The Viator meeting spot in Kotor was not nearly as specific as the bus stop in Livorno or the big fountain in Dubrovnik. Asking security guards at the terminal exit resulted in us being pointed to the right general vicinity, at the entrance to the tunnel leading into town. A rep from Viator saw us holding our tickets looking somewhat lost and walked over to greet us, subsequently leading us over to our guide's car.
Soon we were driving along the coast to Perast, where we were dropped up a small hill from the village and given a general time frame for returning to the car.
Our driver would not be paying to park there, but she returned, double-parking nearby, waived upon recognizing us and drove over to pick us up at the appointed time. If you prefer the more structured approach so you know exactly where to be and when, this type of independent excursion may not be a good choice for you, as there is always a slight sense of insecurity about whether we will meet up as planned.
Perast is a quaint fishing village. It includes more than its share of palaces as well as seven churches in a town that spans just one kilometer of coastline, attesting to wealth accumulated as a seafaring powerhouse.
Fishing can be a hazardous profession just by nature of being at sea in small boats in uncertain weather, but factor in pirates, and seafarers would always be thankful to return home safely.
Rumor has it that on July 22, 1452 --- about forty years before Columbus made his first voyage for Spain --- two brothers returned from a perilous voyage of their own. One of them had badly injured his leg on the trip. Passing the 12th Century monastery of St. George that sits on a natural island in the bay, they saw an icon of the Madonna and Child on a small outcropping of rock.
The next day, the injured leg was miraculously healed. They vowed to build a church to the Virgin Mary on that spot, and to that end began dropping boatloads of rocks there, sometimes scuttling presumably scrap-worthy ships filled with rocks.
Fishermen and other sailors started a new tradition, tossing rocks as they passed for good luck. Eight years before Columbus "discovered America," there was a chapel resting on a new artificial island made of rocks on what locals considered to be a holy spot that had brought them good fortune.
140 years later, pirates from Tunisia and Carthage sailed into the Bay of Kotor to attack Perast, pillaging the chapel along with the rest of the village. "Most of the population was taken as slaves," according to Montenegro Post.
Nonetheless, Perast bounced back, and within six years, the chapel was restored.
The small church is a rich storehouse of art and artifacts, so entrance must be regulated in the modern era. Julie and I somehow made it through the doors tagging along behind a group of Germans.
Despite limiting entry, the small interior was jampacked with people.
The best part of this trip to the island for us might have been the 5 euro roundtrip boat ride, but we also enjoyed the scenery around the church. The interior, however, is definitely worth experiencing.
We boated back to the coastal village with time to walk the length of the village in the course of about thirty minutes, taking a few more photos.
It's another charming seaside town.
As mentioned above, our driver was there to pick us up on schedule.
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