We let Niko (our campsite owner) know that we were going to be off early Monday morning in the Poacher, leaving the caravan behind as we normally do for long trips, to explore the south of Albania.  Steve told him we aimed to leave by 6am and I burst out laughing knowing that was never going to happen. There was only one 6 o’clock in our world and that was the alarm for the evening yardarm.

Over the weekend we’d had constant heavy rain and thunderstorms, thankfully nothing like the heavy floods that tore through Germany and Belgium, and consequently a few things to dry out so they could be packed into the caravan before our departure. We didn’t want to leave any of our furniture outside and temp the fickle finger of theft fate.

I heard many years ago that making a mistake is learning, but making the same mistake twice is stupid.  On that basis, I did learn from last time to remember to charge up both of our toothbrushes, check that we had an aerosol of mosquito and nasty biting, stinging thing killer (not the can for cockroaches and silver fish as per last trip) and not to decant my precious Molton Brown shower gel or any of our other toiletries.

Whilst I like my rolling luggage (which didn’t make the cut this trip), Steve prefers his rather large rucksack which is (a) easier to stow on board and (b) leaves both of his hands free to carry other things. We weren’t sure how far we would get south, or even if it would be possible to make a day trip to Greece, so the bag of scuba diving kit came with too. My rationale has always been, especially when travelling with unrestricted luggage space, it’s easier to pack things and not need them, than the false economy of not packing them and wishing you had.  How many times have we all experienced “I wish I had brought the doo dah with”. Not on my watch!

Filling the back of the Poacher with our rucksack of clothes, a beach bag full of toiletries (in their original large containers), possible essentials, Stella’s bed and luggage and the large scuba diving kit bag and checking we had our explorer sun hats, binoculars and plenty of soft drinks to hand, we were ready for the off – and all by 9am. Not bad for us. We were pretty impressed ourselves.

1 – The Start

Driving the 1km up the dirt track from the campsite to the main road ready to turn right towards Shkoder, we spotted our Austrian neighbours Marcus and Tatiana on the corner They were waiting for a bus to take them to the city with their dog Ivory (really cute sheered Spaniel). Without second thoughts we offered to give them a lift. When they expressed concern that the lift might be a detour for us, we assured them it was not. If it had been out of our way we would have helped out anyway. We hadn’t packed the back of the Poacher for passengers, or had the two back folding seats available, but Marcus and Tatiana were more than happy to fold themselves into shapes that fit around Stella, Ivory our luggage and the cool bag. I think Ivory and Stella were the only two who travelled comfortably.

Their original request was to be dropped off anywhere in the city, but we ended up dropping them off at Rozafa Castle, which we’d visited a couple of days before so knew the route. No, you’ve not missed a post, I haven’t gotten round to writing that visit up yet. We said our goodbyes and, as is our custom, exchanged contact details and wished each other safe travels.

The Roads

Were nothing like Montenegro. They varied from dirt tracks to dual carriageways, the odd one even motorway style, but none was only single track to be negotiated from both directions and most were flat without too much of an incline. We saw many odd things on the roads but soon got used to seeing cows, goats, donkeys, horses, really strange vehicles mostly motor tricycles with either storage carts on the front or back. Do bear in mind when you look at my photos, most of them are taken from the passenger seat through my slit of a side window. It’s difficult to take anything in front of us or from the driver’s right hand side, as my view is obstructed by a sun visor, both satnavs, a dash cam, the rear view mirror and Steve driving.

The road speed limits varied from a very slow 20km up to 80km with regular police presences. Throughout our drive I couldn’t get over how many 4×4’s there were everywhere, especially Range Rovers. On the main roads the fuel stations were quite large, often with hotels attached, I suppose similar to UK service stations but without the need to pull off the road, just swing in. The roads stretched into vast areas of nothingness, sometimes huge factories lined the sides, but no shopping malls or supermarkets. Very rarely was there a village, but often maybe a house or two. We drove by lots of large restaurants and bars which were closed, which we’ve seen unfortunately so often on our travels. The only thing missing from the nothingness was spaghetti western background music and tumbleweed.

Function Venues

As we drove towards Durres, our first destination stop, either side we noticed huge hotel looking venues which all had the word ‘Palace’ in their names.  They were on main roads in the middle of nowhere and were obviously event and more probably wedding venues. Most were so ornate and over the top they would not look out of place in Vegas. Often looking and admiring what I saw, I forgot to take photos, but here are a few I remembered to capture.

Melons – Lots of them

Everywhere along our routes we saw people selling watermelons, sometimes with other melons and other produce. I actually think I saw a sign which equated to 15p per watermelon. Sellers were from all walks of life, farm owners with cages full of them, stalls with carefully dressed displays, well dressed children with just a few in front of them maybe for pocket money and chancers sat at the side of the road with whatever they had. These images, except for the final one which is our local, were by the side of the main roads.

2 – Durres

Our reason for visiting Durres was to see the Amphitheatre built 2nd century AD, which was destroyed twice by earthquakes in the 6th and 10th centuries and rediscovered as recently as 1966. It is the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Balkan Peninsula having a capacity of 20,000 people. I made a video clip as we descended the steps to the main areas, because I couldn’t believe how much of the original tunnels and stair ways were intact. This is the first and only take, without script, rehearsal or walk through which is pretty much obvious once you press play.

Naturally we had to take a few photos, but I have whittled them down as we are now somewhat connoisseurs of Roman ruins and we know not everyone shares our interest.

We were going to visit some other ruins conveniently within walking distance either side of the main road, but after Steve got repeatedly stung by a wasp on his right foot, it was back to the car to try and find our first night’s accommodation. Three years ago Steve was stung by a wasp in France, his foot suffered a bad reaction and he was unable to walk for almost 10 days. We were as worried as each other that this might happen again, especially as he is doing all of the driving, and immediately smothered the bite with hopeful antihistamine and sting relief.

3 & 4 – Divjakë National Park

Throughout this trip, apart from camp sites, we have never pre-booked accommodation. Slightly foolhardy you might think, but then on the other hand it leaves us free not to be tied down to specific destinations. We aimed for Divjakë National Park (3). The air was full of the sweet earthy smell of farmyard natural manure, local roads frequented by donkies and carts. We passed a road in Divjakë (3) which looked interesting seeming to have bars and shops but continued on to Remas (4) only to find it was a one donkey, one bar town without any accommodation and doubled back to Divjakë (3) to find there wasn’t any accommodation there either. Driving through these rural areas, we couldn’t see any slums only good sized homes in attractive condition and even more four wheel drive vehicles.  What was unusual, apart from no masks at all, was seeing cyclists, bikers and moped riders without helmets By now it was late, and we needed to find somewhere before it got dark as Steve had been driving all day and his vision isn’t brilliant at night, particularly with the Poacher’s 39 year old headlights. Had our luck run out? Nah! We’re too optimistic.

5 – Fier

Heading for Fier we were lucky enough to find The Red Apple Bar, Restaurant and Hotel with a few minutes to spare before sunset. They had a room available for us on the third floor (no lift) @ 30€ and would accept Stella; Steve was convinced the man he spoke to didn’t understand the word ‘dog’ so with our route to the room from the car park behind Reception, we quickly gathered our overnight gear and snuck in. The room had to be seen to be believed. I’m sure it was either designed by a would be pimp, or perhaps for someone with brittle bones, as the walls and headboard were covered in deep burgundy coloured padded velour. We didn’t care. It had air con which we turned on to chill the room whilst we had our evening meal.

Settled in, we went to the popular fairy light illuminated courtyard filled with families and seated ourselves near to the bar for a few well earned drinks for the driver whilst we decided what to have for dinner.  A meal of pizza, seafood pasta, several bottles of Corona’s, a bottle of wine (which was really scrumpy, but we didn’t complain), Bacardi and coke came to under £24 just a pound under our accommodation rate. Albania certainly is cheap when it comes to accommodation and food.

6 – Apollonia

Well situated for our next stop at Apollonia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is preserved in an exceptionally intact condition. It was a relatively early start for us after being cooled down by the air conditioning to arrive before the mid-day heat. With both satnavs programmed for Apollonia we followed really good wide roads and were there by 10am. As we parked, I noticed the fencing was rustic and waste bins similarly constructed.  Either attention to detail, or a cost saving exercise.  It didn’t matter, it all looked as natural blending in as it should be. 

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Steve put on his walking socks and boots and I left the ugly boots in the back of the Poacher.  As Steve got stung yesterday, I had my rucksack full of first aid supplies. 

 

As we entered the site, it was impossible not to notice the constant rasping noise made by the giant cicadas (grasshoppers).  Their constant sound filled the air everywhere and when I say constant I mean constant in the way that people complain of drums in the jungle. Yes, you hear them most places, but never as constant and as dense as they were here. Listen for yourselves.

When we visited the Roman site in Salona, Croatia (so good we did it twice), it was huge, well laid out and I wanted to do that visit justice when I wrote it up in a post.  At Apollonia it was also huge but I didn’t have the same enthusiasm for details.  For a few hours we walked the walk, took photos, toured the museum, took photos and had a refreshing drink in the cafe.

7 & 8 Vlore to Dukat

We drove through Vlore (7), which is a HUGE seaside attraction and straddles part of the coast line, consisting of very wide roads lined with all sorts of shops and pedestrianised areas.  We admired its beaches filled with sun loungers, umbrellas, restaurants and bars. The ‘seaside’ must have stretched over 3kms at least, full of hotels and even more hotels being built.  Vlore could certainly give some of Spain’s Costas a run for their money. The coast suddenly ended as the main road took a turn up into the mountains, sometimes at a really scary gradient of 10%. Although for poor Steve there were sheer drops, at least the road width was generous.  The air was filled with the fresh smell of pine as we drove through the Dukat National Park (8) and we welcomed the cooler breeze through the Poacher, to the contrast of the day’s temperature in the high 30’s.

Reaching the highest point, there seemed to be a choice of mountain top restaurants and we pulled up outside quite a posh looking one to have lunch. Sitting on the terrace the breeze actually cooled me down so much from the heat of the day I returned to the car for an additional layer.

For lunch we had starter portions (which were huge) of baked liver and kidney, Caesar salad, chips, dbl expresso and fresh orange all for £12!!!!! It is sometimes so difficult not to question the food bills. More than satisfied from our lunch we returned to the Poacher to began our steep descent, which was as scary going down as it was going up, to join the coast road to Hamari. Another destination where we had not pre-booked accommodation.

9 – Himarë 

As we began to pull into Himarë I was stunned to see 5 sheep coming towards us in the main road totally unaccompanied.  Why that surprised me, as we’d seen so many domestic animals all over the place, I’ve no idea. Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner? Suddenly we (and that means Steve) came to an abrupt stop in front of a red traffic light, preceding a blind bend with a mirror.  We watched the traffic coming the other way wondering why there was a need for a traffic light.  It’s the first one we’ve come across for weeks. We found out when the light changed to green. The two lanes, one each direction, merged into one that then narrowed into one lane which then got impossibly narrower, especially over a bridge section.  We looked at each other, so pleased we weren’t towing the caravan.

Safely, at the other side was a young policeman waving his lolly pop for us to pull in. After being allowed to continue our journey we decided he was more interested in the Poacher, practicing his English and commenting on our tourist map of Albania than checking any paperwork. Sharing our route with him, he pointed to numerous places asking why hadn’t we visited them, a particular town which was beautiful, another one that one has 3 castles, etc., etc.  I felt like we were at school and had disappointed our field trip teacher. He’ll get over it.

The coastline of Hamare is a ‘V’ shape with the first half a traditional seaside with beach, pedestrianised walkway between the beach and the wall to wall bars and restaurants, broken up with the odd tourist gift shop.  I expect it’s party time there every evening. We stayed at a hotel on the other half where there is a beach, parking, road and hotels, bars and restaurants and no pedestrianised area.  Viewing, the first hotel the phrase “I wouldn’t let me dog stay there” came to mind. I couldn’t let Stella’s standards drop so we looked for another which is the one we chose.  Beautiful room with air con, it was fresh, clean, spotless, minimalist (not a trace of any padding) and on the third floor without a lift. I was beginning to wish I had decanted our toiletries as I carried the beach bag.

Having our 7pm drink at the hotel we decided to walk along the entire seafront to the other end. It was pretty obvious everything was average, the restaurants served similar dishes, mostly with Italian influence, and the tourist shops identical tit-tat. I optimistically had an eagle eye out for an upmarket clothing shop with items I really liked, couldn’t afford and had a 50% sale.  Dream on Blanche.  And that’s what I’ve been doing most of this trip with regard to retail therapy.

10 – The Blue Eye

We’d seen this on our map and read the description. “This is a very scenic spot where the crystal waters flow from a blue karst spring. The river source indeed resembles a big round eye with a diameter of approximately 10m. The pupil of the eye, a deep pit from where the water bubbles vigorously has a deep blue and black colour. It is surrounded by the light blue part of the eye which has this colour due to the shallower depth of the source.

What complete poetic tosh. It was mobbed with people wanting to wade into the 10° water and have their picture taken and a queue of others wanting to jump or dive from a rock into the ‘pupil’ and have their photo taken. The two shacks selling tourist souvenirs were also mobbed. Not for me. I wanted a loo, a clean one, lunch and a drink.

We saw a sign for the restaurant and made our way there. Sympathetically built to blend in with the beauty of the stunning natural backdrop, without a mob in sight, I was in a much happier place.

11 – Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as “a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate”. The city is overlooked by Gjirokastër Fortress which was on our list to visit. Not knowing where to look for a hotel Steve suggested we find the bazaar area which we did. Negotiating many narrow cobbled streets, in low ratio gear, with insane gradients up and down we parked up. We saw quite a few regular cars struggling on the cobbles resulting in their tyres often spinning. We complimented the Poacher ‘well done’. I popped into a bar, was given a recommendation of the Gjirokastër Hotel (should have thought of that!) and off I went returning with my badge of success.

Walking into reception, I couldn’t see anyone, so said ‘hello’ waiting for someone to enter and greet me. Behind a trestle table on a bench, as in a comedy special, an old man rose sideways from his horizontal sleeping position to sitting up bleary eyed to a vertical position. I had to give him a few minutes to put a shirt on over his vest and to wake up. He spoke no English, was not mobile app compatible but we managed in sign language which included me barking to describe we needed a room to include Stella. Yes, yes, yes. Quiet. I know most of you describe me as barking mad! It was a traditional hotel with a beautiful traditional double bedroom available for us. Yes, on the third floor, no lift, but you know what, we had a hat trick of successful last minute accommodation which just goes to show our talent for RPRT (right place, right time). The hotel was at the base of the steps to the castle and as close to the bazaar area as we could get. In addition it had secure parking for the Poacher. We could not have got it better if we had researched.

Carrying our stuff to the third floor, without unpacking too much, it was time to explore the cobbled streets with their bazaar style shops all displaying similar local products for sale – unfortunately none of them to my taste, their restaurants and bars. Steve’s radar was on form spotting an Irish Bar.

The hotel’s breakfast was as home cooked, traditional and delicious as the ones we had in Virpizar when visiting Skadar Lake, Montenegro the other side of where we are staying in Albania. Breakfast included fresh plum juice, herbal tea, petulla (Albanian donuts) served with honey and jam, spanakopita (filo pastry stuffed with spinach and feta cheese), additional savoury pastries, bread and butter, eggs, meat, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber – all freshly prepared in their own kitchen and certainly way more than we could eat, AND included in the room rate of 40€.

By that morning I was done in. Three days of driving in the heat without air con, three nights of carrying our stuff up three flights of stairs, sightseeing in the heat with little shade, it was all a bit too much. That morning when Steve said ‘let’s walk to the castle’ of course I agreed.

The castle had to be visited as it was huge and enormous views, but its history was all too dark for us, a place of imprisonment, torture and battle.

At noon we started for our next destination but admitted to each other we really couldn’t do any more in the heat. It wasn’t as though we could do each attraction on separate days as they were not within a day’s drive and we felt we had covered enough.

On most of our previous travels we’d seen many a “beware of animal” sign but didn’t spot any of those highlighted, never mind any others. Through Albania there were no beware signs that we could spot, but we saw absolutely every farm and domestic animal possible roaming free on practically every road we travelled on. We even got used to the free roaming animals and were disappointed when we didn’t see any.

We didn’t do a day trip to Greece, we’ll bank that one for another time. We didn’t do all the spots on our hit list but were pleased with ourselves that we did do what we did, which dawned on me whilst proof reading, we actually did quite a lot.

We got back to base on Thursday evening. We were happy to be ‘home’ and I couldn’t wait to unpack, put away the clean stuff, and get the laundry pile ready for the following day. That’s me, always doing everything by yesterday, unless I can do it sooner. We had just enough strength to visit the bar and a bite to eat following this week’s adventure before we retired to bed happy tired.

View from the Cockpit

It’s hot here, 40’s not uncommon, mid 30’s guaranteed and 25 overnight. I have to say we’re aclimatising much better than I had ever thought we would – we’re used to the heat now. My T shirt is more often left in the caravan as we take a dip, or sit outside in the shade. Blanche manages her sunbathing in 15 minute slots. Stella is coping admirably, especially since her heavy fur coat is not detachable, although we do encourage her to drink loads and sleep lots.

It works for us too, drinking loads and sleeping lots, although the alcohol is definately saved for later hours, and the sleeping is more sitting around than snoozing.

We look at the flow of the continuosly changing fellow campers, the motorhomers and tenters tend to keep moving , so we have new neighbours most days. Some, like the group of four next to us are as white as sheets, and are on limited time, but enjoying their time away with an intensity which we could not muster. Mind you they were a lot younger than us. I admired them, they were tram drivers from Germany , and had used their week to drive down to Albania in a small Golf, to take a train ride, on what I think is the only railway in Albania, what an adventure !

We are slightly less intense, but just as enthusiastic, to see and do as much as we can, albeit at a slightly slower pace.