Today in Kotor, Rosie and The Operator are climbing the stairs up the mountain behind the Old Town to visit the beautiful Church of our Lady of Remedy. The church that perches on the mountainside looking down and watching over everything in Kotor. The Church that you can be seen from everywhere in Kotor glowing golden in the sunshine high on the hilltop.
Rosie has her comfy shoes on and gazes up at the church, it seems so far away and steep. You have had heaps of stair climbing practice of late said The Operator…dont bale now Rosie, you will regret it.
Off we started, crossing into the Old Town and standing before the arch that is the entry to the hillside staircase in St Marys (Cat Piss) Square.
Standing there, looking beyond the beautiful crumbling archway sporting the lion crest of the Venetian Republic the view is amazing. The alleyway itself starts to rise up and narrow, it is a little dimmer and boom! Cross the threshold of the arch and it feels like you are in another time zone.
The stone stairs to the front doors of the houses are worn in the middle from use over the ages and give the illusion of sagging. Washing is strung across the street, faded paint peels from the houses, cobblestones shine in the light and a public water fountain adds to the delicious scene and feeling of ancientness. While the ever present mountain and Rosies goal looks down over the top.
So we start to climb, Rosie is chuffed, there are two trekking options, a narrow stairway to the side or a paved slope to choose from.
Rosie doesn’t really have time to get puffed from the steep climb, the views change every few stairs and Rosie is busy stopping and snapping away. It seems like no time before we are starting to look over the rooftops of Kotor.
We are trekking up long lazy switchbacks and look, the bay! The beauty of the Old Town is overwhelming. A cat keeps pace with Rosie on this leg of the climb….why on earth would a cat be trekking up the mountainside?
This path we are following is the ancient road that took you over the top of the mountain to the town of Cetinje 20 odd kms as the crow flies on the other side of the mountain. No vehicles can and have ever driven this path, it still is the domain of donkey only. There are houses further up and this is the transportation they use to this day to cart groceries and essentials home from Kotor.
A man is walking behind us carrying two quite heavy, straining looking plastic bags, he doesn’t seem in a hurry yet he is definitely a local…just like the cat, Rosie wonders where he is trekking to.
Well, the lookout points and the view over the bay and town just got better and better and quite overwhelming! Stairs, what stairs, Rosie is not noticing them at all now.
The higher we got the more the track started to deteriorate a little, but we were nearly there, the end was only a few more switchbacks away.
Little ‘Stations of the Cross’ Chapels started appearing on the side of the track as it once more became fully paved again. Blue wildflowers sprouted on the hillside and the day boded well to be bright and warm. The sun still hadn’t touched this side of the bay yet, the shadow of the mountains casting the track and everything under it an other worldy shade of blue.
Then, on the final switchback, there she is, silhouetted against the blue sky. The Church of Our Lady of Remedy. Built in 1518 this church was dedicated to Mary, The Lady of Remedy after saving the town from a plague during that year.
The church is tiny, amazing and cute. Inside there is room for about four people to sit and ponder the simplicity of the curved roof and small alter.
A couple of town noble men are buried up here under the floor. One right beneath the stairway leading up to the alter and one in front of the door on the porch, for an everlasting resting place its pretty impressive.
The view from the doorway of the church looking out is astonishing, as is the office window of the holy relic seller in the front porch. He is there everyday in summer from dawn to dusk, seven days a week and says he never gets tired of the view….Rosie can totally understand why! And, what great exercise everyday getting to work!
Walking behind the church and up a couple of more switchbacks Rosie turns to look back at the church framed by the town of Kotor and the bay.
This is the iconic view of Kotor that Rosie saw on the internet all those years ago….and Rosie is here, taking her own shot. The sun has just crossed the bay and is starting to touch the Old Town, this image, along with the fresh cool air and the silence will forever be etched in Rosie’s memory.
Retracing her steps back down the path, Rosie and The Operator are in no hurry and take in the view all over again. Ah huh….the man carrying the heavy plastic bags is setting up a drinks station on the track just below the church.
He had beers and water stashed behind the tiny chapel that he is now sitting in front of. He is unloading his plastic bags which are full of drinks and topping up probably from yesterdays sales. Plus, he has cat food….and there is a surprising number of cats that have come out of the shrubbery for a chow….another question answered on the travelling cat that kept pace with Rosie going up the stairs.
Through the gates we went and that was the end of Rosie’s hiking in Kotor adventure. Rosie is so glad she did this, the effort was minimal as there were so many stops on the way for picture taking, Rosie never even got a chance to get breathless. Time now for coffee…or maybe a mid morning beersie.
