Into the Fjord

Oh dear, my last post seems to have given folk the impression that we are terribly unhappy, judging from all the replies. Rather, I was just trying to convey our impressions of the impact of tourism on local environments. Anne Phillips, a knowledgable cruiser and tourism expert, understood my point well, and gave this clarification:

 "Places go through a series of phases when tourism is developing, from excitement at the sight of a visitor (Albania?) to exploitation, to boredom to frustration and negativity.  The best places manage to find a balance which provides the visitor with what he needs while still having a "real" place to visit and live in."

It was just this balance I was commenting on, thanks to Anne for the clarification. We are going great, and already we have found something to again pique our interest.

The small pier at Bigova

Waterfront of the village

Lovely old stone buildings

The stone urn caught my eye

We sailed north from Budva to a delightful anchorage in a little nook called Bigova (the bay is actually called Traste if you're trying to find this on a chart). We knew some weather was coming, so we holed up in this sheltered location for a few days to escape it. We didn't escape the sea-state however, our last night here was pretty rolly.

Entrance to the Kotor Fjord

Small fort on Mamula island in the fjord entrance

Another view of the fort

Into the fjord proper, that's Hercig Nova in the distance

The Admiral and the Fjord

We entered the fjord, which was majestic. Tall mountains falling into the sea. Often there is still snow on the peaks, even in May, but we saw only a few small patches of snow. The fjord is a bit like a heart with four lobes. We sailed along the 'bottom' southern-most lobe, past some quaint villages and a lot of restricted military areas. There were interesting submarine pens and associated navy 'junk' along this coast-line. Remnants from Tito's heyday.

View of fjord and Zelenika

A naval submarine pen.

Mothballed naval hulks

Quaint village of Rose

Rose

We can't afford the very expensive marina's in this part of the world, so we found a great and secure snugglepot (our term for a very secure and contained anchorage) at the end of the south-western lobe.

From here, we were able to hitch into Tivat and the new super-yacht marina at Porto Montenegro. Some of the super yachts there were just stupendous!

Our little anchorage in Uvala Krtole

Small fishing boats sharing the anchorage

The main pier at Porto Montenegro marina

Some of the super yachts berthed at the marina

A rather nice motor sailor.

The lower ranks in the marina.

We wandered around Tivat. Again, although this town was originally host to a naval shipyard (which they converted into a luxury marina under Tito), there was little evidence of the original town. Tourism, especially the big dollars brought in by the super yacht industry, had changed the face of this small town. I'm starting to think that we cruisers (and all our more wealthy brethren) might be a pox on the face of the earth.

Town promenade in Tivat

Shoreline from Tivat and mountains behind

Well, we can always retreat to our little sanctuary of an anchorage. Its delightfully peaceful here, we're sheltered from most winds and there is no traffic and no wash. We're tucked in behind a mussel farm, bird song wakes us each morning. Ah, bliss again!

The mussel farm in front of Pavlov

Dawn in the anchorage

So, us Pavlovians are happy again. We'll spend a few more days exploring the fjord, then its off to Croatia. Pavlov is being a demanding mistress, as usual; she wants new batteries and some fridge maintenance, maybe even a whole new fridge. That's boats for you!