Archaeology in the Rain

---

Day 21 - Wed. Oct. 12 - Port of call: Sarandë, Albania. Weather: Chance of heavy rain in morning, sunny with scattered clouds in afternoon, temperatures of 64°F/18°C



NOTE: I chose not to write a blog yesterday as we were at sea sailing around the end of the Greek mainland from the island of Limnos to Sarandë, Albania.



Sarandë, Albania has turned out to be a wonderful surprise to everyone, including the Captain. He was fully expecting that we would have to anchor in the harbour and that the tenders would be deployed to take passengers ashore. Yesterday he received word from the HAL agent in Albania that the port actually had a pier large enough to accommodate the Prinsendam. Unfortunately the ship did not have up-to-date charts of the pier area so a request was made to the Pilot to bring a set of charts with him. After reviewing the charts and determining that there was sufficient depth beside the pier and that there was enough space to maneuver the ship the Captain decided that we could actually dock. Life is so much easier for everybody when you don’t have to deploy the tenders.



This area of Albania has been described as the Albanian Riviera and has been visited since antiquity as a recreational spot. Since the end of Communism the area has experienced a strong rediscovery by the tourists in search of quiet seaside towns with wide beaches and stunning blue waters. Remnants, such as concrete pillboxes, of the oppressive era of Communist rule are still visible but are largely ignored by the locals.



Our destination today was the ancient city of Butrint, a large UNESCO Heritage site. Brooke and I visited the site 6 years ago when we were on another HAL cruise that stopped at the Greek island of Corfu, which is a short 10 mile hydroplane ride away. Today we walked off the ship, in a light drizzle, to our waiting busses that took us down the coast to the archaeological site. By the time we arrived at the site the drizzle had turned into a downpour. Fortunately it was short lived and didn’t really dampen (pun intended) our interest in viewing the ruins.



Unfortunately the site is sinking into the wetlands that surround it, and, combined with three days of heavy rains prior to our arrival that the guide informed us they had had, a number of the access trails were flooded. On a positive note the heavy rain had discouraged the hordes of mosquitos that we had endured on our last visit.



Butrint has a remarkable history, which dates back to the 8^th century B.C. This site and its history reflect a remarkable heritage of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman cultures and civilizations. One of the numerous information plaques mentioned that the Normans also controlled the site in the past.



In the 6 years since our last visit a great deal of infrastructure work has been done on the site. Unfortunately the rising ground water continues to flood the site, obscuring the exquisite mosaic floors in a number of the buildings. At the end of the exploration of the site we were treated to a light lunch of local delicacies.



Back on the bus we drove back to Sarandë where we took a short walk on the waterfront promenade to the site of the Onhezmi Synagogue, which was built in the 5^th century A.D. Once again at this site we encountered a number of feral cats roaming around as our guide provided a brief history of the site before we returned to the ship.

---