The Balkans trip offered so much in 3 different countries I thought it better to divide the blog into countries but also to cover the war in Bosnia in a separate blog. Hope that works.
KOTOR
Set on the Gulf of Kotor this old city has so much going for it. The walled city was right on the edge of the deep waters of the fjord carved by glaciers many years ago. The wall of the city snakes up the steep mountain (makes you wonder why they need the wall at all). There was, however, no way that I was going to scale the 1,400 odd steps though.
The city inside the wall was again a myriad of alleyways, churches, squares and … cats!!! Yes, cats. They are residents in the town and are both well cared for and protected. The do, however, cause a bit of trouble for the restaurants as they do harass the diners. There does not appear to be a plan to control the numbers which is an issue that will grow I am sure.
As I said, Kotor is placed so beautiful and Montenegro could well become the Monaco or Monte Carlo of the Adriatic if they worked on it. The problem though is that the country is run by corruption, and it is all the way down. For example, in order to get a “hassle free” entry into the country the bus driver had to bribe the border guard. There is a new president, a young guy educated in the west and there were high hopes that he might introduce the change needed. Alas, the corruption is so deep seated that not even he could make a difference. Sad really as it is a beautiful place.
We took a speed boat out to explore the area and it was a lot of fun. We stopped off at a little island with its obligatory church, passed many little villages with their obligatory church usually half way up the hill, a tunnel cut into the mountain to hide submarines in the cold war and then in to a quiet beach for a swim.
We were meant to get out into the Adriatic to visit the Blue Caves but it was way too rough. The submarine tunnels were very cool. They were used in the filming of Casino Royale and you could really see the evil villains lair. It was very Cold War.
I know that corruption is everywhere, but when it stops your country from becoming a jewel in the crown of your region then that becomes sad. But putting that aside Kotor was a very nice place to visit and whilst I wouldn’t go back I would definitely recommend people visit if they are in the region.
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