We went down for breakfast and found no breakfast buffet. Evidently, they did not have enough guests to set one up. That was very good for us because we were able to order an omelette with ham and cheese; much better than the buffet eggs. However, still bad coffee.

Our itinerary was to visit the Ostrog Monastery, but our first stop was at a medieval cemetery. The headstones were scattered on the top of a hill. They were interesting with different carvings. For the most part, they were not religious but one had a cross. The most unique one had a carving of a deer, bow and arrow and a man. Guess he was a hunter.

From there, we went directly to the Ostrog Monastery. What makes in so unique is that it is carved almost entirely in a vertically positioned mountain cliff. It is visited by more than a hundred thousand pilgrims from around the world every year. The lower monastery is a chapel and is surrounded by administrative buildings and residences. We visited the lower one and then took the steep, slippery steps through an enchanted looking woods to the top monastery. There is a cave-like chapel that has the preserved remains of St, Basil, the Orthodox saint of miracles. Also on the upper level are a few balconies that lead into the main chapel. The balconies offered amazing views of the valley below. Nemanja and Yulia are quite religious and wanted to stay in the cave chapel for awhile. Nemanja told us we should visit the main chapel and other areas. We visited all of the areas including the gift shop and also got a bottle of holy water. After at least 30 minutes without seeing Nemanja, we searched for them in the cave chapel and did not see them. It began to rain, so we decided we better make our way down to the car. Not wanting to risk the slippery steps in the rain and not knowing if Nemanja might drive up to pick us up, we took the winding, switchback road. It poured on us, but luckily, we had an umbrella. The road was approximately 1-1/2 miles. When we got to the parking lot, the car was there but no Nemanja. We were parked next to a hostel where pilgrims stayed. Since our phone was not set up for calls In Montenegro, we asked for help from an older man who appeared to work there. He did not speak English but then a younger woman showed up. She asked the man to call Nemanja. There was apparently no answer. Then the woman offered their wifi, having Nemanja’s WhatsApp # we called. No answer. Finally, he and Yulia showed up. We were not happy. Had we all stuck together and toured the place, we would not have gotten all wet and our anxiety level would not have been so elevated. Nemanja asked if we wanted to have lunch in the area, but we were not in the mood. We had at least two hours of driving to get to our overnight town so we started driving. We ate bars and snacks in the car and made a stop at Salt lake, a very large pretty lake. No salt in that lake?!!

We arrived in Perast, a beautiful coastal town that basically has one street along the water. Because the town cannot handle much traffic, we had to park outside of town and a golf cart from the hotel picked us up. We checked in and we were hoping for a sea view room that the travel agency had promised, but they were unable to get one. Our room was quite a long way from the hotel lobby so we once again hopped in the golf cart. Our room was in a very nice stone building and was very nice. After settling in, we walked down the street to see what was nearby. We saw a wine restaurant that offered wine tasting with cheese and meat. Since we had not had lunch, we thought that was the perfect solution. Then we saw the price of 50 Euro per person and moved on. We found a very nice restaurant along the water where we had a tuna tartare, beautifully prepared, and each had a glass of wine. When we returned to our room, we realized the restaurant with seaside tables was not open so we brought our wine glasses and wine there. Who needed a seaside room when you had your own seaside patio? While we were sitting there enjoying the wonderful sea air and lights, Nemanja and Yulia showed up. After a brief chat about what we had found in town, we both went in separate directions to find dinner. We ate at Konoba Skolji and had grilled squid and an octopus salad. The squid was definitely the winner. It came with Swiss chard and potatoes which was an excellent accompaniment. Probably the best meal so far.