Sleep #22
Kotor, Montenegro
We woke early this morning as we were being whisked away to the end of the Kotor Bay to the town of Perast. Why leave beautiful Kotor I asked myself and received my answer loud and clear. 
Perast is a town at the end of Kotor Bay that has two islands directly in front of it. One island is called Our Lady of the Rocks and the other is called the Island of Death.
Our Lady of the Rocks and The Island of Death
We were taken by boat for a visit to Our Lady of the Rocks, which is an artificial island made my sinking shiploads of rocks year after year and gradually an island appeared from the sea. Even to this day they have a parade of boats where they ceremoniously drop rocks into the sea by the island. Legend has it that sailors found a painting of the Madonna and Child on the rocks near the site in 1452 and ever since that miracle, after a successful voyage, each sailor places a rock on the island. The church, which is built on the island, is very beautiful and is filled to capacity with lovely antiques and artifacts. It was a visit to appreciate. 
Our Lady of the Rocks church on the island.
The Island of Death was not really discussed and when asked, our guide said that it is not used now, but sometimes the priests hold meetings and retreats there. Also, someone in the group said they thought I was once used for prisoners in the past.
The Island of Death!
As we walked through the town of Perast, a charming little lady came out of her house, and we tried to have a conversation with her using fingers, hands and body language. Skip wanted to go into her house and look around; she graciously let him enter. She tried to rent him a room, so we thought, because she kept pointing to upstairs and putting both hands as a pillow, closed her eyes and smiled. We enjoyed the encounter and I gave her a hug good bye and she kissed me. What a sweet little lady. She was happy and so were we. 
On the way back from Perast, which by the way is pretty much at the end of Kotor Bay, our boat proceeded allowing us to view the life on the shore. It is fantastic to see and be allowed to witness life in Montenegro. Montenegro has a long history that is complicated and not forgotten, but their lives have mended and they are doing quite well in every way. They seemed to have weathered the war storms quite well. The water in the bay is so clean and clear you can see the fish enjoying the good life. 
Life on the bay as follows .
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