meantime a third (large) cruise ship arrived in the harbour.
In perfect conditions of sunshine and a glassy sea in breathless conditions we headed the three kilometres back to our starting point on the beach near the city wall of Kotor.
We showered and washed out our salty clothes and then with the great fortune of WiFi we contacted friends back in Australia and elsewhere.
After a lunchtime snack and some cool liquid refreshments we decided to start the walk up to the mountain fortress.
The steep path up the hillside has 1353 steps and the rise in altitude is just about 290m. After passing the little Church of Our Lady of Remedy (most appropriate) we stopped at the half way mark on the way up for a cool drink. The final section of climb follows the 16th century fortress high stone wall which was built along the knife-edge sharp escarpment past the Kontarini Tower, through a small stone fort and eventually to reach the Illyrian Fort of St. John. The climb took us just on half an hour but it was made easier by the stone steps being ‘just right’ for comfortable climbing.
View of old city from fortress walk, Kotor, Montenegro
Jak & Corinne at top, fortress walk, Kotor, Montenegro
At the top was a fantastic panoramic view across the city and harbour with the steep stairway that we’d climbed being a zigzag path on the cliffs below. The walled ‘old city’ of Kotor was seen from above as a tightly packed collection of ancient orange-tiled houses in amongst the steeples and golden domes of churches.
Fortress walk, Kotor, Montenegro
Fortress walk, Kotor, Montenegro
When viewed using a multiple magnification of the image, our photo of the city taken at the very top of the fortress mountain enabled us to identify our hotel and its balcony together with our clothes hanging outside to dry (just like the locals do).
We descended and needed to have cool showers after this mid-afternoon exertion in warm to hot conditions.
In the evening we had a first-class and comparatively cheap meal at our own Hotel Marija on the terrace in front of the main entrance.
Tomorrow we have the morning to relax and do more exploring of this historical city before heading off for Dubrovnik in Croatia; the start of another adventure in this fascinating and extraordinarily beautiful part of the world.