Vis September 2024

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After a few days in Split, we took the ferry over to the island of Vis, one of the more distant islands off the Croatian coast. Historically, Vis was primarily a military base and was only opened to the public in the 1990s; as a result, it is less developed and quieter than islands such as Hvar or Brac. We enjoyed incredible sea views, but the Caribbean-colored waters belied the water temperature in late September. The sea town of Komiza is particularly charming and ranked as one of our favorite spots, although it would easily become overwhelmed with tourists in the high season. While the shoulder season of September is generally good, by late in the month the weather and the seas became rough—but not before Dominic learned the pleasure of skinny-dipping.

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Kotor Bay

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Last week we took a boat tour of Kotor Bay with Captain Ivan (perhaps Wilco’s biggest fan, but that’s a story for another time). There's a lot of history here, most notably the plethora of fortresses and Catholic Churches -- both of which served as fortifications against the Ottomans when the bay was under Venetian rule. The most famous church is Our Lady of the Rocks sitting on an artificial island built over the years by sailors laying rocks after a successful sea voyage. You can also see various relics from the Cold War -- tunnels along the coast built to hide Yugoslavian submarines and boats. Some people now use the tunnels for "cliff" jumping (notably, not us). Although the water was cold at 68F, we did jump in to explore Blue Cave, aptly named because the reflecting light from rocks and sand give off a blue color.

We stayed at the lovely Carrubba hotel in Donja Lastva, just outside of Tivat.

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Perast

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Perast is an old town on the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro (just a few km away from Kotor) and a perfect stay for our getaway weekend. If you are a cat lover, this area is for you! Folklore has it that cats saved the town -- not sure exactly how, but I think I'll leave that part as a mystery. A more plausible reason could be that the Austro-Hungarian navy would frequently dock here, and their sailors would bring their cats, many from all over the world. This area between the sea and mountains brought about a good population of mice, rats, and snakes, making cats necessary to protect people's property. I am mentioning "cats" here because our kids, unfortunately, got a low-grade fever during our stay (NOT COVID) and thought this would be an interesting tidbit to share. There were cats all over the place. Sick kids limited our activities, but we managed to enjoy the pool and the scenic views. They were back to their usual selves when it was time to head home.

We managed to have nice dinners at Ćatovića Mlini and Hotel Per Astra, the hotel next to our B&B.

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