Kotor

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We got up early this morning for the five hour drive to Montenegro. We were headed for an ancient fortress in the hills in Kotor. It was pouring down rain and the drive was very slow but the views were beautiful. The Montenegran coast line was scattered with little old villages and churches. In the middle of the bay there is a very old Cathedral and Monastary on two small man made islands. The islands took over 200 years to make and they made them by sinking over 130 ships filled with stone.
Once in Kotor we found our hotel and took advantage of the break in the down pour to climb up to the fortress. There are over 1500 steps from the base to the fortress on the mountain. We got halfway, where there is an old church and then the rain hit again. And it hit hard. We took shelter in the little archway of the church, hoping it would stop raining. It didn't. So Cara and Dad decided to go back down, since the slippery stone rocks were too dangerous for Cara's knee and I decided that I wasn't going to let the rain stop me from seeing the fortress.
Cara and Dad left and I started up the mountain by myself. Once to the top (I had to rest several times , 1500 steps is a lot) I am so glad I decided to press on. The fortress was absolutley amazing! You could feel the history there. I tried to imagine the soldiers up there on patrol in the 13th century and what their view must have been like out to the sea. Amazingly enough the rain stopped at the top and the fog burned off, so I decided to take my time exploring all the different rooms and buildings.
I had just finished taking my last picture and was taking the first turn down when..... you guessed it, it started pouring. By the time I got down to the base 25 minutes later I was soaked to the bone and starving. I met back up with Cara and Dad in the square by our hotel and had pizza and beer. Then went back up to our "lovely" hotel room dying for a hot shower..... no hot water. Cara and I were not very happy to say the least. So we went out for some beers instead.
After a couple beers we went for a late night stroll throughout the city. All together a beautiful experience, I only wish that it wouldn't have been raining so that Dad and Cara could have made it up to the fortress. Because it was truly the experience of a lifetime.

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