The big thrill this morning was that the Pacific Princess was the only ship in town, and so it was our turn to sit at the grown up table and actually dock instead of tender. And the pier in Kotor is basically right across the street from the walled Old Town. It couldn't be easier. We walked off with a steady steam of crew members who were returning home at the end of their 7 to 9 month contracts, dragging suitcases and bags behind them and wearing the biggest smiles we had ever seen. We had been told that their visas would not allow them to disembark in Italy or Croatia which is why they were leaving the ship (and being replaced) in tiny Kotor, Montenegro. We stood on the pier for a few minutes and waved goodbye and thanked them and wished them safe travels, a two-person send off committee. It was fun.
The Bay of Kotor
It was still spitting rain when we walked off the ship and with no other plans for the day, we settled in at the very nice wine bar called The Terminal, not coincidentally located right at the port terminal. We both got white hot chocolate which bought us the WiFi password and we sat there warming up and getting caught up with the world and paying bills. G had not been able to check on the webcams at home since Koper and I could tell he was slightly anxious about that so it was especially nice to erase that concern from our list of things to worry about.
Eventually though, all good things must come to an end, and by late morning the rain stopped and the sun actually made an appearance, which was quite contrary to the weather forecast for today (as Captain D told us later). G started making noises about climbing that mountain to the fort at the top and, just as always happens, I didn't want him to go alone, and that is how I found myself following him into the walled city and out of an arch at the back of the Old Town. The climb to the top of the wall was in many ways like climbing the Great Wall of China but I am nearly 13 years older now and these steps were not wide like on the Great Wall but barely two feet in width. Oh, and did I mention there are 1355 of them, with a 700 foot elevation gain?
The arch that leads to the trail from the Old Town
It started out as just a rocky walk
Kotor's Old Town with the dome of the Cathedral of St. Tryphon on the right
Still not bad...at least there was a wall on one side and a small shoulder on the other
The pier, if a ship is lucky enough to be able to dock, is right at the entrance to Old Town
It helped that the day was so chilly but it wasn't long before we were both drenched with sweat. After about 30 minutes of climbing, we reached the halfway point and the Church of Our Lady of Health. We had been told during our walking tour of the Old Town during our last visit that people looking for a cure used to climb the steps to the church on their knees. Well, I can say with great certainty that if they had reached the church on their knees, whatever illness had sent them there would be the least of their issues. The saving grace of all this was that the views of the Old Town and the Bay of the Kotor and the Pacific Princess were stunning.
Church of Our Lady of Health
I made it a bit higher; there were fortified towers every so often at the switchbacks, and many of these had walls with large gates. Invaders attempting to take the fort would reach these points and be pummeled with cannon fire from above, with no means of escape. Finally, at one of these I cried 'uncle' and said I was done. As bad as it was going up, I knew coming down those narrow, irregular steps with drop offs on either side was going to be much more difficult. I picked the comfiest looking rock and sat down, waiting for G to finish the climb to the top. It worked well; I gave him the camera and every time he rounded a switchback where he could see me, he waved.
Somewhere along here it stopped being any kind of fun, and I opted to hold down a rock until G returned.
From this point on, the photos are the ones he took.
Once again, G had the most fun imagining life when the wall was actually used for defense hundreds of years ago. The fortresses at several of the switchbacks were barracks, with cooking areas and sleeping areas. At the very top, there was a sheer drop off hundreds of feet down the backside of the mountain with the stone remains of a village at the very bottom. G pointed out to me that the steps we were climbing, as sketchy as they were, were not always there; that a path covered with stone rubble had led the way to the top for hundreds of years and everything needed for life in the towers and at the fort, and in the village on the back side had come up that mountain. And imagine what an effort it had been to haul and place those 1355 steps!
You look at things differently when you travel with my husband!
The wall follows the crest of the mountain with steep drop offs on both sides
Approaching the Castle of San Giovanni (St. John)
Castle of San Giovanni
It took him another 30 minutes or so of climbing to reach the flagged Fortress of St. John at the very top. The photos he took with the Pacific Princess looking like a dot in the distance were breathtaking (to be shared when we return home). It was frightening for me to see the stairs he climbed down...nothing to hold on to and no way to stop himself if he fell. But he is amazing and had no issues at all. He rejoined me at the rock where I had spent an hour and we picked our way down the mountain.
Coming back down
G noticed the track on the floor where the door had dragged when it was opened
It became sunnier as we walked down and the mountain looked beautiful with the light on it
Ok, that's done, never to be repeated. And I survived.
At the base of the mountain looking up
It couldn't be any easier than to come off the mountain and walk right on the ship!
As soon as we started down, I was instantly chilled by the cold air and my wet clothes. We returned to the ship and went to the Panorama Buffet for coffee and hot soup. At 3:45pm, Captain D. announced that everyone was on board and the Pacific Princess would start to sail back out of the Bay of Kotor. We took quick showers and while we were dressing for the evening, could see that it had started to pour and heard hail hitting our porthole window hard. It was just like our first visit here earlier this season. It was dark in the deep fiord by 5pm, but before we went to dinner, we stepped out on the Panorama Terrace to see that the rain had stopped, and we stood there for awhile watching as we sailed past towns on both sides of the bay, with their lights climbing the sides of the mountains.
Dinner was quick- just salad and salmon for me- and we both had bananas foster made by headwaiter Antonio for dessert. We finished in time to make it to the 6:45pm performance of Irish comedian George Riley. He was very occasionally, very mildly humorous. 'Nuff said. But no matter. We were both nearly asleep by the time the show was over, and G was out like a light as soon as we returned to the cabin. I will be too, as soon as I finish preparing this post. We move clocks ahead one hour overnight, again putting us 7 hours ahead of EST. but we've survived nine port days in a row (and finished the last one in a big way), and are desperate for tomorrow's sea day. The MTP luncheon is scheduled for noon...we should be awake by then. ;-)
I climbed a mountain. Life is good. :-)
