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Published: October 4th 2012
No lipstick in the mosque, please
No talking? No pouting? No kissing? No ladies? I think this was a mens mosque.Leaving Pogradec, and moving away from the Macedonian border on Lake Ohrid, our bus headed southwards, bound for a sleepy village on verge of tourism called Voskapoja. It is clear this place is geared for tourists, as it has rubbish bins! On the way, we had a diversion to the local animal fair – donkeys, sheep, cattle - all being exchanged and tended to. The sound of ‘moos’ and ‘baas’ was universal, and it was enjoyable seeing the capped and side saddling shepherds so proud of their fleet. This well groomed area of agriculture and the people are known for a hard work ethic, in such trying and cold wintery conditions. They exist on their land and whatever they can make of it, without subsidies or government support. That’s Albania!
Voskapoja is known for 2 famous churches dating back approximately 400 years. Beautiful and elaborate frescos on the ceiling of both included various Christian figures, and have been (at various stages) etched out and defaced. This is in the same style as those I had seen in Turkey, changing with movements of the Ottoman empire and wars. Surrounded by huge hay stacks as in many other Balkan countries,
it was a picturesque spot. Church 2 was similar, and being virtually untouched, both had an authentic quality about them that modern or refurbished church doesn’t. I only go to churches on holidays like this though, so who am I to be an expert!
Pulling up at dusty Korce for the night, a major region of archeological ruins in Albania, we had time for a quick look at the market. Right on closing, it was a tip of rubbish. Again I practiced my Albanian buying some delicious grapes – all produce is chemical free, being a poor country they do not use all the additives we on the ‘developed’ world do, and things taste great. We then had an evening visit to the archeological museum, and the recently refurbished Renaissance church. Topped off with a visit to a mosque at prayer time (sundown) with some curious young men, it was time to retire and try to get a decent night sleep.
Yet it was anything but silent with a mattress in serious need of some CRC, or replacing - the springs had been well exercised!
Coughing my way into a wakeful
Animal fair
No animal welfare at the fair though! state, and taking a ‘tough love’ approach to my left calf, I headed out for a training jog the next day. During this venture into Albanian weekday life, where women seem to be heading to work, I realised that all the men folk do is sit smoking fags and drinking coffee. I passed several bunkers in the local park too. The closer we would be getting to the land Macedonian border, the more prevalent these would become. The construction of bunkers was fuelled by paranoia and so they were very much used, acting as a retreat for the average Albanian during warring times. Landmines are another story, and as a sign of improvement, Northern Albania has now been declared safe and landmine free, but as to how safe it is unclear. Safe travel websites seem to state to the contrary in the Northern region!
Our first stop that day was an archeological site 30 minutes from Korce. Dating approximately 3500 years ago, it was a modest example of Bronze and Iron age ruins that occurred between the 12
th to 15
th century BC. As with many such sites, the foundations remained and you use your imagination and the
guided picture presentation to create what it looked like that long ago. They sure picked a beautiful place, and would have had no shortage of apples to turn into raki wine! They are as mad on this as cigarettes, and disposing of water bottles and rubbish anywhere and everywhere.
Then we began the epic ride to Permet from Korce - 144km and 560 switchbacks and built by Italians. This road was anything but stylish, was devoid of cafes and gelato kiosks, nor was there a handbag store in sight! In fact it was downright dangerous in parts, and many times we were told yet another war/accident related ‘Albanian’ joke, that really only is funny if you don’t go over a cliff edge.
You see, Ed our guide tells the joke like this ...............there were a priest and an Albanian bus driver who were about to enter heaven. Whoever had had a greater service and belief in God would get through, you would think. God had to decide which one entered and listened to each of their cases. God then allowed the bus driver in, leaving the priest very angry and disillusioned. Asking why, God
answered with this – the bus driver in Albania has made more people believe in him in one day of driving than a whole life of prayer had for the priest!
Ed also has another common joke - reasons why men can have a beer gut - he says a man without a belly is like a house without a balcony - it is a good investment and looks better. I'm not convinced...
So, the roads - they are rocky, and dangerous, pot-holed and bone shaking in many parts. Moving at a rapid pace…. 1kph on average… our trip winding through the Barmashi gorge took many hours We passed through the town and battle field of Borova, where mass graves have been laid monument to and military outposts abandoned in their late-war state. Stops at Erseke and Leskovik gave an example of smaller town life. They have an interesting currency system there though – I bought some bananas, apples and tomatoes from a lady and she gave me two pieces of chewing gum as change – not chewed - that is the small white pellets not packets. Sadly it had been a few too many years on the
shelf and it was soggy chuddy! Yuck!
We pulled into Permet, in the Gramos mountains, late, tired and weary, only making time for a group al fresco dining experience next to the hotel. I think they may have mistaken my veal shishkebab for some skellerup gumboots though – it was tough and cold, and took 3 attempts to get my order correct - I wanted to pass on the fries and have rice - so they probably wanted me to eat gumboots! With one menu to go around 20 people and one equally flustered waiter, it was a protracted dining experience.
Onwards to Gjirokastra was the following day. 19 of us 20 wanted the authentic village experience – a hike to Benje (ben’ye), bathing in the natural hot pools and a drive to Gjirokastra. Having to divert from the programme was exactly what the majority wanted, and with much compromising, us 19 had a fantastic day seeing a school monastery, example of village hospitality and a soak in some powerful sulphurous mineral pools guaranteed to heal any ailments. I got to ride next to a villager on the way up there, Gritciano, but if
Renaissance church, Korce
More yellow windows than in a 1970s house there was an idiot of the village it was actually me – not realizing I had tissue attached to my sunglasses (which I later learned was great humour for everyone else), no wonder he grinned ear to ear at my stilted greetings and was keen to depart when we arrived!
Hot and dry, we settled into a long lunch at a café, and a longish ride along the valley to the highest town in Albania at 1000m, Gjirokastra. It is the seat of a famous fortress, has a history of a failed aquaduct construction (this theme recurs throughout Albania – hotel showers, city planning etc), and is known for 2 rebellious girls who were hung in the local square for being activists.
Seeing the fort interior was typical of Byzantine structures – built high on a hill, and we were informed that the dictator Ali Pasha used it as a residence 500 odd years ago. In recent times, it acted as a weapon storage facility and grim environment for prisoners of war and the general local baddies. Views from atop the castle ruins, where you could freely roam, were magnificent across the valley –
sweeping mountains, dry valleys and very photogenic! And so were our group – we were approached by a film crew wanting our sound bites for TV, so got to say my 2 cents worth. Although the chance that ‘“It’s a friendly place and my favourite so far of Albania” ‘ending up on the cutting room floor was high!
We wandered about the forts nooks and crannies and then crammed onto the bus for the attraction of ‘Blue eye’, a vivid green/ turquoise river in the mountains south of Gjirokastra. After a prolonged late lunch at a roadside café, with yet again slow service, we headed to Butrint, an ancient archeological site on Lake Butrint (which is actually an inland extension of the ocean).
This UNESCO site is dedicated to Asclepius, the god of medicine, and was founded in the 4
th century, so it was in a crumbly state! The Albanians are only just developing such sites and learning to do so sensitively is a learning curve. Sarande, where we stayed that night, is in a state of re- and de-construction. Anything built prior to 2007 not permitted or up to scratch gets demolished, and
of the many apartment and hotels that remain, they are mostly unoccupied outside the high July-August season. Butrint was a highlight for me, being a cross between a minor version of Ephesus (Turkey) and parts of the trail to Macchu Piccu (Peru). Unfortunately the TV crew failed to materialize at Butrint as they promised, and so I was left without my captive Albanian audience keen to know what some foreigner thinks of their towns!
So we then checked into the Sarande Hotel Brilant (brilliant!), checked out the amazing sunset and I checked under the surface of the ocean – very clear, clean and no dead people. I was safe!
But I discovered danger lurking beneath on a morning swim….disused tyres, back panel of a fridge, and a ladies shoe on the pebbly bottom of Sarande, so the pristine façade was spoiled. The water bottles/ rubbish at the edge were telling enough! There is no recycling scheme, limited rubbish bins and a ‘throw away rubbish anywhere’ mentality – unless in more tourist - friendly spots, this reveals itself as a major problem for Albania. Sad.
Moving up the coast towards Vlora was
the next stage. After visiting a ruined Jewish synagogue in Sarande town centre, where I grabbed a mighty bargain to replace my broken sunglasses (4 euros for Ray bans, authentic of course!).... whilst bent over nauseous from breakfast – oh dear, I’d been so careful too – we travelled 2.5 hours to Hirame. With several hours to spare and feeling slightly better, I took to the crystal clear waters along with only 2 others from the group. It was hot, clear skies, pristine waters, and they had bins!
It was then onwards through Dhermi, and the Llogara national park by bus. We climbed slowly, reaching a peak of 1750m elevation for photos. This was against a backdrop of a disheveled concrete structure with much graffiti that once was a home, and it was a tad chilly albeit refreshing. Winding down through dense pine forests, mist against steep mountains, we eventually pulled up at Hotel New York – what a name – a 30 minute walk out of Vlora city and rooms looking directly out to the ocean. Almost as brilliant as Hotel Brilant the day before! More meandering later and it was retirement time – I never thought sitting
First Albanian school, Korce
the 3rd in from the right (rear) has a cool haircut for the late 1800s! on my backside on a bus all day, albeit with some interesting people, could be so tiring.
So what's next - Albanian war bunkers, the mountain city of Berat, and returning to the new capital, Tirana, in next 3 days. Then it's Athens and Santorini first up in Greece and hello to yet another language to learn - and the chance to say 'It's all Greek to me'...yikes!
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