Day 9--Kotor, Montenegro

 Our day started out earlier than usual.  Zoran had told us during last night's port talk that we should go up on the sun deck right after breakfast.  He wanted us to see the view of the deepest fjord in Europe as we sailed into the town of Kotor.  While we were up on the sun deck he explained a little of the history of this beautiful Mediterranean country at the foot of the Balkan mountain range.

After the ship docked right next to this walled city, we crossed the street to meet our guide.  She told us how nice the city was today as they have over 600 big cruise ships stopping in season.  Our group of 17 didn't make much difference to the 1,000 people that live in this walled city.

It was another beautiful day but cold in the very early morning hours.

The water is crystal clear and as you sail you come upon many small villages.

Our local guide walked us around Stari Grad (Old Town). It's not large and after our tour we had some time before lunch to stroll the ancient walkways.  I always like to get a Christmas ornament from every different country we visit.  Since there were no big cruise ships, the souvenir shops were closed.  I did manage to find something that isn't a Christmas bulb but will work on the travel Christmas tree.  

We got back to the ship just in time for lunch.  I might mention that the meals are excellent but way too much food than we are used to.  There's always a soup, main entree, for example one selection today was cabbage rolls with potatoes and carrots, fresh baked bread and dessert.  Your wine glass is never empty.

Right after lunch we walked across the street to catch our bus.  Zoran was taking us to Our Lady of the Rocks Shrine on a man-made islet.

Zoran was happy that the weather was perfect for our boat ride out to the island.  If the wind is too strong the boats don't run.

Can you see the trails that go up the mountain in this corner of the walled city.
  We decided we're getting too old to try that kind of hike.

I hope you can tell from this photo how beautiful the water is.  

Here's the Our Lady of the Rocks in Perast.  This shrine was made on a man made islet.

Bill looks cold in this photo but it did warm up.

Here's the inside of the Our Lady of the Rocks.  It's hard to believe that we've been touring this area for over a week and this is the first church we've been in.  Usually you visit at least one church a day when in Europe.

It's been a busy day but we're still going strong.  Hope we have 20 minutes on the bus for a little nap.

There was a nice collection of weapons in the small museum of the Our Lady of the Rocks.

Bill and the cats. Can you see the cat on the roof of the red car?  We did learn that Kotor is famous for its friendly cats.  All the business people leave their doors open for the cats to come and go.  There's also lots of bowls of cat food and water for them.  Some tourist magazine mentioned it and the people take care of the cats.  A vet volunteers his services to neuter and care for them.

Turtle safely.......