Blogs from Albania, Europe

This morning dawned beautifully fine and clear filling us full of good spirit in anticipation of the drive ahead to the border of Albania and beyond to Durres which will be home for the next three nights. Of all the countries we planned to visit, Albania was the one that had given us the greatest fears of testing our adventurous fortitude. Even though we had read quite a bit about the country that had been in isolation to the rest of the world (not unlike North Korea is today) for 45 years between 1946 when Hoxha, the ‘dictator’ who ran the country until 1991, we were unsure what to expect. Would it be like the other countries we have passed through so far where we have tended to slip seamlessly across borders without noticing too much ... read more

The Prokletije (a.k.a., Albanian Alps or "cursed mountains") are a sub-range of the Balkans' Dinaric Alps and are located around the border regions of Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo. I did not attempt the highest peak in the Dinaric Alps, Jezerce @ 2694 m and located entirely in Albania, but I did tag the highest peaks in Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia. That is a bit deceiving because the tallest mountain in Albania and Macedonia is on the border and shared by both - Mount Korab @ 2764 m. It was actually quite easy compared to Montenegro's high point - Zla Kolata @ 2534 m and meaning Evil Kolata or "pile." That was on the border of Albania and Montenegro and tackled from Valbonë in one long, daylight challenged, autumn day. Kolata's higher summit is in Albania just ... read more

Coming to Montenegro and beyond was something I was a little concerned about. I am rarely wrong, being a female I always get it right lol, so when I arrived in a wonderful spot called Becici, Montenegro after a days travel from Italy, it felt so right! Montenegro roughly translates to 'land of the Russian tourist' or Ruski central – speedo clad old men with bellies in need of weight loss advice, deep abdominal strengthening and a spot of bio-oil. Well exposed they were, even if you were not of the beautiful people crowd, as clearly I wasn't, anything goes. The 2nd Andre met for the day (aside from the Italian tenor on the Venice to Rome train), my host at B and B Fly and Beach near the airport, was accommodating and helpful. Like several ... read more

Resumo: Muitas despedidas num dia so; Coracao apertado; Muitos pensamentos/sentimentos; Estou bem. Acordei cedo para caminhar um pouco. Tirana eh uma cidade bem colorida, bem mais do que eu imaginava. Por causa do comunismo nesta regiao achei que a cidade fosse cinza. Assim, aproveitei para tirar algumas fotos. A nostalgia comecou a bater ai .. estava me despedindo de Tirana. Apos 2 semanas, ja estava me sentindo em casa. Conhecia a moca do caixa do supermercado, a sra da padaria, o moco do cafe, a faxineira do hostel .. e assim vai a lista imensa de pessoas que faziam parte da minha "rotina". Imprimi as ultimas fotos que seriam entregues as educadoras do orfanato. Este foi o dia tambem que 2 processos de adocao foram finalizados. Assim, houve festa de despedida para elas. Que festa de ... read more

Resumo: Conhecendo pessoas incriveis; Aprendendo a tocar Ukulele; Estou bem. Trabalhar no hostel estava totalmente fora dos meus planos. Porem, a minha viagem tomou este rumo apos nao conseguir encontrar acomodacao barata em Saranda, lugar que eu queria ter ficado por mais tempo. Como eu mencionei no ulitmo post, trabalho como recepcionista, garconete, faxineira e fotografa dos eventos daqui (15h as 21h30). Se parar para pensar o quanto estou "economizando" e o quanto "valia" a minha hora de trabalho .. eh insano o que estou fazendo! Principalmente pq sou voluntaria no orfanato das 9h30 as 12h30 e na maternidade das 13h30 as 14h20. No orfanato eu ajudo a cuidar das criancas (0-4anos) e na maternidade eu fico com os bebes 'abandonados' no colo ou brinco com uma bebezinha que tem sindrome de down. Mas meu ponto ... read more