Berat to Gjirokaster

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I am up before my alarm, showered, packed and feet dressed. I head downstairs at around twenty to and leave my bags with reception while I go get money out. Then I head into breakfast the minute it opens at 7. I eat as much as I can manage mainly yogurt and bread and ask for takeaway containers which I fill with bacon, sausage, burek, cake and bread plus I put as much fruit in my bag as will fit. At 5 past I see my taxi pull up so I head out. Its meant to be a 40 minute walk to the bus station but I reckon it would gave taken twice that and I am so glad I took the taxi. At the bus station I find the saranda bus, confirm it also goes to Gjirokaster which it does. I have to give up my big bag but it’s a minibus and looks like being full. I watch it go in the boot and take my seat only for the driver to insist I take a different seat. There is no air but when I try to get off we are ushered back on. I start chatting to two Danish boys who are also going to Gjitokaster and they agree to share my 400lek pickup to my hostel with me. By twenty to all seats are gone. They somehow cram another 3 girls on stools in the aisle and I see another couple being sold on a taxi -ouch. I’m glad I got there early enough.

We start going and it is cramped, hot, I feel sick and try to sleep and finish my book. 2 hours in we stop for a break and when we get back on the driver comes around asking us where we are going. There are 7 of us going to Gjirokaster so he collects our money. 40 minutes later we are dropped at a junction at the side of the road where a woman with great English explains that another bus will come for us and that it is already paid for. I try to abandon my read book but somebody returns it to me. We wait ten minutes at a cafe then the bus is here. I try to abandon the book again but it is returned to me. At the bus station my hostel man is waiting so we pile in his jeep and my third attempt to lose the book fails as again it is returned to me. We are delayed as our driver tries to help a woman who doesn’t know how to get to her accommodation but eventually we are on the move.

I am so glad I didn’t walk. Its about 40 minutes steep, steep uphill. I’d have died and the boys paid 300 of this so it literally cost me 80p. The hostel is lovely, I am checked in by a young boy who speaks great English and my room is nice, cool, clean with curtains. I check out the terrace and call with mum and dad to show them the incredible view of the castle and the valley. Emma from Lake Ohrid has messaged and she is here too so I am on my way out to meet her when the boy comes and tells me I have to move rooms. He shows me to an 8 bed where luckily there is still one bottom bunk and he gives me a euro back. I’m really put out that I’m being moved to a room bigger than I booked with no explanation. I head to meet Emma and I put my finger on the fact that it’s my first time staying in a hostel dorm since Theth so it’s a big jump to go from private rooms to an 8 bed. I meet Emma at a restaurant and we catch up. She has just eaten but I’m not really hungry so I just have a beer. Just as we ask for the bill the heavens open, super heavy, torrential rain. We move inside and this time I get food and she gets a beer. The combi plate she is raving about so I order the same and it is amazing, a little bit of every traditional Albanian food so I definitely will be telling Drysha to try this. The rain eases so we head back.

I lie down for a bit. Emma’s hostel do a walking tour at 530 but she messages to say she asked and I can’t join. Its only for people from her hostel. The rain has completely cleared though so I decide to head out. When I head downstairs the woman I spoke to on the phone, who has great English is behind the counter so I ask how come I was moved. She says a group booked the 4 bed dorm so she had sent me an email asking me to change but I didn’t reply. I look through my conversation history but I have no messages and I tell her I wouldn’t have booked an 8 bed. She tells me she can fix it, there is a 4 bed at another property a 100metres up the road that is currently empty and she will knock another 2 euros off for me. I want to be the bigger person and say I’ll stay in the 8 bed but the chance of a room to myself is too good to pass up. I confirm that I can still use the terrace and roof area here and she says yes so another of her sons escorts me up the hill to her mothers house which is guesthouse Eva’s. It is a 4 bed dorm in a family house and as promised it is not only empty but only one bed is made up. There is no a/c but there is a fan. Unfortunately the wifi is awful but for 8euros I can survive if I just use it as a place to sleep.

I decide to do the castle as the rain has cleared the air and the temperature has dropped. The dog from the hostel is walking with me and literally comes all the way up to the castle with me. I think he must have sensed I wasn’t in a good mood and needed cheering up. The castle is amazing, I pay the entry and head to the museum which closes an hour before the castle. As advised the first floor is really interesting, all about the history of the castle and town. The top floor I’ve been told I can skip but when I try to the woman showed me the way up so I obligingly head up. It is literally a gun collection, I definitely could have skipped. The dog is still with me and people keep stopping me, asking if I’m travelling with my dog. The woman who works at the museum says he’s well known for escorting travellers up here. I head outside as they lock the doors.

The views are stunning, there are views from all sides, old towers and tunnels to explore, an open air concert venue and even a plane. The panel tells us that it was a US plane that according to the US went off course en route to Naples and made an emergency landing but the Soviets ruling Albania accused it of spying and detained the pilot. I wander round until the sun goes behind the mountains then I head inside and explore the other side. The tunnels are lovely and cool and it’s big enough to spend two hours here. I am one of the last out as they lock the gates. I ask about the dog as I lost him about half an hour ago but the guard says he already headed down so I don’t need to worry about him being locked in over night.

Down the hill I head to a cocktail bar I was recommended called hungover and I am calling mum back when Emma comes to meet me. We sit and have a few cocktails. I have a coconut one then a raki one both are amazing. We sit for a while and she tells me about her tour I tell her about the castle. I have just checked the reviews of my hostel in Himare and there are some new really bad ones about the owner making women feel uncomfortable. Its also got three different names on different sites and after Peja thats too many red flags so I ask Deysha how she feels about cancelling even though we’ll potentially lose money but rebooking at Emma’s hostel which many people I’ve met have recommended. Deysha is in full agreement so we both request to waive cancellation on the hostel we’ve booked and rebook at sun bakers where Emma is staying. I feel more reassured that at least I’m not going to have the same uncomfortable night like I did at Peja. Emma wants to eat so we head to get pizza and I just order a beer. We are both pretty tired after that so head back to our hostels.

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