Kotor, Montenegro

I slept in today and did not awaken until 10:00. I then showered, dressed, and got ready to hike to Kotor Fortress; the fortress and walls were gradually built up between the ninth- and nineteenth-centuries AD to form a protective barrier around the old town of Kotor and the sheer cliff of the Hill of St. John. I walked to the entrance on the south side of the old town, paid the three Euros fare to enter (there is an alternative trail that follows an old pedestrian path near the North Gate that one can take if they don’t wish to pay to hike up to the fortress), and started climbing the 1,350 or so stairs to the top. I hiked up the stone path and had great views of the old town and the Bay of Kotor. I continued on up to the Church of Our Lady of Health (built in the seventeenth-century AD) and followed the path along the eastern wall, taking every opportunity to explore the various ruins found along the trail. I then worked my way up to the Castle of St. John on top of the hill (260 meters above sea level) and entered inside via a metal bridge. I explored the ruins on top and looked around some fairly recent buildings (probably constructed in the last century or so). After taking in the views from the castle and surrounding area, I hiked back down a ways before coming upon the start of an alternative trail that leads to the old pedestrian path. I followed the trail through a small opening in the wall and I hiked down to the ruins of Spiljari, which used to be a small village in the canyon east of the Hill of St. John. I then hiked around Spiljari and a small church there, the ruins, trees, and flowers made quite the idyllic setting (a perfect place to hike to and have a pleasant picnic). I then walked to the old pedestrian path (careful not to step in the many bovine droppings) and followed it up for a short distance before deciding to turn around on account of the weather (the storm clouds at the top of the mountains looked very ominous) and not having any water with me. So, I hiked down the old pedestrian path and followed it to the Skurda River, on the north side of the old town of Kotor. I then entered in to the old town through the North Gate and walked to the South Gate; I walked up to the top of the South Gate and followed another trail that was built along the south wall on the Hill of St. John; I only hiked up a short distance before turning around because the trail was very overgrown and the weeds and bushes were still covered in rain drops from last night (in other words, my pants were getting very wet); it’s a shame they don’t maintain this trail because it probably would’ve had some great views of the city, as well as interesting ruins to see. I then walked back down to the South Gate and walked to the supermarket south of the city, where I bought iced tea, a sports drink, an energy drink, salami, cookies, cashews, and – naturally – wine (a Montenegrin Rosé). I then returned to the hostel, met the Taiwanese woman from the hostel in Tirana, and worked on the website, while hydrating after today’s hike. After updating the website (finishing just after 17:00), I walked outside to buy a bus ticket to Dubrovnik, a souvenir for an old friend, and then I ate dinner (a sausage and pepper pizza with a bottle of local beer). I then returned to the hostel and opened the bottle of Montenegrin Rosé (I’m disappointed that all the wine I drank in Montenegro was made by the same producer, but based on the selection at the supermarket, this producer had some of the cheapest wines and the most varieties available); the Rosé tasted of strawberries, raspberries, and sour cherries; it was also too acidic and not that good. I also ate the salami and cashews while researching a place to stay and sites to see in Dubrovnik. After finishing the bottle of wine, I stepped outside and happened to be there just in time to see the Taiwanese woman returning from a busy day of drinking; she was being looked after by an Irish woman (an ex-bartender, now travel writer) whom she had met at the hostel in Tirana (I left too early from Tirana to have met her there) and apparently I was the primary topic of conversation between the two; the Taiwanese woman had talked me up as being a nice, great guy, which is strange since I had only talked and hung out with this woman for one day (really just one night) while in Tirana (evidently I can make quite the impression on some); anyway, I helped the Irish woman walk the Taiwanese woman to her room, where we left her in the care of three of her roommates (the Irish woman told me a funny story that the Taiwanese woman had told her earlier in the day about a woman staying in the same room as her: the previous night, the Taiwanese woman was cold sober, lying in bed, and this woman, who had been drinking with her friend, kept climbing in to bed with the Taiwanese woman, thinking it was her bed). After leaving the Taiwanese woman to sleep off the alcohol in her system, the Irish woman insisted on buying me a beer (no doubt she wanted to get to know be better thanks to all the Taiwanese woman had said about me); so we walked to a nearby restaurant and I had two beers and she had two glasses of wine; we talked about various travel experiences and she suggested we meet up in Dubrovnik at Pile Gate tomorrow at 19:00 (since we were both going to be staying there). We drank until the restaurant closed (at 22:00) and then I ended up paying the bill (since I had the smaller change and didn’t really like the idea of a woman buying me a drink); we then said goodbye and I returned to the hostel, where I got ready for bed and fell asleep after 23:00.