June 20

We had overnighted in Kotor, Montenegro but didn't venture into town.  We took an excursion around 9:00 and began with a bus ride along the coastline and up one of the many mountains to a small village where we were hosted by a family that produces their own olives, olive oil, smoked ham and cheese.  We were greeted with a shot of grappa and then saw the ancient stone olive press, still in use today.  The views over the water and of mountains on the other side were spectacular.  We then were seated and sampled their produce.  The smoked ham was excellent as was the cheese and the red wine, a blend of 3 grapes, was mild and flavorful.  A duo played a guitar and accordion and sang regional songs.  We then got on the bus for the return trip and, on both bus trips, were told about the history of Montenegro.  They don't belong to the EU but use the euro because they have never had their own currency.  They have been owned and / or occupied by many different countries or groups and finally became independent when Yugoslavia broke up.  We got back to Kotor and had an interesting walking tour of the walled old city with many buildings dating from the 11th century.  It was another very hot day and the town was overcrowded with tourists so we went back to the ship for a late lunch and cool down.  Later in the afternoon we returned to the old town to walk around a bit more.  We sailed out through the fjords from 6:00pm and really enjoyed the scenery.