Risan and Perast

The pass to the back fjords

After passing through the narrow pass from the first bay of the Gulf of Kotor in Montenegro, we approached Risan at the end of the second bay (N42°30.669' E018°41.655').

Tourists visit Risan to see the ancient, unearthed, Roman mosaics. Apparently many more such ruins exist beneath current residences which of course cannot be accessed. This was a mosaic in one of the rooms of an ancient building. Many if not all the rooms had intricate mosaic floors of varied design. It was also the home of a rich ruler with an obscure history where he minted his currency for his domain.

Roman bedroom mosaic

We dinghied from Risan to visit the 2 small islets in front of the hamlet of Perast. These flat low islets are so incongruous with surrounding lands you get a sense that they are floating. One solitary islet, the St. George monastery, is off limits to visitors (on left). Click on any photo to make larger.

Here come the tourists...

...to islets in a perfect setting

The other islet, Our Lady of the Rocks, sees hundreds of visitors a day to its church and museum which dominate this man-made islet (on right). The ceiling and paintings inside the church are a spectacle and the pieces of the attached museum speak of an intriguing seafaring history.

Looking up

The historic town of Perast, a UNESCO site, where former palaces (mansions) and traditional buildings, squished together, compete for the limited space between shore and mountainside. In the center is the tallest bell tower on the Adriatic coast. We transcended the precarious steps to share the panoramic view with the timeworn bronze bells.

Stairway to steeple

We hunkered down back in Risan for several days to wait out the strong katabatic winds as we had a secure holding in the head of the inlet.