The Bay, from Rosies apartment window and terrace is a living breathing entity that changes with the weather and the light at different times of the day. It is essentially the same sight, but you never get tired of looking at it as it has so many different faces.
The morning light is always shadowy blue and a thin veil of mist hovers on the surface of the Bay. The sun has not yet risen high enough to shine down the valley into the bay. Everything looks transparent, ghostly and not quite solid in this light. When the sun finally breaks over the top of the mountain, the golden light tumbles so quickly down the hillside chasing away the shadows with it to make the hills and houses sparkle and shine.
The surface of the bay does not change alot, it is always flat and the same dark deep colour. It is more often than not millpond flat so the houses across the bay reflect like a looking glass in the still deep waters.
When the winter wind whips into the bay, it pulls the clouds in with it. Tiny white caps ripple the bay and the clouds race in and out, sometimes so low they fill up the whole bay one minute and Rosie cannot see anything but a wall of white and then, as quick as the clouds blew in, they blow out again.
The Bay does not appear to be a busy boating harbor anymore. The cruise ships come in daily but no one uses the bay for commuting. In Croatia they would have been zipping straight across the bay which would be so much quicker than driving around it. Some times there are a few kayaks out and about plus an occasional stand up paddle boarder or a couple of tiny fishing boats. Rosie expected the harbor to be used alot more recreationally and commercially.
The small commercial fleet are moored outside the Gurdic Gate. On Rosies wanderings she saw a fisherman come in with bins full of mussels and a few bins of fish. Not a huge load by any means.
Further round the bay directly down the hill from Rosies place is also a few small concrete breakwater jetties for recreational boat storage. A storm had blown in for 24 hours a few days ago and had obviously swamped a couple of the boats in the safe harbor.
The Bay itself has small swimming ladders coming off the walkway….Rosie would be very reluctant to swim in the Bay….disappointingly there was a lot of rainbow covered oil slicks licking the wharf.
Cafes and restaurants frequented by locals sit bayside taking in the majestic views of the sweeping bay. A storm is forecast for tomorrow and clouds are swarming at the end of the bay.
The sunshine is still warm on your face if you pick a nice sunny spot to sit and contemplate in. This area of town is well off the beaten tourist track and is frequented by young locals and families out strolling.
Grand old houses line the bayside fringed with pal trees, they have seen better days and not much seems to be spent here on renovation.
This house below, a waiter told me collapsed in the 1979 earthquake and the owners just walked away….never to come back. this prime bay front house has been in this state since.
Rosie discovered this part of town pretty late in her stay and wished she found it earlier and could have shared it with The Operator as it is so beautiful. Plus, wherever Rosie goes she prefers to sit outside, so these cafes would have been perfect with their great view because in Montenegro you are allowed to smoke inside…Rosie hates the smokers. And they are everywhere! Rosie totally believes on your 15th birthday here every child gets a packet of cigarettes as a birthday present to welcome them to their new hobby. School girls sit around and first thing they do is pull out their cigarettes…Rosie has honed the skill of looking for perpetrators and judging which way the wind is blowing before she commits to a table anywhere.
Walking home, Rosie sees this old man fishing off the dock, He has 4 handlines in the water and is baiting his hooks with balls of bread.
He just pulled in a small pan sized fish and adds it to his bag which already holds half a dozen. He is sitting in paradise, out in the cool fresh late autumn air, sunshine on his face looking over the silent calm surface of the bay with not a worry in the world.
This is how Rosie feels in this town. Its beauty grounds you to the here and now making you totally become at one with the present moment There are no distraction, just what is going on and what you are seeing around you. Rosie says a small prayer of gratitude.
