The Albanian Riviera

After the rafting adventure, we kept following the Vjosa and sooner or later you get to its confluence with the Drino, which runs through one of the oldest cities in the country, Gjirokastra, the City of Stone Roofs, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005 for its rare example of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period.

A small lake close to Gjirokastra

So many mountains, but no trails


Super clear water!

The city counts about 20.000 inhabitants with a rather elderly demographic. Young folks have been leaving the area for years to seek employment in Greece, the border is only 30km away, or Italy.

Although tourism in this part of the country has increased over recent years, it is still one of the poorer parts of Albania.




Ali Pasha Bridge, high above Gjirokaster; used to be part of a large aqueduct system




Moving towards the coast now, to what is called the Albanian Riviera, we stopped along the way at Syri i Kalter, the Blue Eye.
This is the most important fresh water source in the country, discharging about 18400l of impossibly clear and blue water per second.

Since this is another popular tourist attraction, we made sure we got there before the tour buses, which meant an early start at 7am. When my human was on her way back to me, the masses had arrived, and she was passing people at about the same rate as the Blue Eye is discharging water. 




Saranda is a medium sized city on the riviera, a busy seaport and favorite tourist destination. The brochures say that the tourist are attracted by the natural environment of Saranda. 
If natural environment means tons of concrete hotel blocks preventing a view of the ocean along most of the horseshoe shaped by the city is built in - sure, I see the point.

Almost every street you walk down to the water, you end up in a private area of some hotel or restaurant. 
There is a promenade you can walk, but not without getting hassled by taxi drivers, boat tour sales-people or restaurant employees shoving menus in your face. 
Whoever chooses this for their holiday destination deserves what they get.

Possibly the best thing to do in Saranda: catch a ferry to Corfu, 35km, 1h30min

We moved down the coast another 40km to find a more relaxed bay to spend a couple of days by the beach.

Since it has been rather hot for some time now, we are currently more frequent guests on campgrounds than usual. 
Having the doors and windows open during the night is absolutely essential at the moment so as not to suffocate. And since that is a bit difficult when camping "wild"...






From Quepa Beach, we moved to higher ground, namely the Llogara National Park, a small park established mainly for the protection of the native fauna.

In the winter of the years 49BC and 48BC, Cesar is said to have led his troops over a pass located within the park to fight against his opponent Pompeius.

The mountains are not overly high, just scratching the 2000m mark, but from up there you get nice views of the Albanian Riviera to one side and more mountains to the other.


Whatˋs behind that peak? Letˋs go and see!




After a hike that was meant to be around 8km but turned into almost 17km because my human absolutely had to find out whatˋs behind the next summit, we found a very nice and secluded place to spend the night. 
With us was only one other van, and its inhabitants grew up and still live some 5km away from where my human did. It is a small world indeed.

The temperatures up here, 1000m above sea level, were a lot more tolerable and we had a very quiet and good night.

Some semi-wild horses around our "camp"

Another little hike in the morning before the rain started


Sea and sky blend into each other

The next day started with cloudy skies, which would soon turn into raining skies as we made our way to Berat, the City of 1000 windows.
We canˋt verify the number, but there are indeed a lot of windows.

Berat in its current form has been around for over 2000 years and is considered one of the most picturesque towns in the country. 
The Osum River runs right through it and the mountainous backdrop makes for nice scenery.

It is a Museum City and has been UNESCO World Heritage since 2008. In the three oldest neighborhoods, the construction of new buildings is prohibited.

These photos were obviously made the next day when the weather was back to norma



Start counting


Although it was raining quite a bit, my human had a wonderful time walking around the town with her ugly umbrella for a couple of hours, enjoying the cooler temperatures and skipping around the puddles.

In the morning, the weather was back to normal, although not as hot, and she retraced her steps from the day before, this time with sunscreen instead of umbrella. 



My human had a lot of fun with those gentlemen playing speed chess

On the way to the capital city Tirana, we stopped to spend a couple of hours in Duress, the second-most-populous city in the country.
It is home to the  largest seaport in Albanian, which is also one of the largest in the whole Adriatic Sea.
Some 1.5 million passengers and over 4 million tons of cargo pass through here every year. 

As one can imagine, itˋs a busy, bustling place with a lively center and sunbed and umbrella lined beaches.

Duress was founded by ancient Greek colonists around the 7th Century BC and was an integral part of the Roman Empire.





Some music superstars

Tina Turner and John Lennon

Bob Dyland and Mick Jagger







With 20.000 seats the largest Amphietheater ever built in the Balkans, 2nd Century AD





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