Albania - Part I

I’m writing this sitting in a café in Lagos, Portugal while drinking a flat white with oat milk with a waitress who has just told me that they also have vegan cinnamon buns that are not on the menu and hearing only English around me; it couldn’t be more different than the topic of this story: Albania!

My Albanian adventure started on 2 October when I flew from Milos, Greece to Corfu with a short layover in Athens. I had left Renske at Athens airport and was back on my own, but not for long. After a night at a random hotel not far from Corfu town, on Sunday 3 October around noon, a taxi stopped in front of my hotel and… my mother jumped out! After a sunny afternoon spent in the old town of Corfu – lunch and visit of the old fortress (fortress visit 1 out of 7) – we went down to the port to catch our ferry to Saranda, Albania, slightly anxious of what would be next. I never realised before planning this trip and having a closer look at a map of Greece and the Balkans, but the distance between Corfu town and Saranda is shorter than for example between Rotterdam and Amsterdam and there are daily boats running between the two countries.

We had booked a hotel in Ksamil, a little and quiet beach town just outside of Saranda. When we arrived at the hotel, it felt like we were the only ones staying there (we discovered other guests the next morning; high season however is clearly over) and it all looked a bit outdated and charmless. We had our first Albanian meal at the hotel, we arrived late and both didn’t feel like going on a discovery mission in the dark in a unknown place. We didn’t expect much, but little did we know when we sat down in the all-tiled hotel dining room with fluorescent light that they were going to prepare the most delicious seafood pasta ever for us!! First impressions clearly can’t always be trusted!

Our first mission on Monday morning was to find our rental car. The pickup point was the port of Saranda, and we just had to look for the Alamo sign. Easy said, not so easy done. There were a lot of car rental offices, but none of them was ours and the port was off limits for anyone not boarding a boat due to COVID restrictions. We first started by asking around and when that didn’t work, I looked up the phone number on the booking confirmation but somehow the call didn’t go through. I guess we looked a bit lost because a man approached us in broken English and asked if we needed any help. One thing that I have learned so far on this trip (and on previous ones for that matter) is that when someone offers you help and you actually need help, don’t turn into the suspicious tourist thinking that this person obviously wants something in return (money) – sometimes people are just genuinely nice (shocking!) – and accept the help, it will save you time and probably even some money. We explained the situation to this man and he tried to dial the number from his Albanian phone as well, to no avail unfortunately. I then decided to look up the number of Alamo online but realised I had no WiFi so our guardian angel asked around for some WiFi and I ended up using the hotspot of a teenage boy working at a café/bakery, looked up the number and managed to get someone from the car rental company on the phone and within 2 minutes I got the information we needed. After a quick espresso with our saviour, we walked to the hidden Alamo office and signed the rental papers, all is well that ends well! With our beautiful black Renault Duster 4WD in the pocket, I drove out of Saranda and back to Ksamil for a day of beach chilling.

I’ll get back to the driving in Albania later, that’s a worth a chapter on its own… But back to our helping hand for just a second, this was our first encounter with the Albanian culture of hospitality and friendliness to guests. We learned later that this is really something that is embedded in the Albanian culture, there is an actual Albanian code of honour that dates back to medieval times and calls upon people looking after guests and strangers and offering help to people who are in need, regardless of religion or race. A very recent example of this on a larger scale, is the Albanese government having welcomed Afghan refugees in their country and offering them to stay in the beach resorts that line the coast instead of tent camps as their situation is already dramatic enough and therefore a nice place to stay is the least they could offer them. NRC Vandaag recorded an interesting podcast on Albania and the Afghan refugees should this interest you. Throughout our entire stay in Albania we really noticed this friendliness and hospitality. People in all countries I have visited in the past 8 weeks have been extremely nice and helpful, but Albanians do go above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and at home without any expectations. And now back to this Monday in Albania.

The south coast of Albania is called the Albanian riviera and it definitely lives up to its name! I don’t believe you could call this area undiscovered anymore when you see how much has been built and I’ve read that during the summer the coast is swarming with Albanian and other Balkan tourists. Urban development rules and regulations don’t really seem to exist as the beautiful coastline is slowly being taken over by high rise buildings in all shapes and forms and exclusive beach resorts. Ksamil fortunately has still been spared a little in this overdevelopment race and in low season it feels quiet and very relaxed. We spent the afternoon on sunbeds with a view on what they call the ‘three island’, tiny islands within a 1,5 minute swim distance of the shore; just the acceptable amount of effort :-). With the turquoise water, the little islands and an octopus lunch at the neighbouring beach club, this day truly felt like the perfect break before the real adventure would begin.

We had carefully crafted an itinerary that would take us through a large part of the country and allow us to see and do as much as possible in 9 days. Our first stop: the ruins of Butrint, an impressive archaeological site surrounded by a dense forest and with a view on a sparkling lagoon. With the dew only just evaporated (mosquito prime time!) our early morning visit felt quite magical walking around the ruins of this Greek, then Roman, then Byzantine town with its stone memories of a cathedral, baths, shops, houses, theatre, and a fort (2 out 7) overlooking the area from the top of a hill. Good thing we arrived early because when we walked back to the parking lot big buses of elderly German tourists just arrived.

From the ruins of Butrint we drove straight – but with a lot of hairpin bends through the mountains – to the Blue Eye (Syri I kaltër), a freshwater spring and natural phenomenon with extremely clear water that allows you to see at a depth of more than 50 metres. With water all different shades of turquoise, the green of the surrounding forest and the reflection of the sun on the water the place is mesmerizing, it’s just a shame that the place has become a real tourist attraction. We had to walk the 2km path up to the spring, but they were in the process of building a big road that will make this site accessible to anyone. This little piece of untouched nature is slowly – or rather quickly right now – turning into a major tourist attraction. More tourists is probably beneficial to the economy in the region and Albania in general, but seeing this little piece of paradise transformed into one big parking lot makes you wonder if they are not destroying the amazing assets the country has: its unspoiled nature and landscapes.

This is a question we have asked ourselves a lot during this trip. With few countries left that could be described as off the beaten track (in Europe at least), as a tourist who likes a little bit of adventure, I think it’s a shame that places like the Blue Eye in Albania and other beautiful hidden gems are being made accessible to everyone (partly because I want to feel special that I’ve been able to see this place). But on the other hand, why wouldn’t Albania have the right to show its treasure to as many people as possible, economically benefit from these assets and become a real tourist destination with all necessary facilities and infrastructure, especially after the country being closed for outsiders for most of the 20th century and therefore in desperate need of an economic boost and with the urge to open up to the world. We can’t keep a place ‘charming and authentic’ just for our own amusement of discovering new places and telling stories back home of how different it was or how similar ‘to the old days’. It makes me smile when someone says a place they have been to has become too touristic and not worth it anymore while he/she is as much of a tourist as any other tourist in this touristic place and this makes this person just as much part of the touristic development as any other tourist; does this still make sense?! What makes me smile even more while writing this, is that I’m a part of this as well and I’m no better than the rest. I realise that it’s kind of hypocritical to want an authentic experience, meaning an experience that is not ‘staged’ or organised for tourists, but at the same time we want to see something special and interesting. And usually, the day-to-day life of people is not that special or exciting, you don’t travel to watch people having breakfast and going to work and then taking the bus or walking back home because that’s basically the same as we do. So to make a place interesting for tourists, even the most adventurous one, you have to organise something or build a form of infrastructure for these tourists, which in the end will lead to more tourists coming. I feel I’m going on in circles, but I hope it somehow makes sense…  

After another hour and half driving, we arrived in Gjirokastra, a city dominated by a citadel (3 out of 7) overlooking the town and a river down in the valley. For the drive up to where we were staying, we had to call the hotel because the road was blocked and we had NO clue which way to go in the maze of streets. Three minutes later a guy from the hotel jumped in our car and showed us the way. My mom was driving and this was one of the moments we were very happy to have an automatic car (and I was secretly happy that my driving day was tomorrow so I would only have to drive down). Picture very very very steep cobbled streets just wide enough for one car but open to both directions, roadblocks because of construction work and with a lot of traffic of cars and buses. I thought I got used to these tiny streets going up and down when in Greece, but this was next level. The hotel guy didn’t seem scared at all, and I guess it’s the same as with stewardesses in a plane, as long as they don’t look anxious, there is probably no reason to worry. We – and the car – made it in unscratched to the hotel, a beautifully restored 300-year-old house with carved wooden ceilings and doors, impressive stone walls, long Ottoman-style white sofas under the big windows and all decorated with taste and style. We had the most beautiful room and it felt like sleeping in a museum/castle; princesses for the night!

The modern part of Gjirokastra sprawls over the slopes of the hill and part of the valley, but the small old town itself (very well-preserved Ottoman-style town and UNESCO World Heritage Site) sits just under the fortress. It seems close but the walk up the steep streets and never-ending staircases in the heat and sun is quite intense, let’s say that living here would quickly improve your stamina! The old town feels like a museum town with beautiful houses all built in a local distinctive style with big visible wooden beams, stone slate covered roofs and all following the same structure. Back in the days, the lower storey was for the stables and cistern, one storey up was composed of a summer and a winter room to welcome guests (very important!) a family room (often also a winter and summer option with/without fireplace and smaller/bigger windows) a kitchen and a veranda and the upper storey was used for extended family rooms and other bedrooms and bathrooms. We visited one of those typical houses that has now been turned into a museum and this visit was really one of the highlights for me. I always find it interesting to see how people used to live, what objects and fabrics they used and how they organised their homes especially in places with big climate differences in winter and summer.

In the centre of the old town, you can find the old Ottoman bazaar, which has now turned into tourist alley with small shops only selling Albanian souvenirs. When reading about this bazaar, we expected something with a bit more local flavour where we could maybe find some nice souvenirs, not fake artifacts with ‘handmade’ written under each bowl or plate and each item promoted as local and handmade but clearly handmade in China. But then again, as tourist we want the authentic experience and buy some authentic souvenirs, but Albanians nowadays don’t buy woollen socks knitted by grandma’s anymore or hand painted pottery. They live in the same 21st century as we do and the type of souvenirs we would like to bring back home are by definition tourist souvenirs. I’ve made my peace with that, we didn’t buy anything, just had a drink on a terrace and watched people go by.

Another UNESCO World Heritage listed ‘museum town’ is the city of Berat, located in central Albania about 100km north of Gjirokastra. Berat however felt more easy-going and lived-in than Gjirokastra, where the old town really seemed to revolve only around tourism. Same as Gjirokastra, Berat has a fortress (again a sweaty hike up – 4 out of 7) that seems crumbling from the outside but actually hides a small village inside its walls with quiet cobbled streets leading to little courtyards, churches or white-washed houses in which people still live or that have been turned into restaurants or hotels. You would expect a place like that to feel cramped with people visiting, but not that all, we were all alone in certain parts and even felt as if we were disturbing people who brought their easel up here and were painting some of the monuments or the view. If you want peace and quiet, go walk up to the Berat Kalaja! In addition, the views from up there are really impressive and worth the hike. Apart from the memory of this amazing view over the rest of Berat and surrounding mountains, this is also when we felt the first raindrop and summer slowly turned into fall… the next morning it wasn’t raining, it was pouring!!

On our way from Gjirokastra to Berat, we stopped to visit the ruins of Apollonia (Apollo will follow you out of Greece). This ancient city dates back to long before Christ (can’t remember exactly) and sits on a hilltop with the most beautiful view over the surrounding hills and valleys; there is definitely a theme of hilltops and views going on in this story! Next to some Roman ruins, there is also an old fortress (5 out 7) to visit and a church but now I feel I haven’t done my homework properly because I can’t remember from when they date and what makes them so special and my Lonely Plant is not detailed enough… I just remember the setting was really beautiful, go see for yourself I would say!

I decided to cut this Albania story in two because it would become too long otherwise, and I didn’t want to leave things out that seemed important to me. I write these blogs for those of you who are interested in my travel stories, but also a little for myself so no shortcuts :-).

Next up will be Northern Albania, but before I leave you one more comment on Albanian coffee culture. Well, apparently coffee is a real Balkan thing, because in Albania as well people seem to have a coffee anytime of the day and in the afternoon it is often paired with something sweet (we saw so many people of all ages eating ice cream from a cone in Tirana, a sight I don’t often see back home outside of a holiday context). This coffee culture is apparently inherited from the Ottomans with their Turkish coffee. The Ottomans left, but the coffee stayed. We noticed that you mostly see older man sitting in cafes all morning (actually all day) and just having a coffee and a chat with their friends. With my mother we made it a little tradition as well because even though everyday was so different from the previous one, one thing remained the same almost throughout the whole trip: waking up early, breakfast, getting on the road and stopping somewhere mid-morning for a coffee ranging from hipster coffee places to very low-key on the side of the road coffee places.