Montenegro, situated along the Adriatic coast, is a small country with a millennia-long past. Its history spans ancient Illyrian tribes and Roman takeovers to medieval rulers and Ottoman exploits, creating a dynamic patchwork quilt of ethnicities, beliefs, and political upheavals.
Our destination in Montenegro was the town of Igalo in the municipality of Hercez Novi where our hotel was located. Tucked away on the southwest coast of the Boka Bay in Kotor Bay at the foot of Mount Orijen, Igalo, though small, has a rich cultural history because it was a major crossroad of ancient civilizations. The area is noted for its healing mud baths, and people come from all over for mud treatments.
Herceg Novi was established in 1382 by Bosnian King Tvrtko I. The city’s history is marked by conflicts and sieges, with the prominent Spanjola Fortress playing a crucial role in the city’s defense. The center of Herceg Novi is its Old Town, with buildings dating back to the 14th century. The most famous tourist attraction is the Mare Fortress, built by King Tvrtko I, back in 1382.
Our hotel was on the beach overlooking Kotor Bay in the Adriatic. We arrived in the afternoon to settle in for our last two nights. We were tired and the weather was sketchy, so we rested. Then we explored the Promenade between the hotel and beach that runs from Igalo to Meljine about 7 km long.
We had dinner in one of the many cafes along the Promenade. While we ate, a tremendous thunderstorm occurred, but we were able to wait it out before we left.
The Bay of Kotor
The winding Bay of Kotor is located in the south of Montenegro on the southeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. Thus, it is located not far from the southern border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Along the coastline, which is about 107 kilometers long, there are several smaller villages with a total population of about 60,000 people. The seaward access to the bay is “guarded” by the – today Croatian – fortress Punta Oštro.
The two inner bays of Risan and Kotor with the landscape enclosed by the plateaus of Orjen and Lovćen and the cultural-historical monuments of Kotor, Perast and Dobrota have been part of the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage since 1979.
The last picture shows submarine caves from WWII. From our hotel we could see the submarine caves across the bay. The Bay of Kotor was home to three top secret naval tunnels that could hide submarines and other vessels from enemies. The Yugoslav Army built them and their entrances were hidden by fake rocks. They are no longer hidden.
Leave a Reply