Blogs from North, Albania, Europe

Up before 5am to catch the minivan to the ferry on Koman lake. Easy journey but cramped seats. One stop for the driver to have a coffee and smoke. The road wound through the countryside, the last part along a lake formed by a dam. Emerging from a final tunnel the van popped out to a busy wharf and we transferred straight onto the 9am ferry. We had read that this is a popular trip on the car ferry up to Fierze and it was certainly busy with vehicles  locals and tourists. Every seat was taken so we sat on the top deck, legs dangling over the side and enjoyed the 2.5 hour journey through picturesque gorges. At the other end we had a coffee and got back on for the 1pm return. Even busier with ... read more

DAY 4 Theth It was a quiet room. I needed the toilet three times in the night but other than that I slept well. Fitbit says 8 hours and an 86 sleep score. Must be the mountain air. Everyone but me is leaving here today so one by one they get up as I chill. Rosa comes in to get one boy for breakfast and the Aussie girl accidentally turns the light on. Still I stay in bed until its nearly 9. I see the Aussie girl drinking water from the tap and she says its good to drink here so I fill my bottle up to take my tablets. My clothes are still wet so I put them on the fence outside to dry. I sit outside beside the Cheshire girl who has left most ... read more

Day 3 I had a horrible sleep. Yuki was asleep before me and at first I thought it would be ok but then the snoring started. I used to be able to sleep through anything but I can’t seem to do it anymore. I put in earplugs and I can still hear it. I put my headphones on a sleep story waking around Toronto of all places but it doesn’t work. I try waves on the ocean. It must work at some point because I have nightmares about people putting my onto psychotic medication I didn’t need and I wake up several times. I hear Yuki’s alarm and to his credit he gets up and takes his stuff outside. I doze for a bit and when I check the time it’s half six. Still half an ... read more

The father of the guesthouse owner in Drelaj showed me some photographs in a book that he had written about the Kosovo war, or more specifically the village's part in it. Amongst other things they showed all the houses burnt out and a cave in the mountainside where the villagers had hidden while the Serbian army swept through the village. Unfortunately the language barrier meant that we couldn't chat about it further but it did mean that he could get on with his job of cutting hay with a scythe and building a haystack in the traditional style that is seen throughout the Balkans. Seeing the photos put our problems into perspective but nevertheless a problem we had. Overnight Cathy had been ill and wasn't up to walking, so we had all taken an extra rest ... read more

During my 2012 visit to Albania’s Cursed Mountains, imposing Maja Jezercë stood out in the distance viewed from the summit of Zla Kolata situated on the border with Montenegro and that country’s highest point. On this recent trip the Queen of the Accursed (2694 m ASL and the highest peak entirely within Albania as Mt Korab is higher but shared on the border with Macedonia) was definitely the number one hiking objective. Most people tackle this mountain from Valbonë with a shuttle from their guesthouse to the start of the hike at Rrogam, a tiny farming hamlet with a few places to stay. After getting dropped off at the end of the Valbonë valley’s pavement I started hiking down the 3 km gravel road (actually a dry, rocky river bed) in the hopes of finding a ... read more