Six days on the Albanian roads

From Saturday 20 November 2021 to Friday 26 November 2021

Our road-trip in Montenegro cancelled, we decide to visit Albania in more depth. And to avoid us possible worries, we choose a car rental company which does not take a deposit. The car rental is the cheapest we have paid so far and the renter doesn't check our passports or our driving licenses before giving us the keys of the car. The car is, it must be said, in a bad state: the trunk does not close very well, one of the rear lights threatens to fall from one minute to the other, the body is scratched on both sides, a piece of bumper is missing and there is curdled milk on the back seat. It's easy to see why an inspection is not necessary!

We know that driving here will be sporty. It is the law of the fastest and the one who honks the loudest. Pedestrians and stray dogs cross wherever they please, bicycles regularly ride the wrong way including on the 4 lanes, turn signals and seat belts are not used and any space is likely to become a parking space.

Cars were introduced en masse in the 1990s, after the fall of the communist regime. Just imagine: a population that has never driven, that does not have the infrastructure to support the influx of so many cars and that is totally unaware that one should get a driver's license before taking the road. We can better understand the state of today's traffic!

Moreover, it is not rare to see people travelling on horseback in the more rural southern part of the country.

Day 1 - Krujë & Durrës

Once the car is back, we leave directly to Krujë, a village located 30 km north of Tirana.

We have lunch in a restaurant with a panoramic view, alone in a room which seems to be adapted for big receptions. The warm welcome and the kindness of the owners allow us to fully enjoy our experience.

We came to Krujë for its castle, which houses the museum of Skandeberg, the national hero of Albania, whom we had already met, proudly riding his horse, on the main square of the capital, Tirana. This is a part of Albanian history that we had not seen before, so it allows us to learn more. Small, but very nicely presented, this museum traces the history of the Ottoman invasion in the country. We discover frescoes and colored murals and impressive statues by their size.

We can see several times the star, symbol of the communist regime, present above the emblem of the country at the opening of the museum in 1982 (during the communist regime). This star, although erased from the supports allowing it, remains like a shadow hovering over the national emblem.

We go then towards Durrës, at 45 minutes of Krujë, about which we heard a lot since the beginning of our trip in Albania. We see there the ruins of a Byzantine forum and a Roman theater, where gladiator fights took place at the time. We walk on the seaside and we admire the sunset.

Day 2 - Berat, Appolina et Llogara

This morning, it is a busy program that awaits us. To begin, we go to Berat, also called "the city of the thousand windows" because of its very typical Ottoman architecture. We go up towards the castle which allows us to have a view plunging on its old city. Listed as a UNESCO heritage site since 2008.

On the way back, we take advantage to visit a small very cute chapel built on the hill in front of the old city.

And when we arrive at the car, we are astonished to see a small paper on the windshield: our first fine for parking (the parking against the direction is forbidden here too). The fine amounts to 1000 leks, which represents approximately 8 euros. The most annoying is to understand where to pay this fine. We stop immediately at a police station, which indicates us the post office. The post office is closed today (we are Sunday), but someone informs us that we can also pay in the Western Union offices from the next morning. We take note of this information and leave for our next stop, the ancient Greek city Apollonia of Ilyria.

Apollonia of Ilyria was founded around 600 B.C. and takes its name from the god Appolon. Léon Rey, a French archaeologist, was greatly involved in the excavations that took place between 1924 and 1928. Unfortunately, the Second World War damaged a large part of the site. The remaining ruins are still magnificent and it only takes a little imagination to get a mental picture of the city of the time. We walk between the stores, the temples, the odeon and the porticoes. We also discover a new type of monument, which we did not know until then: the bouleuterion which sheltered formerly the council of the city (named the Boulée).

Enough history for today, we leave room for nature with the natural park of Llogara, located in the Albanian peninsula. We follow a road with panoramic view on several kilometers. Then we stop to reach a point of view in height to one hour of walk.

We finish our day by the sea front of the city of Himarë where we share coffees and rakis with Nikolas and his wife, our hosts for this night.

Day 3 - Sarandë & Butrint

For this third day of road-trip, we allow ourselves a late awakening. Moreover, we slept particularly well thanks to the heating mattress provided by our hosts. At 10 o'clock, we are ready to set off. Our will falls quickly when we realize that it falls ropes. We are more than delighted to share a last coffee (and raki for Victor) with our hosts.

It is thus one hour later that we leave to visit the castle of Porto Palermo. First built by the Venetian Republic in the 15th century, it was then rebuilt and fortified by the governor of the Ottoman Empire, Ali Pasha de Tepelena in the 19th century. Its triangular structure makes it an original building and its location, facing the sea, is perfectly chosen.

We then leave for the seaside resort of Sarandë, famous for its beaches with turquoise water. Unfortunately, it will not be a beach for us, but the visit of the ruins of the monastery of the 40 saints, which gave its name "Sarandë" to the city. Perched on its hill, the monastery has a superb view on the whole bay. In the distance, we see the sky full of rain, which approaches us quickly. This monastery, magnificent at the time, knew the same fate as many Albanian monuments: it was massively destroyed in the bombardments of the Second World War.

Our last stop today is Butrint, the largest archaeological park in the country and in the Balkans, discovered by an Italian archaeologist in the 1920s, when Albania was occupied by Italy. Initially founded by a Greek tribe between the 10th and 8th century BC, the city of Butrint has undergone multiple occupations and transformations over time (including that of the Roman and Byzantine Empire). It was abandoned at the end of the Middle Ages by its population because of its marshy ground. Butrint was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

From its ruins we can see the theater, the Roman baths, a chapel and a basilica, one of the city gates, called "Lion Gate" and a medieval fortress dating from the 14th century, now occupied by the museum.

It is under the rain that we finish our visit, and that we go in the city of Ksamil, our stage for the night.

Day 4 - Blue eyes & Gjirokastër

Today we go to a very busy place in the summer, the place where the locals come to bathe: the "blue eye" ("l'œil bleu" in French, "Syri I Kaltër" in Albanian). It is located in the south of the country and is recognized as a protected area since 1996. This river is very popular for its water holes that can reach up to 50 meters deep. Its green and blue tones are sublime and make us want to get into the water!

We then go to the city of Gjirokastër, whose old town of Ottoman architecture is listed as a UNESCO heritage site. The castle is magnificent, there is now a military museum, large towers very well preserved, a church, a cistern. It is also the place of the annual national folklore festival. The prison of the castle was widely used during the reign of King Zog for political prisoners during the communist period.

For the record, Zog I was the president of Albania from 1925 to 1928. In September 1928, the country becomes a monarchy and naturally, Zog I becomes the king. In April 1939, when Italy invaded Albania, which was then considered an Italian protectorate under the reign of King Victor Emmanuel III, Zog I was forced into exile. When the dictator Enver Hoxha came to power in 1945, Zog was permanently banished from the country and spent the rest of his life in France, where he died in 1961. His body was buried in the cemetery of Thiais, near Paris, until 2012 when it was transferred to the mausoleum in Tirana.

After this visit, we have lunch in a restaurant of the old city and we feel again the incredible hospitality of the Albanians. We are welcomed like kings, a fire is lit for us, the dessert is offered to us. The waiter does not stop repeating us in a bad English: "thank you for you" and "no problem sorry". We feel that he is really happy to welcome us.

Day 5 - Eaux thermales

This morning, we wake up with a good breakfast, which we enjoy on our balcony. While it has been raining for a few days, we are happy to discover a beautiful blue sky and a bright sun. It is the perfect time for our activity of the day: a swim in the thermal waters of Benja and Leskovik.

Benja Hot Springs are located in the municipality of Përmet in the south of the country. They are contained in natural pools and their temperature is around 28 degrees. Each one offers different properties such as relief from arthritis, a cure for skin problems, or a detoxification of the kidneys. We take a lot of pleasure in bathing there, even if the contrast between the temperature inside and outside is important. It is our first bath since the beginning of our world tour!

To continue on the theme of thermal springs, we are now heading to the thermal waters of Leskovik, much wilder and not very well known because of their difficult accessibility. We have seen in a blog that it is necessary to have a 4x4 to go there. Knowing that, we prepare from the beginning to get closer as much as possible by car before finishing on foot on several kilometers. And in spite of this solution, we discover (after having walked during more than one hour) why the 4x4 is useful: indeed, if some torrents which cross the road are crossable by feet, others are not. And although there are hot springs higher up, there is nothing attractive about these waters! It is not without a small point of disappointment that we turn back.

We then take the road towards our accommodation for the night. The landscape is as beautiful as the road is long, especially since we haven't eaten since our breakfast. During the low season, many restaurants in the Albanian province are closed or only serve drinks. In these conditions, finding a restaurant is sometimes difficult, which is the case tonight.

On our road, we cross cows, goats, horses, sheep or dogs.

Day 6 - Korçë, Pogradec & Lin

Our mission for the day is to go back to the North of the country by passing by the East, in particular by the lake of Ohrid, which is located between the Albanian and Macedonian border.

The South and the East of Albania are much more rural than the North. It is common to meet people on horseback or families in carts. On the side of the road, the inhabitants sell their fruit harvest (apples and sometimes pomegranates), their home-made vinegar and raki.

In Korçë, we visit the orthodox cathedral of the resurrection of Christ. In Pogradec, we stop for a moment to watch the men of the city playing dominoes or chess by the lake. They play for money and have many spectators. It is also here that we see the first Albanian school.

In the village of Lin, the smallest and most authentic of all, we walk along the Ohrid lake, the oldest lake in Europe, formed about 4 million years ago. We stop to eat in a restaurant which serves us Koran, a fish close to the salmon, which we find only in the magnificent lake of Ohrid.

After this day, rich in adventure, we take the road to Tirana, where we return the rental car the next morning. We stop half way for the night. We enjoy sharing a moment with our hosts, Sami and Natasha, who offer us fresh fruits and raki. Even if their understanding of English is very limited, we manage to interact.

We have dinner in a local restaurant, where we meet the little Léa, two years old, who is very eager to share her corn with Victor!

End of the road-trip

The next morning, it's time for us to return the rental car in Tirana and then to go to the bus station where our mini-bus to North Macedonia is waiting for us.