Heading Back to Tirana...
After a good night sleep, we awoke to cappuccino, homemade jelly (grape and fig), whipped butter, fresh goat cheese and bread (which I couldn’t enjoy). We walked across the street to check out the Ionian Sea. In this photo is the restaurant-lined walk. Above the businesses are flats… as you can see, one is owned by an American. During the summer months, this is a heavily occupied tourist area. Though the weather is fantastic, summer is over and the crowds have disappeared.
We walked along the beach a bit and practiced with the drone. The seaside town of Himare is special. Many of the coastal towns have Waikiki-style high rise buildings. This sleepy town has a two or three story limitation. The beaches are clean and the water warm. We have kept our friend, Adnan, away from his wife for too long… so it’s time to head back!
Look at the fun in store for us! The lines zig-zagging across the mountain… the road we take to cross the Ceraunian Mountains. It winds through villages and well… quite frankly, the drop off was frightening! But it was beautiful!
For the most part, the villages had cobbled streets to slow down traffic… it works! Views were incredible because they are mountain and sea. Quaint homes built up the hillside provided so many with million dollar views for a fraction of the price!
In some areas the homes are built up the hill and some run down to the sea.
One thing is for sure… driving in Albania is a challenge. I’ve driven in many countries around the world. Ireland was probably the biggest challenge because they drive on the other (not wrong) side of the road. This country… hands down the scariest experience! At the last minute, I noticed the sheep so it’s a blurry photo… mules in the road, a fox crossed… but the worst? Crazy, speeding drivers who pass with barely room to avoid a head-on collision! There are memorials everywhere on the roadways here…
Hovering clouds are my favorite… these ranges are well over 6000 feet above sea level. Each day we’ve noticed the clouds getting stuck on the mountains, keeping the beaches sunny!
In a sea of white and beige homes sat this blue domed church. As soon as we came around the curve and saw the flash of blue, I scrambled to get my camera! So pretty…
Rolling green hills, rocky mountains and small communities tucked in little safe pockets. Albania is very safe. We have walked block after block, strolled the beaches and stopped on the hillside to get fresh water from the “fountains”. Basically, water comes down from the high mountains and there are cement walls with two or three holes… water trickles down. People stop and fill their bottles with “healing water”.
This is the same place we stopped on the way in… where we took the “heart” picture. During the light of day, it seems more dramatic. Mountains falling into the sea. Our friend had to make a phone call and we just took a gazillion photos! Onward we drive…
We checked out this beach area. Our friend told us it had been hit by a giant wind/rain storm. Sounds like a hurricane hit rather recently. At the far end of this beach is a planned community. It is the first step in recreating this area. There are still a few restaurants open but many on the sand are a complete disaster. The fact that it was already an organized chaos leads me to believe it was longer ago than the three weeks our friend told us…
We looked into the possibility of buying some of the damaged property but it is not possible. Not all of the land has been released back to the people from the communist days. Most have gone through a process and documentation is provided to show a house or land is free and clear for purchase. This particular area has not yet completed the process. Too bad…
This was another attempt at playing with my drone. Obviously, I have a far way to go before my videos are actually useful! But you get the idea of how beautiful the beaches are in Albania… Mediterranean climate… such a dream!
Once again, Adnan picked the perfect restaurant! This seaside location was build around two or three giant trees. Up off the ground, it gave the impression of eating in a tree house. Surprise! Barry ordered pizza…
And I had a feast… Greek salad, fish and risotto. The risotto was made with fresh calamari. Not quite sure how much of the fish I should eat (every country is different), I followed Adnan’s lead. Eat every bite except the bones… With wine and three meals, the check was a whopping $33 USD.
We returned to Vlore beach area. Our drone attempt failed because we were too near a port. We’ve found many restrictions.
All good things must come to an end… we got back to our flat around seven. Before settling in for the night, we walked down the street to purchase another bottle of wine from the man we met earlier in the week. Comfortable in our pajamas, Barry turned on… wait for it… a documentary on airplane crashes. Oh my! Tomorrow I will be catching up on what we did today. It was the BEST day!!! We will also be traveling to Serbia for a couple weeks. Bye for now!
