Second half of trip: Perast

Yesterday, after deciding to see Kotor and Perast in one day, we walked back to the bus station to buy our ticket to Perast. It was about 15 km away from Kotor, so the ticket only cost 2 euros. We had been told that Perast was a small, but pretty town and that there was a lot more to do in the warmer weather. However, we figured that if we were this close, we needed to go! 

The bus dropped us off on the main road that sat above Perast. This made me a little nervous because there was no bus station which meant catching a bus back would be a lot harder. Anyway, we walked down more stairs (at least this was down) until we arrived at the city "center".  As I mentioned earlier, the town was small and the center consisted of a church, clock tower, and some statues of famous men. The best part of the city center was that it sat directly on the bay. Perast is not a major tourist attraction which was nice because it was what I would consider a typical, small town in Montenegro.

 Clock Tower

When we google-searched Perast, we learned about these two islands that sat right off of Perast. On each island, there was a church.

 Two islands (while standing in Perast)

Layne loved these islands and made it her mission to figure out how to get out there by boat. She must have asked 5 or 6 people before one of them knew how to rent a boat. We thought it was kinda funny that no one knew how to get out there considering it was one of the main attractions of Perast. The man directed us to this hotel where the receptionist spoke really good English. She called one of the men who takes people out to the islands, and we were set. We went to the dock and waited for him. 

We went to the island (in the picture above) on the right first. On this island sits the Church of Our Lady of the Rock. The first church, a Serbian Orthodox Church, was built in 1452. In 1632, the current Roman Catholic church was built. Unfortunately it was in the process of some renovations so we were not able to go inside of the church. An interesting fact about this island is that it is the only man-made island in the Adriatic. Supposedly, two sailors found a rock with a picture of the Virgin Mary on it at the location of the present-day island and began sinking old and seized ships filled with rocks to form the island. To this day, at sunset on July 22, an event called fasinada takes place where locals take their boats out to the island and throw more rocks around the island to make it even larger.

 Church of Our Lady of the Rocks

We weren't able to get on the other island, but we passed super close to it. This is a natural island that holds the St. George Benedictine monastery which was built in the 12th century. The island is also home to an old graveyard in which some of the nobility of Perast are buried. 

 St. George Benedictine monastery

The views of Perast from the boat on the way back to town were beautiful. The sun was setting and it made for a perfect photo opportunity. I am really glad Layne asked so many people about getting to the islands because it was definitely worth it in the end!

 View of Perast from the boat

 Mountains surrounding Perast and the bay

When we were safely back on land, we went to the hotel to ask the lady about the best way to catch a bus back to Kotor. She said we could either go up to the main road to wait for a passing bus, or we could wait until 4:30 when one of those buses would come through Perast. Although 4:30 was still an hour away, we decided the best and safest bet of catching a bus was from the center because we knew it was coming. To kill the hour, we sat at a local restaurant that overlooked the bay and islands. Layne ordered a cappuccino and palcinke, and I ordered baclava. We were able to relax a little after all the walking and climbing from earlier in the day while we waited for the bus. Thankfully it came right on time, and we made it back to Kotor in time to catch an earlier bus to Bar. One great day; Two great towns!

SIDE NOTE 1: Mom asked about the buses in a previous post, and I thought you all may be curious as well. Actually, all four buses were different on this trip. I guess there are individual bus lines that run to and from the cities and the bus station just tells you when you can get everywhere. The first bus was small and similar to the bus we use for Galeb. The second bus was super nice like one of the buses that LSU would rent when on road trips. The third bus was similar to what a typical bus would be like in a city in America. The final bus was by far the worst, but it wasn't all that bad; just old and smaller. 

SIDE NOTE 2: I woke up this morning, and my calves were SO sore. I guess that's what 1,350 steps will do it you!