18-Feb-25 Lustica Bay, Montenegro

A glorious view for a morning brew. Marina. Lighthouse. Adriatic. Blue sky. Sunny. Warm. Snow capped mountains nearby. Ah yes, this will do very nicely. Had looked at staying in Kotor but hotels didn’t look too appealing and so glad I discovered the modern and new Chedi.

Drive to Kotor a few miles away is slow. Only one single carriage road around the coast. Constant queue of traffic. And this is February. Dread to think what it would be like at the height of summer. Needless to say. Parking takes some time!

Originally settled during Roman times, Kotor was developed by the Venetians from the 15^th century hence the Venetian architecture on display. And the historic Italian name…Cattaro. The city was part of the Venetian Works of Defence. Six bastion forts in its mainland territories and maritime domains. During World War 1 it was home to the Austro-Hungarian Navy and a base for submarines.

But the most noticeable thing about this medieval town. Is. The. Cats.

There’s hundreds of the flipping things. If not thousands.

Everywhere.

And.

Little tins of cat food.

And.

Kibble.

Everywhere.

Apparently residents consider them lucky.

There’s even a Cat Museum.

And much cat shaped jewellery.

Historically due to lots of mice, rats and snakes in the area, it was necessary to have cats to keep them under control.

Kotor old town is rather small and after half an hour have walked most of its narrow alleyways and the along the top of its city walls.

Along the small harbour are adverts for sightseeing cruises. Along the lines of. See the submarine base. Which piques my interest. But due to a business deadline today can’t afford the time to be on a boat for four hours. But can afford the time to drive to said submarine base. A little diversion on the way back to hotel.

A nice normal road turns into a twisty normal road. Which turns into a single track twisty road. With hedgerow scraping side of the hire car. Which turns into a hardcore type road. Not a problem I think. I’ll keep going. See how far I can get. As I drop down in height from the headland to sea level.

It’s when the hardcore turns into earth. Which has just been scraped by a machine. In readiness for building a new road. That I begin to wonder if this is a good idea. Down the hill I go. For quite some distance. Large clumps of claggy soil and rock line the edge which have been churned up by the earth mover.

And then.

Five thuggish looking young lads walk up the hill towards me.

Hmmm.

Middle of nowhere.

Can’t really turn around here.

They flag me down.

To tell me that the earth mover is making its way back. And not to go further. Or I’ll get stuck.

They too have tried to get to the submarine base but it’s been a bit of a slog. A lot further than they thought. Their car is a few hundred metres further up the hill. They are knackered.

Not having time for a bit of a slog. There’s only one way to go. And that’s back the way I came.

But. Need to reverse about 300m to a turning area back up the hill. Slow going that, dear reader.

Having completed a business deadline back at the hotel. In need of dinner. Try one of the restaurants along the marina. All of which are empty. Thinking locals might not eat until later. Pop into an Italian. Fancy some pasta. And a glass of red. Well, dear reader. Order ravioli. Thinking it will be filling. It’s not. The smallest portion. And not a cheap dish.

So. There I am.

Dining in an empty restaurant. Zero atmosphere.

But do discover a nice Montenegrin red wine.

Hic.