September
21 - Moving to Montenegro
ALERT: Someone stole my cell phone. No SMS for me. I will tell you how
it happened in
another email. I'll also tell you when I get a new phone. Meanwhile,
here's a more
cheerful tale...
CAPTIVATING KOTOR
I can think of no higher compliment I can pay a town than to say, "I
want to buy a house
here."
That's what I said when I walked through the streets of Kotor,
Montenegro.
From an interior with Alpine-type scenery to deep canyons, coastal
fjords, and a sparsely
vegetated and limestone mountain range that plummets down to an azure
Adriatic sea,
Montenegro has got the works. But it was
Kotor, a town which lies in
the largest fjord in
southern Europe, that stole my heart.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY EASTERN EUROPEAN TRIP: KOTOR
My guidebook says, "Kotor is a big secret." No kidding.
Kotor is a small town with a population of 25,000, and it lies on the
Montenegrin coast
in the southern Adriatic. It stands at the foot of the Lovcen massif,
at the end of the
deep, rugged Bay of Kotor.
Tiny Kotor has all the features I love in a typical Venetian town:
narrow sinuous
streets, little picturesque shops, antique monuments, and enchanting
plazas. But it has
something that Venice and Dubrovnik don't: massive mountains towering
all around the city
which is set at the end of a triple bays. And it's a lot cheaper too!
It's got a
cool location.
OK, so Kotor doesn't have the canals of Venice, but maybe global
warming will change
that.
Plus, you have the thrill of knowing that the Serbs might want to
invade at any moment.
KOTOR'S HISTORY
Locals call it a 6th century town, but Illyrians lived here in the 3rd
century BC. Maybe
I'll share with you its rich history some other time, but for now just
enjoy the pictures:
There's an
aerial picture of Kotor.
The outer wall of Kotor
is nice.
Tapping a well in Kotor.
The nearby highway reminds me a bit of Big Sur,
California.
The vegetation also reminds me of Big Sur.
Marco and I hiked for hours up the
mountain.
The town needs work, but I love it anyway.
OH YEAH, AND THERE'S MORE TO MONTENEGRO
You know you're small when Estonia is 3 times bigger than you. But
there's still a lot to
see in Montenegro, although everyone told me to skip Podgorica (the
ugly capital) and so
I did.
Marco and I saw Herceg-Novi, which an old walled city set on a steep
slope that ends with
beaches. It's not a bad pit stop after crossing the Croatian border
(which is a pain
because you have to walk across the border since these neighbors still
haven't kissed and
made up).
MAN-MADE ISLAND, BUILT OVER 500 YEARS
When Marco and I were 30km outside of Kotor we passed Perast, a small
waterside village.
Although the town is cute, it's the two islands next to it that draw
your attention. They
are so close to the sea level, they look artificial. One is. And the
story of how the
Montenegrins built it is remarkable.
First here are 3 perspectives of the islands:
One,
Two, and
Three.
The locals created the island called Lady of the Rock by dropping
stones on the site
every July 22. It eventually dawned on someone that this sure is a slow
way to build an
island.
Therefore, a few hundred years ago they loaded 87 captured ships with
rocks and then
purposefully sank them onto the site. That certainly helped their
progress.
It took 550 years, but there it is, and a man-made island built before
earth moving
equipment.
ORIGINAL CAPITAL OF MONTENEGRO
Cetinje, perched on a high plateau above Kotor, is the old capital of
Montenegro, and is
the subject of songs and epic poems. The Montenegrins are proud that
they were the only
country in the Balkans that never fell under Turkish rule.
The town isn't that great, but the drive/walk up from Kotor is
spectacular.
BUDVA'S BEACH
Budva is Montenegro's top beach resort. It also has a walled town that
was completely
rebuilt after two earthquakes in 1979. Budva is much more polished than
Kotor and has the
beaches that folks in Kotor have to drive 40 minutes to get to. But it
lacks the majestic
mountains that encircle Kotor and the inexplicable charm of that city.
MAYBE MOVING TO MONTENEGRO
I am seriously considering buying a little house in Kotor. I will keep
you posted. Here's
the view from the house I want:
Hike 2 minutes up the hill
and you see this.
DISCLAIMER
Before you all buy the next plane ticket to Kotor (Tivat is the nearest
airport), realize
that I'm a sucker for quaint Venetian towns. I'd guess that most people
would go to
Kotor, spend a couple of hours roaming around the town and conclude,
"Yeah, it's nice. But not that great."
Most would prefer Venice or Dubrovnik because they are much more
grandiose than poor
little Kotor. But I treasure finding little overlooked gems, so I
appreciate Kotor more
than most.
And no, I did not meet some girl who is encouraging me to move there.
On the contrary,
the few girls that Marco and I met were not that nice. Despite the
ladies, I liked the tiny town. I did run into a great business opportunity, but that's
another story.
Therefore, I left with a bit of sadness, but I may return someday.
NEXTALE: ALERT IN ALBANIA
|
Marcos and I woke up at 6AM to hike up the mountain while the temps were
still cool. Here I'm passing the ruins of a fort above Kotor.
A bit later, we made halfway up the mountain. The fjords of Kotor were
impressive.
As the temps soared, Marcos shed his shirt. Here he's nearly at the top
of the mountain.
Marcos and I met Alex, a local who has a charming restaurant in the
mountains.
Marcos with the Kotor's mountain behind him.
Sunset over Kotor Bay.
Most people when they think of Serbia-Montenegro they think of an ugly
war torn region.
Think again. This is the magical town of Sveti, near Kotor.
The humble house that I would love to buy and fix up. It's the highest
house in Kotor.
The simple entrance into the house. Yeah, it needs work.
The view from the house is breathtaking.
I could probably write a few books just looking at this. |
