Down on the Border (Cavtat, Croatia - Herceg Novi - Kotor, Montenegro)

Before I get to our big day in Montenegro I need to have a whinge, dear reader. Uncharacteristically, it is not an unjustified whinge. It may certainly be a first world problem, but please don't be so judgey. It was genuine.

And so to the world of the rich famous. No not us, them. We were whiling away the afternoon on the back deck of the Lady Eleganza when a super yacht moored next to us. Actually, it needed several attempts to moor successfully. That was amusing in itself. Finally attached to the dock, the flurry of activity commenced, the plumping of cushions, the straightening of chairs, the positioning of the gangway.

The champagne station on the Akula.

The yacht next to us was slightly longer than ours. The Akula (Baglietto) has capacity for 12 guests in 5 cabins with 10 crew to pamper those on board. It is, like Clapton's yacht, available for charter, for an eye-watering €360,000 for 7 days. Plus a few extra charges.

The rich and famous sat on their back deck enjoying their evening while we slowly asphyxiated on ours due to the fumes from their generator. We shifted from starboard to port and then eventually inside as the fumes were making people nauseous. Despite polite requests, the crew would not accommodate our need for fresh air. The night continued inside in air conditioning. The morning revealed that the generator was not turned off until 1:30am. Those on the starboard side had to contend with the noise and the fumes. Apparently the generator could not be switched off because it was required to power the ship - even after the guests had gone to bed - just in case they wanted a spa at midnight. Arrogance and entitlement doesn't even begin to cover the attitude.

Yep. That about sums me up.

Anyway, back to the story.

We boarded our mini buses to transport us to Herceg Novi in Montenegro. They were a bit squeezy after the previous coach rides but we were divided to make the customs process quicker and easier. And it worked. The Croatian border process was less than 10 minutes and the Montenegrin customs officers waved us straight through.  Winner. The border crossing is the segue to today's title, Down on the Border by Little River Band with John Farnham on vocals.

The cowboy and his boat.

In Herceg Novi, we boarded speed boats for the transfer to Kotor. It became apparent very quickly that our boat captain was a cowboy and made every attempt to slam into the wake created by the lead boat. Photography became a challenge and I was happily surprised by the quality of the photos.

Home for a submarine.

Does it really need a caption?

The walking tour today was of the old town of Kotor. Another walled fortress. It was at the furthest end of the lake about a 45 minutes uncomfortable ride - depending on where you were positioned on the boat. There are four separate towns along the shoreline, dating back centuries. Of course there are churches everywhere. In the old town of Kotor itself there are 38. Back in the day, one of the lake villages with a population of 200 had 24 churches. What the actual?

Our Lady of the Rocks

There are so many churches, they even created an island in the lake to build a church and shrine. It's called Our Lady of the Rocks.

Count the churches in this photo.

Somewhere between Herceg Novi and Kotor.

We finally arrived at Kotor and it was crowded. I can't imagine what some of these places look like in peak season. In through the main gate to the town, we were walked and talked around for an hour. Then we had free time to walk the streets again and attempt to take photos without tour groups blocking my view. This was only partially successful.

Inside the main gate.

The old wall winds up the hill behind the town.

Kotor is known as the town of cats. While there were cats, I didn't consider the population to be any larger than other towns we have visited on this trip. Still, it was used as a merchandising point.

One of the many locals.

A statue to emphasise the point.

There is one street, a very narrow street, named Let Me Pass Street. Seriously. We were trapped in it by a tour group and their leader. They did not have audio boxes and their guide was shouting, making it difficult for everyone to hear. The prize for the day goes to an American group of around 50 people who also did not have audio boxes. So loud. So unnecessary.

Pretty lights.

We found our way to the town wall with a view to river and the thousands of fish that were swimming around. The views back to the lake were blocked by buildings. We met our group at the assigned time near the main gate and walked to a nearby restaurant outside the walls for lunch.

And no-one was fishing.

Then it was rodeo time again and we boarded the speed boats for the 45 minute shake, rattle and roll back to Herceg Novi. One of the more delightful guests assumed my seat so I was relegated to the front of the boat. Had our driver been from a specific part of western Sydney, he would have had a sticker on the boat saying 'get in, sit down, shut up and hold on'. The last instruction was imperative.

The border crossing was as simple and easy as it was on the way in and we were back on the ship in around an hour. Thankfully for those most affected by the fumes from the Akula it had sailed.

Tomorrow we head for Dubrovnik.

Until next time.