We got our fix of beach life, Albanian Riviera style, for three nights and it was a very relaxing time. The beach taverna served simple dishes and we had grilled fish twice. Another taverna 300m along the dusty track was a little more up market and we had a nice meal there. It is very cheap to eat out and there's no reason why we should cook our own and anyway, finding a suitable shop is a challenge in these small places.
So we left Dennis and the other beachside campsites, who were all gearing up for the busier few weeks ahead and drove north along the coast a few kms and then inland to the old town of Berat. The climb away from the coastline was another set of spectacular hairpins. That's the road on the hillside.
The campsite at Berat was very small but with great shade and very good toilet and shower facilities This makes camping a great experience. There was a typical seasonal sight behind the site:
This is straw, baled mechanically but with the bales gathered by sets of two legs and pulled by four legs. Across Albania we saw many scythes in use for the cutting of grass for hay, some powered mowers were also seen, but almost all the turning and rowing-up of the hay was being done by hand.
Berat is a Unesco World Heritage site, "city of a thousand windows". It is dominated by a huge mountain, Mount Tomorri and by a large craggy outcrop. The old town of Ottoman style buildings, clings to a very steep cliff and on top of the rocky outcrop is a sprawling castle.
There's a river flowing alongside the town and a pedestrian suspension bridge. Even in June, the river has a reasonable flow. As we sat in a cafe above the river we saw a shepherd approach the riverbank, followed by a small flock of sheep. On reaching the bank he ensured that they got down to the water, then he climbed back and walked over the bridge, whilst the sheep waded through the water. At the other side, the two met and continued their slow walk to wherever. What amazing sheep; Derbyshire sheep aren't so well behaved. They certainly don't 'follow' and instead they are 'driven'.
Whilst we wandered the streets inside the walls of Berat Castle which is a village itself really (and it's easy to get lost as it is a real warren), we said hello to a young guy who emerged from a door. Behind him was a group of boys of varying ages, all dressed in their favourite football shirt. Meet the Berat All Stars, under 11s (and over 2). As soon as they realised there was a 'foto', they assumed this pose. It was amazing to see them do it. Perfect.
At the Berat campsite there were only four other tourists, including a young couple from Oz who had worked the winter in a French ski resort, then bought a Dutch licenced camper off eBay and somehow got it registered and insured for a trip around Europe.
There was also a 'mature' couple from Germany in this:
...which is a flat-bed truck carrying a small container that has been opened-up into some form of camper. When I look at big vehicles like this I really don't know what to think. There's no way I could have got it through one or two village centres as the roads just weren't wide enough and on exposed mountain roads they must have a lot of nerve to drive on the edge.
We 'hit' Berat on Friday evening and joined the Albanian version of evening walkabout. I think I may have mentioned passagiata before; it's a beautiful sight to see. I wish the UK weather was more suitable for this social occasion.
It actually hadn't really got started when these pics were taken.
Lake Shkodra is in the north west of Albania and it's here that the border with Montenegro can be found. It's very near to the coast but is a freshwater lake and it's quite a size. The campsite www.lakeshkodraresort.com was recommended by people we had met further south and indeed it is a nice one. It's about a mile down a track and is huge with an open space through the middle. There's a good campsite restaurant serving great food and there's access to the lake, although it's quite shallow for swimming.
The mountain across the lake is a little bit of both countries; to the left is Albania and right it's Montenegro, although there isn't a connecting road. It's marked on our map as Mt. Golishit, a rather unappealing name I think.
From here there are nearby very high mountains, the highest are around 2,500m. These are known as 'The Accursed Mountains' and with some trepidation, we decided to explore by driving up into a valley, across a pass, to see if we could get to a village called Theth.
The road at the top of the valley has been rebuilt with EU funds ( there's plenty of those projects around) but then it's a stony track for a few hundred metres to, surprisingly, a café.
Even more surprisingly a few wedding guests were assembling for what was going to be a photo shoot. So we gave the page boy some practice, which he wasn't too keen on but his dad was happy.
Then the bridge and groom arrived ( don't forget it's about 1,900m here).
On one shot the Groom had to "implore"... Is that the correct word?
We continued on the single track unmade "road" for a couple of kms. We would need to turn around at Theth, but well before there, SWMBO made an executive decision and forced an early turnaround, due to extreme nervousness that a photo can't reproduce. It was a multipoint turn, executed in the safest spot I could find. The problem was excessive exposure to the drop-off at the side of the road (and I tend to agree that it was a bit dodgy), in spite of the fact that the Albanians don't seem to have a care. In fact they have a Furgon (minibus service) up to Theth, but that must be even more scary (or maybe we wimped out).
We were relieved to get to the asphalt and had a relaxing picnic in a very quiet spot.
I can't finish this post without mentioning the Enver Hoxha bunkers. We had read that thousands had been built in order to provide each citizen with a tank-proof place to shelter in during conflict. Of course conflict never came, however these concrete structures have taken a long time to fall into disrepair or be removed. They look like the top of a Darlek and although we saw quite a number of them, there's nothing like the huge quantity that the guidebooks suggest. Someone is removing them quickly although this one has found a new lease of life as a café.
So, what are our final impressions of Albania? We liked the scenery and the Albanian people could not be more friendly and welcoming. An advantage for us Brits particularly, was that everyone wanted to speak to us in English, ask us where we come from and occasionally link this to some knowledge of the UK.
For example, our BnB hosts at Gjirocaster told us that their daughter had attended university in Newcastle and they were so grateful "that Newcastle gave her the chance". She now works in "a good job in Tirana", "but married an American boy and we can't afford to travel there. Why not an English, the airfare is much lower?"!
We think that whilst Albania is scenic, but it's not as attractive as Greece simply because there's little village life. Outside of the towns like Gjirocaster and Berat, the developments don't have a centre. There's no focus on the church or the market place. Houses tend to be built in a continuous sprawl. Maybe this is because they are small holdings or farms. It does appear that all the houses have a small bit of land around them. We frequently saw men walking a single cow, so life is very 'simple' in places.
So whilst the mountains are high and the beaches stunning, there isn't the lovely sense of community that you get walking into a Greek village. We missed that!
There are plenty of slights that we have also missed in Albania. We didn't visit Lake Orchid and didn't take the ferry from Koman to go to Fierza and Valbone. So there's plenty left!
So from Lake Shkodër we drove a few kms north and we crossed the border into Montenegro.
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