Missing you already, Erin & Madeleine. The calendars are marked for April 2025, see you in Tunisia (and obviously back in New Jersey this winter)!

Our last day with the girls we decided to pack in as much as we could with a water tour in the morning, and wine in the hills in the afternoon. First, we took what I call a ‘zoom zoom’ (fast motor boat) out to see the bay and the famous Blue Cave.

Our guide, Pieter, took us to back to the side of the bay near Rose, but this time showed us two larger submarine tunnels than what we had explored by foot.

The tunnels were just as amazing to see by water as they were by land. After a little bit of time there, we went on for the main attraction of the Blue Cave.

The Blue Cave is on the Adriatic side of the Lustica Peninsula, and we had waited for a day when conditions were just right. Blue skies and no wind, otherwise the cave is sometimes unnavigable.

The water is absolutely breathtaking. We were particularly lucky that we came early in the season, as we only had one other boat sharing the cave briefly. According to Pieter, during the height of summer there can be 30+ boats jockeying for position, plus people jumping in the water. As he said it – an accident waiting to happen.

We were back on the dock before noon, and it was a good thing, because we had more planned for our last day. We showered and changed into better clothes, packed into the car, and headed back to Savina Winery in Herceg Novi, where Trip and I visited last fall.

We stopped at the Savina Monastery on the way up this time (it was closed when we were there last fall), partly to admire the elaborate gravesites, and partly to buy a couple of bottles of wine. The monastery donated land for vines, and the winery gives them bottles of wine in return to sell for the church’s profit. I wanted a couple of bottles because they have their own labels (the Orthodox Church still uses the Cyrillic alphabet). I also discovered that they might not know the value of their wines, as we picked up a merlot and a 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon for 30 euros!

Then it was up to the winery for some nibbles, some wine, some lovely views of Boka Bay, and a final afternoon to enjoy having Madeleine and Erin with us.

Trip and I have been to Kotor several times, and I’ve hiked the ‘Ladder of Cattaro”, but we wanted to bring Madeleine & Erin to explore the fort as well. We did the same hike up the multi-switchback trail that I had done with Tim, Stephen & April, and we visited the same little cathedral.

Then things got interesting. I had read about hiking up the trail to the fort, climbing up a ladder and through an opening, then walking back down the interior of the fort. How hard could it be?

Well, the ladder had been removed, but we weren’t discouraged. We clambered up and over, even if it wasn’t the most graceful moment.

The views from the fort were amazing.

Built in medieval times, the fort incorporates military building styles from Ilyrians, Byzantines, Venetians, and Austrians, all of whom took turns ruling this corner of the country.

We descended down the stone steps into the walled city but, unfortunately for us, they were collecting tickets at the gate when we got down. Since we had come in ‘illegally’ through the wall, we sheepishly paid for tickets and went on our way. We did a little bit more shopping, then then retreated to our favorite restaurant in the city, La Scala Santa, for lunch.

One of our marine electricians recommended visiting a local farm on the way to Budva, so we decided to go check it out. Farma Carević is owned by the former mayor of Budva and is a construction magnate. It is a working farm, an animal/bird preserve, and is on its way to becoming one of the biggest wedding venues in the area. We would have preferred to see more pasture raised animals, but it was still interesting to get a tour of the operations.

We got to meet all the animals on the farm, including playing with the goats in the first barn. We had lunch there looking out over the Adriatic, then it was off to Budva for the afternoon.

We wandered around the old town and soon ran into Mary, Bernard, and Donna. They had just finished lunch and were on their way out to see the Budva Ballerina statue. I don’t know how we missed it the first time, but it was fun to check out. I tried my best yoga pose on the slippery rocks, and settled for more basic photos with Erin. Then it was back to the beach for some ice cream and an Aperol Spritz while Madeleine added to her sea glass collection

Our neighbor Bernard has a folding kayak on his boat that he offered to let me try. This kayak is the closest design to my sea kayak at home that I’ve ever seen. I was addicted. I took off out of the marina and out to the island. I had to remind myself to turn around and come back!

This is Mr. Melancholy. He’s a stray that lives in the area, we see him on a regular basis. He often waits in front of this Italian deli, as the women who work there feed him and look after him, along with others. (They call him Sad Man because of the perpetually sad look on his face, I changed it to Mr. Melancholy). This is the kind of sweet pup I would love to adopt, but I recognize that some animals here don’t need rescue. He’s well fed, looks healthy, always seems to have a dry warm space to rest, and a community that looks after him. Boat life is not necessarily what he needs. But we’ve agreed that a dog (or cat) will be back in our lives once we’ve got the boat back across the Atlantic and are closer to home again.

We tore the edge of the mainsail last season coming over from Sicily to Albania. We were lucky enough to find a local sail loft who fixed that tear for only 35 euro a few weeks ago. We were unlucky enough to put another tear in the sail when putting it back on (I don’t know my own strength). After careful study, Trip found another weak patch in the main that needed attention. Friends offered us their Barracuda sewing machine, which Trip spent the better part of one day repairing only to find the stitching was horrible. So hand stitching it was, but we’re now in good shape for the season or next. Probably will be shopping for a new mainsail before we cross the Atlantic again, though.

If being in Montenegro wasn’t Instagram worthy enough, we decided to take Madeleine & Erin to Buddha Bar, an appropriately bougie place to sip drinks and take photos. Hannah & Jules came along, and the cameras were in full gear!

Happy Birthday Erin! We did a driving tour of Boka Bay, winding our way on the single lane road from Tivat through the cut to Kotor and beyond, stopping for a coffee to explore the town of Perast for a bit. But the highlight of the day was a restaurant we had been saving for a special occasion – the old millstone restaurant in Morinj.

You can come by boat, and take your dinghy up a narrow inlet to this place. We chose to drive, but still wandered the grounds in between every course. It was early in the season, so there were very few people there, and we spent most of the afternoon savoring the place.

We finally headed back to the marina, played darts (Madeleine has now played darts with us in Portugal and in Montenegro!), then it was back to the boat for a small birthday cake from our favorite neighborhood bakery.

Madeleine and her friend Erin were the only ones able to visit while we were in Montenegro, and we were going to make the most of it! They crashed early their first night, slept 14 hours, and then it was game on. The weather cooperated beautifully.

We opted to drive first out to Rose, the cute little town on the other side of the bay. We later found out this town is known for hosting celebrities who want privacy, as there are no anchorages, only a few moorings, and it’s pretty quiet.

The village is ridiculously quaint, and made for lots of good photos. We were also able to walk back down to the submarine tunnel from there and explore again.

While walking to and from the tunnel I was happy to come along a huge stash of wild sage, enough to stock up for the season!

We drove all around the bay through winding little roads, ending up in Bigova Bay, where we had been recommended a restaurant for lunch (owned by three generations of locals) called Grispolis. After mistakenly parking in the owner’s parking spot, we found a safe place to leave the car and enjoyed a lovely lunch by the water. And I got my first taste of octopus in 2024!