Woolly says – We seemed to be on a slow start to the morning, Jo wandered round looking vaguely grumpy as Zoe lay struggling to wake up…..damp beds and loud children appeared to be the problem, I however felt great and ready for our assault on the Fortress. Having finally prised them both out of the door we made a quick stop at the bakery for some sustenance, we had planned on tinned peaches, something that we all liked, but alas there was no tin opener, even the mighty tusks had not yielded the fruit so cheese pasties were the way forward. I stepped out taking my companions in through the city gates once more and was prepared for a walk amongst Kotor’s bustling streets to the lane that led up to the fortress high above us, this didn’t however seem to be the plan!
Having looked at our map we had seen a pathway that would take us to the summit and then allow us to circumnavigate the fort coming back to the place that Woolly had intended us to start.
Woolly says – It’s going to go wrong, I could feel it in my trunk! As I padded behind them we climbed the steps to a rather cute lookout point, pausing for photo’s I glanced at the goat track that appeared to be our way upwards…..they are joking do I look like a goat! But apparently the mad humans were on a mission, as I clambered through bracken, flowers and nettles I tried giving Jo my best evil stare but as she was so far in front it didn’t have any affect! The fortifications of Kotor are an integrated historical fortification system that protected the medieval town containing ramparts, towers, citadels, gates, bastions, forts, cisterns, a castle, and ancillary buildings and structures. They incorporate military architecture of Illyria, Byzantium, Venice, and Austria. As I climbed higher and higher there were impressive and the view below seemed to get better and better. Seeing that Jo had stopped I hoped that she had finally seen sense and that we were about to turn back ….nooooooo.
We had reached a point of no return, the track wasn’t great going up but trying to return by this route would probably result in broken bones.
Woolly says – I could manage a broken bone….how about Jo’s neck! On we went, higher and higher, years had passed before I finally caught up with the women perched on a piece of crumbling ruin, ‘it looks like a church Woolly’, Jo cried in delight, it looks a long way to go I muttered. Through cowslips, daisies and poppies I staggered, the path disappearing at times and the five hundred foot drop looming ominously near to my paws, just as I thought I couldn’t carry on and was considering how a helicopter might rescue me I heard the cry, ‘were nearly there’….really! As I peered upwards it appeared that nearly there was another two million paw pads and a lot more danger.
I could feel his stares burning into my back as we went higher and higher, the views were worth it and it might not be the tourist route but we were certainly seeing the real remains of the Fortress instead of the preserved parts.
Woolly says – I like preserved parts! As my oxygen levels were giving out and I was limping from the blisters on my paws I spotted a tourist on the descent, I croaked a feeble ‘Help’ but they didn’t appear to hear me. As the last steps presented themselves it all seemed too much and finally the evil witch that doesn’t care for me lifted me up and into the Castel of St John part of the Illyrian buildings, using the last ounce of strength I possessed I crawled the remaining yards to the flag pole and the summit. The view was stupendous and as I gazed across at the mountains I could see more walls and small fortifications…..they had better not even think about trying that trick on me!
It did however appear that we were now on the way down and as I bounced down the steps that ‘normal’ people take to and from the top I enjoyed pausing to look at the 7th and 8th century bastions and seeing the city get closer and closer. I smiled happily at the heavy breathing tourists that were climbing towards me, I had done it the hard way they shouldn’t have a problem! With the last few steps to cover I congratulated my hardy friends on their effects and suggested a drink, not an argument was made for once and as we sat toasting our success I felt proud of my achievement.
I would have felt equally proud of him if he had managed to walk more than twenty paces instead of hiding out in my rucksack sighing and puffing for the whole ascent!