Kotor...
Some of the 1300+ steps it took to get there.
October 8, 2007

7:00pm

So I am now in Kotor…and I don’t regret this decision for one second! Once again, a place I found myself loving the instant I
arrived.

And then there was the drive. What a treat! I love driving along the coast of Croatia. The water is gorgeous. But what
Montenegro offers is so much more diversity with the gorges and mountains. And of course the sea.

I will stay here a couple nights and then work my way down the coast. I can’t wait!


October 9, 2007

I got an early start this morning…and it was a good thing!

I decided I would start my day walking way up to the tippity top of this place to St. John’s Fortress. Now just
how high up, are
you asking yourself? Due to my diligence in counting, I can tell you. Approximately 1350 steps up. Yes, you read that correctly.
I don’t know if it’s because of the views…or because of the viewpoints along the way…or because of the good condition of the
limestone steps…but there was absolutely nothing painful about this. When I got to the top, it felt like I
maybe walked up 300
steps. It’s always nice to do physical activity without really feeling like you are doing physical activity.

I ended up sitting up there for over an hour looking out at the fjord that Kotor lies in. A person could seriously sit here all day
and think about nothing…or think about everything. Your call. I was leaning towards the ‘thinking about nothing’ category.

It’s a good thing I did this first thing today. After I showered I went outside to see that the weather took a turn. Not a really
bad turn. But still a ‘now the entire sky is covered by gray clouds’ turn. Sure different from the blue sky with white puffy
clouds that it was early this morning.

While Kotor is beautiful, there isn’t a wide range of things to do here. If I was here with a friend, it would be wonderful idling
away at the cafes. And I still enjoy that by myself…but I just can’t do it for as long as if I had…say….someone to talk to.

So I hopped on a bus to another town along the fjord called Perast. Much smaller than Kotor – beyond charming. Stairs (more
stairs!) led up to amazing views of the clock tower, in addition to the two small islands in the near distance. This was a very
sleepy place. Extremely peaceful sitting near the water and walking down the narrow road. And even if this town wasn’t
anything special, it was sure worth the 1 Euro bus ride to get here – it was more of a scenic drive that hugged the fjord at
every turn.


October 10, 2007

Sleeping with the Enemy

I have become aware that mosquitoes are in existence out here (thanks to the draining of blood from my feet and ankles while
sitting outside eating dinner at night). But last night I went to sleep. And then I heard a faint sound of a lawn mower – I know
that sound. A mosquito had broken into my room.

I turned the lights on and tried to do a search…to no avail. I lost my bug spray somewhere in Tunisia so I couldn’t douse
myself with that. I tried to wrap myself entirely in my sheet and go back to sleep. Minutes later I heard the humming noise
again. Not only that, I now had a few new bites. I decided to sleep with the entryway light on – at least I could then see the
little bugger next time its humming made its way into my ear. This happened and I saw him…sitting on my sheet. When I
went to whack him, he flew away. An opportunity missed. I got up once more to search my room. Once again, came up empty-
handed.

I eventually fell asleep. And I am happy to report that the number of bites I have didn’t compound over the night. This led me
to wonder if mosquitoes ever get full from sucking too much blood? They must, right?

In any case, there are now several well-fed mosquitoes in Kotor thanks to me…
Back to Montenegro.
Up at St. John's Fortress.
within the Kotor walls.