Category: Ports of Call (Page 12 of 39)

It was Karneval time! We jumped on the small local bus that takes the looooong way around the bay, going through all the charming little villages, rather than the quick way through the tunnel. It was Sunday morning and there wasn’t too much traffic. I can’t imagine how long it would take in summer, as there were multiple points where only one vehicle could fit down the street.

We arrived long before the festivities were due to begin, but we hadn’t been in Kotor in months, so we wanted a chance to wander around again. We stopped in at our favorite restaurant Konoba Santa Scala, and this time ate inside in the cute little cozy interior with Sande & Mike from Square One Sailing. Little did we know the other sailors from our marina were sitting outside at a table, and only realized it when Doug, of s/v Ambiente, came in to use the facilities.

We finished up and walked out to the main road to find a good spot to watch the parade. The contestants and costumes ranged from simple home-made affairs to some rather extravagant getups!

At the very end trailed the Manola de la Montanja, (The Man of the Mountain)

He was brought around to the very edge of the town (concrete) pier, where a mock trial was held and he was executed by burning at the stake. This represents a banishment of all the bad things that happened in the past year.

We meandered back to a bar for a drink while we waited for the bus home. Of course, Trip had to stop and pose with some of the revelers.

One of the liveaboards here in the marina, Tim, has been in Montenegro for over a decade, is an amazing amateur historian, and organizes hikes for the group when the weather cooperates. The first one we joined him on was a trip back in time.

Montengro as we know it, was carved into multiple regions that passed through many hands over the centuries. Boka Bay and the coastline (pretty much up to the ridge of mountains) was ruled by Venice for a few hundred years, before being ceded to Austria in 1815 via the Congress of Vienna. During the Austro Hungarian rule (1815-1918), over 100 fortresses were built to support the naval base in the bay. When they lost power, they bombed as many of the fortresses on their way out, leaving many in a complete state of ruin today, abandoned by the government.

Fort Lustica was the first fortress that we visited. It was built on a hill in 1890 as a second layer of defense at the narrowest part of the entrance of the bay (first layer being the islands at the entrance to the bay). It was bombed to near oblivion in 1918 in the retreat of defeat. It’s wildly overgrown and not easy to explore, but we were determined.

We climbed around the remnants, explored, and imagined what it might have looked like in the day. Of course the great views of the Adriatic and the mountains were a constant distraction.

Then it was on to Fort Kamala. Only 20 minutes away by foot, this was another fort that for unknown reasons (they ran out of weaponry?) was not demolished and therefore in much better shape to explore.

The anti-personnel ditch (think moat without water) was not as overgrown as at Lustica, the steps were safer to climb, and more was intact to explore.

We weren’t done with are war history yet. We backtracked a bit by car to the fishing village Rose. Walking down a dirt path to the water’s edge, we came upon one of several submarine tunnels built in the 1970’s by the Yugoslavian Navy (after WWI, Montenegro and the countries around it formed the country of Yugoslavia.)

The tunnel is 100 meters long and despite needing a flashlight to mind our steps, had good visibility at the very end (plenty of light to enjoy the creative graffiti). There’s an entire network of tunnels and passages adjoining that we didn’t have time to explore.

A few days later, Trip and I walked through the Naval Heritage Collection (museum) at Porto Montenegro. Unfortunately the museum is closed indefinitely, but we had a chance to wander around outside inspecting old submarines and boats that could have easily hidden out in the tunnel we explored only days earlier.

We came back to Montenegro mid-February, returning much earlier than we normally would in the season. We had hoped to head to the mountains to get some skiing in, as the marina has use of a chalet there. Unfortunately there’s very little snow in the mountains, not really enough to ski, so we’re enjoying ourselves locally.

Jet lag has been much harder to overcome this time, maybe because we simply don’t travel through multiple time zones as often as we used to.

It’s been nice to catch up with those who have stayed all winter or are trickling back like ourselves. There seems to be something to do almost every day, aside from the never ending list of boat projects. The marina is no longer decked out for the holidays, but still looks lovely at night with all the strung lights.

We even took in a national rugby match (Montenegro vs Serbia), even if we still struggle to understand the rules (American football complicates my understanding of the game).

The days are incredibly warm and sunny (short-sleeves warm), but the nights are very cold and damp. The heater on the boat has been getting a proper workout each night for dinner and a movie. Then we turn in with a pile of blankets on the berth.

We’re only home for three months and there’s a lot to pack into that time. Visiting with family and friends is the utmost priority (and the most fun), but there’s a lot of other things to manage: Ordering spare parts that can more easily be sourced in the US, bringing back things that we wish we had packed the first time, doctor visits, house & car repairs & maintenance, just to name a few.

It’s been on my list to replace our wine glasses and general drinking glasses on board. Years ago I had a really bad experience with two glasses (of actual glass) shattering, leaving shards of glass everywhere in the boat, and creating a sense of panic about walking barefoot (pretty much all the time). At that time we switched to plastic, and found some glasses that felt safe but didn’t look like we were camping. Several years of hard use, however, has dulled the finish on the (plastic) glasses no matter how well I washed them. Time to replace.

Whenever I’m buying something for the boat, I like it to have some meaning. I’ve replaced all the bowls on the boat with bowls I’ve bought in every country we’ve visited. I missed the chance to do the same with the glasses (guess we’ll have to go back?). However, as I was cleaning out the house this time (I attempt to get rid of a little bit more crap every time we’re home), I came across silver plated goblets that we inherited from Trip’s mother. They were horribly tarnished, but I tried the electrolysis trick of wrapping them in foil, and soaking them in boiling water mixed with baking soda. Ta-da, they’re like new! And with that we have ‘new’ wine glasses for the boat (and we can safely pack them in luggage without worrying about breakage).

It was pouring rain, and we had said our goodbyes to Johan and Jenny. It was time to go shopping! Trip was not thrilled, but he trudged along behind me, waiting patiently and carrying the things I bought, while I poured over the stalls in the Grand Bazaar.

After the bazaar, we moved on through the still pouring rain to the Pudding Shop, one of the iconic places for lunch in Istanbul.

And then it was time for the Basilica Cistern. Despite being surrounded by the sea on three sides, Istanbul has very little fresh water. The cistern, and a series of hundreds of kilometers of ductwork from the mountains were constructed in Byzantium times (6th century), to provide water to the palace and the local population.

The cistern is 9,800 square meters in size, and is supported by 336 stone columns, most of them recycled from the ruins of older buildings in other parts of the empire.

The base of one particular column features a head turned upside down. Reportedly it is Medusa (minus the snakes) and the head is upside down as that was how to prevent her gaze from turning you into stone. That, or someone simply had a sense of humor.

We hadn’t been in a big city in months, so were a little bit overwhelmed. But Istanbul is absolutely breathtaking, with a waterfront view everywhere and the most beautiful mosques. Friends & fellow cruisers Jenny and Johan were flying home through Istanbul and we were thrilled to be able to meet up with them for a day before we went our separate ways.

First off was the Topkapi Palace. Built in the 15th century, the palace was home to sultans of the Ottoman empire through the ages. The complex is a series of buildings surrounded by courtyards, each progressively more secure and private. We headed straight to the harem, which was so enormous we could have spent the entire day there.

Western culture has a rather negative or at least sexualized view of a harem. The reality was that this compound had 300+ people living together, all in support of the sultan, and all ruled by the sultan’s mother. There was a tier system to the concubines, ranging from those who had relations with the sultan, to those whom he married, to those who bore him children. That doesn’t include the servants, the teachers (these women were very well educated), nor the guards.

The receiving rooms reminded me of the Ottoman houses we had toured in Gjirokaster, Albania. Clearly these were built for the rulers of the country, but even the houses hundreds of miles away in another country bore the same structure, albeit in a more modest way.

From the harem we headed straight to the treasury building, where all the jewelry was on display. Everything was extraordinary, but we were on the hunt for the jeweled dagger, which Trip remembered from the movie Topkapi that he saw when he was a teenager. Sure enough, after a bit of hunting, we found the prized dagger on display. The largest emerald in it is seven carats!!!!

We could have spent the entire day at the museum, but we had limited time and wanted to see more, so we headed up to the Blue Mosque. The mosque was closed at that time for private prayer, so we side tracked over to the hippodrome. Once the center of social life in the city, the hippodrome featured chariot races on a regular basis. The area is still wide open (amazing considering how congested the city is) and features the Obelisk of Theosdosius the Great from Egypt (3,500+ years old) and the Serpent Column (made from the melted-down bronze of the weapons of war).

And then it was into the Blue Mosque. Built in the 17th century in Ottoman times, it’s a masterpiece of domes and cascading semi-domes. The name comes from the the extent of blue used in the interior. Muslim law prohibits artists from painting anything living (animals or humans), as only God has the right to give life. That said, stone work as well as the painting simply takes your breath away. The mosques here are on par with any cathedral in all of western civilization.

We had a little bit of daylight and good weather left after all that exploring, so we headed to the rooftop terrace of a local bar for a glass of wine and to enjoy the view.

To cap off our evening, we walked down to the Golden Crescent for dinner. The bridge across the Bosphorus Strait is dotted with seafood restaurants, and we settled on one. After all the walking, it was nice to sit and relax with a good meal and some local raki (anisette liquor).

Our walk back to the hotel at the end of the evening had the New Mosque lit up.

At the end of every season we pack up the boat for a few months and fly home to see friends and family. As we are in a different country every season, it’s always a new experience. This year was no different. We decided to fly out of the capital city of Montenegro, Podgorica, through Istanbul, as Turkish airlines had one of the best prices and least convoluted routes to get home. As usual it was its own adventure.

We raced around doing our final bit of packing the boat away: I dropped my sourdough starter to Jen, Hannah & Jules, we went over the boat with fellow dock mate Nige who was going to check on Kalyra while we were gone, and we said goodbye to all of our new friends. Ian had a car and was kind enough to drop us off at the local bus station. The bus was a breathtaking but a little unnerving winding drive along the coast and then up through the mountains to Podgorica. We had planned to get in early afternoon so as to see the city. We were later warned that there wasn’t much to see and wow, they were right. As beautiful as the bay of Kotor is, Podgorica is simply grey and concrete and downright boring and depressing. We had lunch, and took a cab to the apartment.

The upside of the apartment was that it was very close to the airport (10 minutes ) and they would drive us in the morning. The downside was that it was in the middle of nowhere. We had to walk down a really sketchy road with no lights and no sidewalk to the one restaurant in town, which luckily had incredibly tasty food and sizable portions.

The flight to Istanbul was uneventful and the view was spectacular. Istanbul’s airport is one of the largest in the world, and it took over 30 minutes (with people movers (moving sidewalks)) to get from our gate to customs and immigration. It was a little surprising to see the number of offices they had scattered through the airport dedicated to people who have been denied boarding. Is it that common???

The last part of the trip that was eye-opening was our ride from the airport to the hotel. We had booked ahead of time for transportation, and a guy met us at the exit and took us to the pickup location. A black van pulled up that looked innocuous enough. But when they opened the door the interior looked like we were on our way to a bachelor party – the only thing that was missing was the stripper pole! We giggled our way into the city.

We discovered Siesta, a local bar in Tivat run by father Ano and son Karlo. They have great burgers and we always like finding a local place to hang during the season. They have darts, so all the cruisers come on Monday afternoons.

I had wondered why we couldn’t order food after 6 pm, and learned that Ano (the chef) left every day at that time to get to Palmon Bay, a resort on the other side of the bay, where he plays piano. After talking further, he invited us to come along one night.

What an unexpected treat! During winter, he’s set up in the lounge just outside the restaurant. We were the first ones to sit, but soon the lounge was completely full as people came out of the restaurant and stopped for a final drink before heading back to their rooms. Ano played everything from Autumn Leaves (a personal favorite), to Herbie Hancock, to Billy Joel, and everything in between. His voice is just as good as his playing. We can’t wait to come back next spring or summer with the boat, when he’ll be playing on the rooftop terrace each night!

Merelle sent a note: She & Gary were going to drive to Dubrovnik to pick up a new head sail and would we like to come along? We had plenty of boat chores to do before leaving for the season, but after a quick check of the calendar (yay, we had been out of the Schengen zone for 90 days), but of course we were going!

The drive from Tivat isn’t bad, a little over two hours along meandering roads. The forecast of pouring rain turned out to be light showers that let up when we arrived. We had a great time meeting John and May, who run a yacht consulting business in Croatia (and who had found the sail). Really looking forward to next year when they come to the marina to give a presentation about tips and tricks for cruising in Croatia). Gary and Merelle had the jib loaded into the car trunk, and off we went.

Despite the chilly weather, we were thrilled to be in Dubrovnik post high season when all the crowds were gone. The old town is massive, far bigger than Kotor and Budva, and we only had a taste of it.

Several films have been shot here including several iconic scenes of the series Game Of Thrones. Being as popular as it was, there were lots of Game of Thrones merchandise shops here . More importantly there was a really good ice cream shop and I could indulge in a scoop of pistachio bliss. We can’t wait to come back and explore more next year.

This part of the eastern Mediterranean is slowly becoming famous for their wines. Fellow cruiser George had mentioned a winery up in the hills behind Herceg Novi, but we never got around to exploring it when we were anchored there. I happened to google it and was able to make a reservation for the next day, as the weather looked fabulous and we had a car at our disposal.

The winery was founded by locals who lived abroad in London and developed a taste for old world wines. They came home, bought the land, and planted old world grapes, just enough to provide wine for friends and family. The land was particularly well suited – on the side of a hill with plenty of sun (records in the local museum showed that vineyards had existed there since the 1300’s).

It was a success and Savina wines were born. The wines did so well that they were able to open as a commercial winery, though they have kept production small and export nothing further than Dubrovnik in neighboring Croatia. Several years ago the local monastery allowed them to plant more vines, and now the monastery has wine to consume and sell. (Interesting fact: Because the monastery is Orthodox, the labels for the wines sold there are custom printed in the Cyrillic alphabet).

Trip isn’t normally a fan of white wines, but the Chardonnay (French, lightly oaked, no butter) was delightful. Our absolute favorite, though, was their Cabernet Sauvignon, and at $20 a bottle we can splurge every once in a while.

Jenny and AJ, other cruisers in the marina who we recently met, happened to pass by and joined us for the tasting. We tortured the winery’s cat by playing with him and petting him, but denying him a taste of our charcuterie board.

After basking in the sun with a spectacular view of the bay, good wine and good company, it was time to head back. To save an hours drive along the water, for 4€ we boarded a car ferry that took us across in less than 5 minutes!