Molly and Scott's Great Adventure Part 3

Our next stop was Kotor. We got up at 7:00 that morning, threw come clothes on and rushed up to the deck. (note picture below). Our plan was to watch the boat travel through the fjords of Kotor. For those of you, like me, who had no idea what a fjord is, it is a long narrow inlet with steep sides. A fjord is created by glaciers, which means that, despite the close proximity to land, the water is very deep. So, we were in this cruise ship surrounded by vistas that you would presume could only be seen in a smaller boat.

These two island churches sat perched within the fjord. One tid bit we learned on the trip...when you see Cyprus trees near a church it indicates that there is a cemetery there. The trees protect the grave site and the Cyprus root is very "smelly" which keeps the rats from invading the graves.

As we were arriving to Kotor we passed this little town. Notice the tall tower which is home of the church bells. As a ship goes by the tradition holds that the ship blows its horn three times. In response the patrons of the ship receive an enthusiastic ringing of the church bells.

When we arrived in Kotor Scott notices theses barracks on the hill. As a lover of photography, and especially aerial pictures Scott decided that we were going up there. I must admit I was not too excited...he went wine tasting with me, I could climb a mountain with him! I was drizzling when we got into the city so we walked about for a little bit to see if it would let up...we thought it had and we headed up the mountain.

The end result...we got soaked...all the way through...it took my shoes three days to dry out!

Because of the rain and the clouds we did not get many good pictures. This picture shows our climb from the city. Going up was not that bad. The hike is along a rock path...much more treacherous in the rain. It was going down, on the rocks, in the rain, with a bad knee that I was not too thrilled about! The good news is I probably would have gained 10 pounds if it was not for this hike!
Our final full day on the ship was in Ploce. Ploce is a small port town that, in the words of our guide, did not have a lot to offer. This was one port where we were strongly encouraged to take the excursion. So, Scott and I headed with a large group to the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mostar is an interesting city because of the presence or many different religions and cultures.

In the picture below you will notice several mosques, as there is a heavy Muslim population. I visited inside a mosques, for the first time, on this trip...we also visited a Turkish house and a Catholic church. There is also a fairly large Catholic population in Mostar. These two faiths like together peacefully in this city.


I mentioned earlier that while the region is peaceful there are visible signs of the unrest in the 90s. Most of the destruction was seen in Mostar...a small example below.

Mostar is also where Scott found Cevapcici (Che-vap-chi-chi). Mostar is famous for this dish...it is "skinless" seasoned sausage that they serve with grilled flat bread and raw onions. We took the picture below later on in the trip...where it is served with a roll and other veggies. Scott said Mostar had, by far, the best offerings (although he tried it several times!)

Stay tuned for the last installment of Molly and Scott's Great Adventure.

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Workout:

Had a good run today...made me feel a lot better about Tuesday. Slowly but surely I should be ready next Saturday.

Mile 1: 13:20 (3 minute run (4.8)/2 minute walk (3.8))
Mile 2: 13:36 (3 minute run (4.8)/2 minute walk (3.8) )
Mile 3: 12:57 (same as above for first 8 minutes...last 5 minutes: 3 minutes at 5.0 and 2 minutes at 5.2)

Take Care,
Molly