On the Blue Waters of Kotor

 Our day in Montenegro was one of only 2 days that it rained on the entire 13 day trip, but it was also the day we were taking a boat out to the Blue Cave. We were thankful that the boat had a cover, but it was a choppy ride.  We were uncertain if we would be able to get inside the cave due to the water conditions.  It was a long ride for a "maybe".  To make matters more concerning was the time change and the lateness of us tendering from the ship to port.  "They would see what they could do" in our limited time.  They needed to be back by noon to pick up their next tour.  So off we went across the bay with a great playlist playing over the speakers.  Virginia and I began dancing when "Dancing Queen" came through the speakers.  At one point the boat operators sent 3 of the men. including my husband, the the back of the boat to help with weight distribution to get through the waves. Though it was wet, it was a fun ride.

It was about a 30 minute ride to get to the Blue cave.  The boat captain, Aki, was able to get us into the lower hanging cave despite the waves.  The cave was amazing.  We had several minutes to take in the turquoise blue water and cave walls.  We were not able to jump in as time was limited and the water was still too cold. (As usual photos don't do it justice)

Our boat trip continued into a submarine tunnel. The tunnel was a camouflaged mooring for attack vessels of the Yugoslav Navy which no longer exists. The tunnel would hide vessels, including  submarine, from enemy ships or aircraft.  

Our final stop on the boat tour was Our Lady of the Rocks.  I was very interested in seeing this little church built on an artificial island. But the truth is I only got to walk around the island for 3 minutes before I had to get on the boat to return to port.  It was a very long boat ride and this was the first restroom on the trip.  I paid my 1 Euro to use the bathroom to have the bathroom assistant grab a bucket of water from the bay and pour it down the toilet to flush it and waited my turn.  It looks like it was have been beautiful had I been able to walk around.  I managed to walk up onto the balcony, but on my return to the ground level my husband told me they were waiting for me.  I was disappointed and a bit frustrated with the rush.  But everyone has to take their turn as it is a very small island.

My View from the Restroom Line

My 3 minute view of Our Lady of the Rocks

One we returned to shore the skies had cleared and we enjoyed lunch at a café in town and walked around the town and bought a few souvenirs including an olive tree bowl, beautiful color changing Zultanite earrings and a pair of artist glass earrings. The town was filled with little shops and lots of cats.  They love their cats in Kotor and have several stores and parks dedicated to them. One of the things we had on our possible to do list was to walk the city walls of Kotor.  Well, we got to do that completely by accident when we lost our direction heading back to the ship and ended up on the wall walking away from the ship.  We turned ourselves around and made it back to the ship, but now we can say we walked the city walls in Kotor, if only by accident.

Views in the City

Walking the City Walls

Steps/Mile Walked= 9154 steps / 3.5 miles

Glasses of Wine = 2

Cocktails Experienced = Mint Berry Delight

Gelato Enjoyed = 1

Pizza Partaken = 1

Photos Taken = 174

Souvenir = carve olive tree bowl, zultanite earrings, artist glass earrings

Firsts = boat ride into a cave, flushing a toilet with a bucket of water from the bay, being in a submarine tunnel

Reflection:    The day started off dreary and wet.  Yet we made the best of it and enjoyed what was put in front of us instead of lamenting about things that could not be changed.  I enjoyed the quiet pace of walking around the town and peaking into shop even though I am not a shopper.  I was hoping to get new earrings to replace the earrings that I lost when removing my helmet on the paratrike ride.  We likely paid a bit more than we should have, but I love the unique earrings that I got at this port.  Once and a while it is ok to be spoiled.