furgons throughout Albania

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We are in an Albanian internet cafe right now, hoping to catch a bus or furgon (minibus that follows a mysterious route around the country and leaves when full) back to Gjirokastra to our Peace Corps host. Peace Corps does all the couchsurfing in Albania! We've been lucky to enter their network; there is at least one in every city and if they like you they will send you to their friend in the next city.

We spent the day in Butrint, an ancient settlement. There are mosaics and fountains from 800 and 400 BC, and early Christian ruins on top of that. I had no idea we would see so many Roman ruins! We have spent the past 2 nights in Gjirokastra, birthplace of Enver Hoxha, Communist ruler of Albania who shut it from the world for decades. He preserved his home city while he destroyed the rest of the country, so the old part is made up of cobblestone streets and Ottoman houses. We are lucky enough to be staying in one. It is a beautiful and crazy country. For example. nodding or shaking your head doesn't necessarily mean yes or no, but whatever the communicator intends it to mean. And the language, like Hungarian, is completely different from all the neighboring languages, so we are back at square one.

Ok, very short update once again but I hope it is better than nothing!

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Comments

[Eric B]

Here today, fur-gon tomorrow
Albania? Unbelievable! Where to next? Timbuktu? Shangri-la? I hear the sky on Mars turns a lovely shade of red this time of year...lol Have fun, stay safe and don't nod yes when you mean no!!!