I am not sure if you have heard, but Montenegro is beautiful! This is a very mountainous land; however, the wonder of it is the mountains and the sea. We left Podgorica Friday morning, and the lot of us American students were speechless as we traveled through the mountains en route to the sea. Surrounded by mountains, without warning, we stumbled upon the Adriatic. With breathtaking ease, the hills come down into the sea. It is indescribable how fantastic it is to see two drastically different things seamlessly existing in one world. I love mountains more than just about any other planetary feature. Mountains and water are even better, but mountains and the ocean together! Amazing! Without even trying, it seems that I have discovered the best place on earth (although, I still haven’t been to New Zealand).

Friday was a day full of excursion and adventure. We ventured out to the historic city of Kotor (home of the famous Bay of Kotor) and the village of Perast. The old city of Kotor is bizarrely reminicent of Seville, Spain (one of my favorite cities). The water is as blue as the sky and the clouds were perfect. Nestled between the winding streets of Kotor’s walled ancient city… a fashion runway. This is no joke, right there in front of a massive cathedral that dates back to the 10th century stood a runway… lights and all. Priceless.

After a brief tour of Kotor’s Meritime Museum, exploration commenced! Overlooking the city of Kotor, nestled on a high cliff, is a fortress. After convincing the ‘gate man’ that I shouldn’t have to pay 3 Euro to hike up the mountain to take a few snap shots, given that I had no intention of actually entering the fortress, my flip-flop soled trek began! Ninety degrees and a big mountain’s worth of sweat later, I saw breathtaking beauty and cloud shadows on water that will long be remembered. Racing to the bottom of a mountain that will more than likely forever remain nameless and a fortress that more than likely has an expansive and fascinating history that I will never know, I hit up a pekar (baker) and the WC, and we were off to Perast.

The highlight of the tiny and historically preserved town of Perast is an island monastery and cathedral. Both of these tourist hot spots were swell, but I was much more enamored by the big yachts floating about in the mountain surrounded bay. I was struck with an epiphany. Retirement! Forget motoring about the States, I am going to buy a sea cruiser! My retirement shall be spent yacht-ing about the world. All it took was 30 short minutes of reflection while sitting upon a rock on a cement island on the coast of the Adriatic Sea and I can see my life forming before me!  As if a glimpse into my future wasn’t enough, the day ended with swimming, sun bathing, and beer in a little village that I will never forget.

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