Wednesday, October 6, 2010
17th September Drymades to Berat (via the Llogaraja pass)
After a restful day we headed up over the Llogaraja pass, the highest point is 1027m which is quite low in comparison to many passes we have been over. However this route had sheer drops several inches from the road with missing barriers along many sections, there were also numerous memorials to commemorate the death of previously unfortunate drivers. Cass was driving and thought Bek was being surprisingly quiet, when she commented on the great view Beks response was a “ yepp “. Cass thought this was strange and then asked Bek if she was okay Bek said “These sheer drops keep giving me vertigo, the road is so narrow don’t take your eyes off it!”.When we arrived in Berat we couldn’t find the YHA hostel we were supposed to be staying at, we had the right road but drove up and down trying to find it and couldn’t find a building which even resembled a hostel. We eventually asked for directions in a car repair place, the man in the car place then rang someone on his mobile and nodded for us to wait in our camper someone else translated and said the hostel manager would be along to collect us shortly. We weren’t sure if this was a con and his friend would arrive and try and rent us a room in his house. Anyway after 10 minutes a man with a young guy approached us, they asked if we had a reservation and how many nights we planned to stay. We said we didn’t have a reservation and planned to stay for two nights, they looked at each other and the older man gave a kind of shrug, sigh and a doubtful look and then made a very long loud phone conversation, he hung up and then had another long and loud conversation in Albanian with the younger guy and then he said “okay you can stay?!?”. We thought maybe they were full (or would be the next night as it would be Saturday) but they said to follow them to the hostel. We then reached a building with locked gates which we thought was strange for a YHA, when we got out of our vehicle the older man (translated through the younger boy) started asking us loads of questions such as ‘were we going out tonight?’ ‘when would we be back the next night?’ etc etc. Once again they proceeded to speak to one another in Albanian, if we hadn’t seen the YHA sign on the window we would have done a runner but instead we checked in, our dormitory was empty and we weren’t sure what the fuss was all about. The hostel turned out to be the strangest YHA we had ever stayed in. As well as the previously described shenanigans there were black bags full of various medications on the stair well, there was no reception and the place was overrun with local kids during the day.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
16th September Drymades Beach
The weather was perfect so we spent the day relaxing by the pool and on the beach reading our books, doing crosswords and people watching. At one point a couple in a land rover with British licence plates on it drove onto the beach, we commented that they were either brave or daft as they were highly likely to get stuck. Several hours later we heard the spinning noise of tyres, we looked to our side to see the land rover stuck in the sand. Subsequently a large truck appeared on the beach, it had come to tow the land rover out of the sand however it too became stuck. The driver kept accelerating which made the truck wheels sink deeper and deeper into the sand, the driver then got out of his cab and put on a theatrical performance which included crying and throwing rocks and sand at this truck, the Albanian men appear to take their emotive behaviour from the Italians that overcrowd them in summer, it made for some great entertainment.
Later that night we were overlooking the beach having a fish dinner in the hotels restaurant and we saw a rock breaker four-wheel drive tractor towing the land rover out of the sand. This was about 8 hours after it initially became stuck, the girlfriend of the driver looked less than impressed to say the least!
Later that night we were overlooking the beach having a fish dinner in the hotels restaurant and we saw a rock breaker four-wheel drive tractor towing the land rover out of the sand. This was about 8 hours after it initially became stuck, the girlfriend of the driver looked less than impressed to say the least!
16th September Drymades Beach
The weather was perfect so we spent the day relaxing by the pool and on the beach reading our books, doing crosswords and people watching. At one point a couple in a land rover with British licence plates on it drove onto the beach, we commented that they were either brave or daft as they were highly likely to get stuck. Several hours later we heard the spinning noise of tyres, we looked to our side to see the land rover stuck in the sand. Subsequently a large truck appeared on the beach, it had come to tow the land rover out of the sand however it too became stuck. The driver kept accelerating which made the truck wheels sink deeper and deeper into the sand, the driver then got out of his cab and put on a theatrical performance which included crying and throwing rocks and sand at this truck, the Albanian men appear to take their emotive behaviour from the Italians that overcrowd them in summer, it made for some great entertainment.
Later that night we were overlooking the beach having a fish dinner in the hotels restaurant and we saw a rock breaker four-wheel drive tractor towing the land rover out of the sand. This was about 8 hours after it initially became stuck, the girlfriend of the driver looked less than impressed to say the least!
Later that night we were overlooking the beach having a fish dinner in the hotels restaurant and we saw a rock breaker four-wheel drive tractor towing the land rover out of the sand. This was about 8 hours after it initially became stuck, the girlfriend of the driver looked less than impressed to say the least!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
15th Ksamil to Drymades via Butrint National Park.
Butrint National Park
Butrint; remains of a roman townhouse and evidence of the rising water table that made them abandon the city
Drymades beach resort
We had been up most of the night using the bathroom so it was touch and go whether we would have to stay in the dump another night but being true fighters ( lol) we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed to Butrint National Park.
The national park houses an acropolis of ancient ruins and is the largest in Albania, the museum was interesting and contained a large amount of relics which had been excavated, some of the large excavated statues had chunks missing, many of these were excavated in the 1930’s so we guessed the shovels used (as photos in the museum also showed) had taken chunks off the excavated pieces.
From Butrint we headed to Drymades beach the drive was extremely hilly which we weren’t expecting so we stopped off for an early dinner before reaching Drymades so we could give Torty a rest. We had spoken about starving ourselves for the day but seeing as we both felt better we thought we would have a lite dinner. The coastal restaurant overlooked a bay and was in a lovely setting, we asked for a menu but the manager said there was no menu (often seems to be the case in Albania) and it was a fish restaurant, we asked how much the fish was and he said 10euros so we said okay. 10 euros is quite expensive for fish by our travelling standards but the location was so nice so we thought we would treat ourselves. When the waiter asked if we wanted potatoes and salad we said yes, the waiter then proceeded to bring out olives, bread, feta, chinese cabbage as well as huge bowl of salad. Cass said maybe the manager misunderstood us but then the waiter brought out chips and a huge fish each. We couldn’t believe the amount of food on the table...so long to starving ourselves! The food was delicious but we got a shock when it came to bill time as every item had been individually charged and even the feta alone was the price of a dinner in our usual restaurants. We handed over 40 euros which seemed a lot but then we thought of the food we had eaten and the location and where we had eaten it and really it was a bargain. Cass joked that Bek had had her birthday dinner three months early.
After driving 3 km’s down a one way dirt track we arrived at Drymades beach, we couldn’t find our proposed campsite and most places were shut. After gazing in each direction Bek entered a brand new complex, the manager told her it would be 40 euros a night (says 50e on the internet) but she haggled over the price and struck a deal at 30 euros a night with breakfast .
The complex had only opened in july so everything was brand new and there were very few others staying. Once we had checked in we went for a walk along the beach and then went for a swim in the sea.
The national park houses an acropolis of ancient ruins and is the largest in Albania, the museum was interesting and contained a large amount of relics which had been excavated, some of the large excavated statues had chunks missing, many of these were excavated in the 1930’s so we guessed the shovels used (as photos in the museum also showed) had taken chunks off the excavated pieces.
From Butrint we headed to Drymades beach the drive was extremely hilly which we weren’t expecting so we stopped off for an early dinner before reaching Drymades so we could give Torty a rest. We had spoken about starving ourselves for the day but seeing as we both felt better we thought we would have a lite dinner. The coastal restaurant overlooked a bay and was in a lovely setting, we asked for a menu but the manager said there was no menu (often seems to be the case in Albania) and it was a fish restaurant, we asked how much the fish was and he said 10euros so we said okay. 10 euros is quite expensive for fish by our travelling standards but the location was so nice so we thought we would treat ourselves. When the waiter asked if we wanted potatoes and salad we said yes, the waiter then proceeded to bring out olives, bread, feta, chinese cabbage as well as huge bowl of salad. Cass said maybe the manager misunderstood us but then the waiter brought out chips and a huge fish each. We couldn’t believe the amount of food on the table...so long to starving ourselves! The food was delicious but we got a shock when it came to bill time as every item had been individually charged and even the feta alone was the price of a dinner in our usual restaurants. We handed over 40 euros which seemed a lot but then we thought of the food we had eaten and the location and where we had eaten it and really it was a bargain. Cass joked that Bek had had her birthday dinner three months early.
After driving 3 km’s down a one way dirt track we arrived at Drymades beach, we couldn’t find our proposed campsite and most places were shut. After gazing in each direction Bek entered a brand new complex, the manager told her it would be 40 euros a night (says 50e on the internet) but she haggled over the price and struck a deal at 30 euros a night with breakfast .
The complex had only opened in july so everything was brand new and there were very few others staying. Once we had checked in we went for a walk along the beach and then went for a swim in the sea.
14th Gjirokaster to Ksamil via Blue eye springs
Earthquake? No unauthorised building lol
Blue Eye Spring
Inside the 14th century Citadel
An American spy plane? When it landed in 1957, the communist regime claimed that the plane was spying on Albania and was forced down, though now it seems that the unlucky pilot simply got lost in bad weather and had to make an emergency landing.
We planned to have breakfast in the hotels restaurant but at 9am they were still shut (Albanians tent to be late risers) so we ventured into Gjiorkaster town instead. When we arrived in the town the place was heaving with people, cars were weaving in and out of traffic and horns were beeping in every direction-the place was crazy. We found parking although the guy charged us 8e for the day which seemed extortionate but with no prices displayed we didn’t know if we were being conned or not, and unfortunately he had the entire parking market tied up...welcome to the Albanian mafia.
The hunt for breakfast was on, many places were open but none were serving food so we had to settle for a liquid breakfast (minus the raki).
We had a walk around Gjirokaster, visited the castle and ate lunch ready for our journey to Blue eye springs. Blue eye springs used to be a favourite holiday spot among the communist elite and we could see the attraction, the spring pumps out 8.3 m3 of water per second, the water is crystal clear with various colours of vegetation and rocks. We had a walk around the spring and had a drink next to the springs which was extremely peaceful and relaxing. Bek wanted to go for a swim though Cass talked her out of putting her bikini on before we saw the spring as Albanians aren’t known for their care of the environment. When we got to the springs dge Bek put her foot in the 10oc water and said “I have swum in the English sea in winter but there is no way I am going in there!”
Later that day we arrived in Ksamil which we thought was going to be a nice seaside resort and where we planned to check into a hotel by the beach (thank god we didn’t book it in advance). Ksamil turned out to be a big dump of a town, numerous buildings had collapsed and many that hadn’t looked like the leaning Tower Of Pisa although people were still living inside. We thought there must have been an earthquake in the town but we used the internet and found out that the government tore down 200 buildings which were illegally erected and then expected the owners to clean the mess away, needless to say that the ruins will still be there in 200 years! We checked into a hotel anyway as we weren’t near to another town and the next day (the plan of laying by the beach for a few days was soon dismissed) we were heading south to a national park where there was no accommodation. At night we went for dinner and had mussels as we had driven past some mussel farms during the day .The food was lovely but we were both unwell afterwards, Bek says it’s put her off mussels for life.
The hunt for breakfast was on, many places were open but none were serving food so we had to settle for a liquid breakfast (minus the raki).
We had a walk around Gjirokaster, visited the castle and ate lunch ready for our journey to Blue eye springs. Blue eye springs used to be a favourite holiday spot among the communist elite and we could see the attraction, the spring pumps out 8.3 m3 of water per second, the water is crystal clear with various colours of vegetation and rocks. We had a walk around the spring and had a drink next to the springs which was extremely peaceful and relaxing. Bek wanted to go for a swim though Cass talked her out of putting her bikini on before we saw the spring as Albanians aren’t known for their care of the environment. When we got to the springs dge Bek put her foot in the 10oc water and said “I have swum in the English sea in winter but there is no way I am going in there!”
Later that day we arrived in Ksamil which we thought was going to be a nice seaside resort and where we planned to check into a hotel by the beach (thank god we didn’t book it in advance). Ksamil turned out to be a big dump of a town, numerous buildings had collapsed and many that hadn’t looked like the leaning Tower Of Pisa although people were still living inside. We thought there must have been an earthquake in the town but we used the internet and found out that the government tore down 200 buildings which were illegally erected and then expected the owners to clean the mess away, needless to say that the ruins will still be there in 200 years! We checked into a hotel anyway as we weren’t near to another town and the next day (the plan of laying by the beach for a few days was soon dismissed) we were heading south to a national park where there was no accommodation. At night we went for dinner and had mussels as we had driven past some mussel farms during the day .The food was lovely but we were both unwell afterwards, Bek says it’s put her off mussels for life.
13th Lake Ohrid to Gjirokaster via Barmash pass
Some more quality roads, thank god we werent driving on it when it slid!
Cass thought that Albanians spoke Australian (it really means for sale)
Barmash Pass
Highway 1 Albanian style
Bed shop delivery manIn the morning we checked out of the campsite while the locals were sat in the restaurant having their breakfast of Raki, expresso and cigarettes (oh to be a local in my next life).
The drive to Gjirokaster took us over the Barmash pass which is 1759m high, we took the drive easy and stopped for lunch and coffee in various scenic spots. The drivers in Albania are crazy and they don’t even think twice about overtaking on mountainous blind bends where there are no barriers and sheer cliff drops, lets just say we had a few curt words here and there!
It’s also not uncommon to see roads where landslides have occurred and carried the road with it.
There are no campsites in Gjirokaster so we stayed in a hotel next to a lake just out of town, Bek was excited about the prospect of wallowing in a bath and as soon as we had eaten dinner in the hotel she went to run a bath. The water from the bathroom tap came out green and stank of stagnant water so that idea was soon forgotten.
The drive to Gjirokaster took us over the Barmash pass which is 1759m high, we took the drive easy and stopped for lunch and coffee in various scenic spots. The drivers in Albania are crazy and they don’t even think twice about overtaking on mountainous blind bends where there are no barriers and sheer cliff drops, lets just say we had a few curt words here and there!
It’s also not uncommon to see roads where landslides have occurred and carried the road with it.
There are no campsites in Gjirokaster so we stayed in a hotel next to a lake just out of town, Bek was excited about the prospect of wallowing in a bath and as soon as we had eaten dinner in the hotel she went to run a bath. The water from the bathroom tap came out green and stank of stagnant water so that idea was soon forgotten.
12th September Lake Ohrid
The lake and some of the 60,000 bunkersWe woke up to sun and a bright blue sky ,Lake Ohrid is 34km long so we felt like we had woken up next to the sea. In the morning we tackled a 5kg pumpkin we had purchased from a roadside vendor the day before, this was a hard task with blunt knives and we narrowly avoided injury but it was worth it as the soup we made was delicious.
At one point we went to test the temperature of the clear water as we were contemplating going for a swim, we put our feet in and were sat relaxing on a step admiring the scenery when a snake came heading towards us. Bek who has a phobia of snakes saw it before Cass and jumped up yelling in a panic, Cass thought Bek had been bitten and in true Aussie style was watching the snake to identify it... that was before Bek grabbed her away lol and no we didn’t go swimming after that and the step we were on turned out to be on top of their nest! Apart from the snake incident the day was very relaxing. The campsite is also home to a trout farm (at least the fish isn’t caught from dynamite fishing which they practise in Albania and far north Australia) and at night we had dinner in the restaurant, we declined the endangered lake Ohrid Koran trout and instead opted for the run of the mill trout, the food was nicely washed down with a bottle of local wine.
At one point we went to test the temperature of the clear water as we were contemplating going for a swim, we put our feet in and were sat relaxing on a step admiring the scenery when a snake came heading towards us. Bek who has a phobia of snakes saw it before Cass and jumped up yelling in a panic, Cass thought Bek had been bitten and in true Aussie style was watching the snake to identify it... that was before Bek grabbed her away lol and no we didn’t go swimming after that and the step we were on turned out to be on top of their nest! Apart from the snake incident the day was very relaxing. The campsite is also home to a trout farm (at least the fish isn’t caught from dynamite fishing which they practise in Albania and far north Australia) and at night we had dinner in the restaurant, we declined the endangered lake Ohrid Koran trout and instead opted for the run of the mill trout, the food was nicely washed down with a bottle of local wine.
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