Holtes Canyon really knocked our socks off today. Of all the canyons we have ever done, this one ranks up there with the top. It really was the ultimate team (couple) building activity - we had to stand on each other lots times in order to keep moving along the canyon. It is also a dangerous canyon because of flash flooding. Luckily, there is a dam at the top and we were able to ask the dam operator to make sure there were not any water releases, but in order to do this he had to coordinate with 7 different dam operators in the region. It is wild that they would do this for just 2 canyoneers!
For this canyon, here's a list of pros and cons:
Pros: Incredible rock formations because of the limestone, lots of challenging features, met the interesting dam operator who kept us safe from flash flooding, beautiful canyon walls, cool water color (towards the end), lots of different kinds of frogs, non-stop awesomeness around every bend, met a fun group of Albanians at the end
Cons: sometimes smelled like dead things, saw a snake in the canyon, leeches in the water, water was yucky in the beginning, really cold water, very slippery mud, thinking I was going to die for 6.5 hours,
We left Berat early in the morning so that we would have plenty of time in to descend the canyon. We were able to find a bakery that was open so that we could get a few goodies for breakfast. It took 1.5 hours to get to the mouth of the canyon where we met the dam operator, Lindor. He drove us to the top of the canyon (about 45 min) on a dirt road with plenty of death cliffs all the while using Google Translate on his phone to chat with us. Our lives were in his hands on many levels, mostly making sure that there was no water release.
Every morning in Berat, workers were out sweeping the streets to make sure the city was clean.
Our guesthouse had parking, but it was very tight to get into and out of.
Leaving our guesthouse in Berat.
We sampled another bakery for breakfast.
Leaving Berat
Traffic jam on the way to Holtes Canyon.
The mouth of Holtes Canyon
There are cool stacks of hay like these everywhere in the countryside.
This sign basically says don't enter the canyon because you will probably die.
Lindor showing us where to drop into the canyon. First, we needed to cross the dam.
Dan dropping into the canyon (you can see the dam behind him).
The limestone walls were incredible! You can see why there is dangerous flash flooding in this canyon.
Dan is below a chock stone. There were so many cool chock stones.
This stop might have been my favorite part of the whole canyon. The rock formations were mind blowing. Mother Nature does good work.
Water carved out this cool arch - it's a perfect Kara size one.
There was lots of swimming in very cold water in this canyon. Check out the sweet stripes on the walls in this photo.
Me looking at a chock stone above me.
A chock stone perfectly wedged in the walls.
There were lots of slipper slides that we down climbed. We did not get very many photos because we were generally standing on top of each other to make our way down.
That's me down in that pool. I had just rappelled down.
Interesting rock formation...
Sweet chock stone about Dan.
This was a tight swim with lots of frigid springs entering - brrrr...
Towards the mouth of the canyon, we bumped into some people. Several of them wanted to take pictures with us. So funny!
Once we reached the mouth of the canyon, we bumped into a group of Albanian men who were enjoying the river, a picnic and beer. They offered us beer and we accepted. Then they gave us tomatoes, slices of bread and a whole watermelon which we couldn't refuse, but we really didn't know what to do with it all. It was fun to hang out and chat with them for a while. They were a group of postal workers who had Saturday off. They were jovial and a few spoke some English. This was actually one of the highlights of the canyon experience for me. Although it might have been because I was on a high from surviving the canyon.
The group of Albanians who offered us beer, tomatoes, bread and watermelon.
We quickly changed out of our canyoning gear and drove 2.5 hours to Kruja where our lodging was in a castle! Getting up to the castle was interesting - lots of one way small streets, driving through a pedestrian only section - Google Maps had no idea where we were. But we made it and had the most beautiful dinner from the castle at sunset.
The castle that we stayed in up on the hill.
The castle
Enjoying some welcome raki with the owners.
Our room in the castle
The view from the room
Check out this setting for dinner - stunning!
These kitties joined us for dinner.
Another full day in Albania. We are going to sleep so well - maybe even like a King and Queen.
Last year, Dan bought a book about canyoning in Albania, so that's how we ended up deciding to go adventure there. I read about the beautiful mountains, but what tipped the scales in Albania's direction was what I read about the food - it's kind of a mix of Greek, Italian, Turkish, and more. And with a mountain range named the "Accursed Mountains", we kind of HAD to check it out. Before we left, we had to get our ducks in a row, including creating our "geriatric garden" (raised beds) and putting the plants in the garden, getting and training a puppy, packing a lot of gear, wrapping up things things at school for my work and putting together the master spreadsheet for our trip. And before we knew it, it was time to depart. It was a long travel day, but we finally made it to Dhermi, Albania. We said goodbye to our pups, Maya and James and then headed off to catch the Concord Coach with a quick stop to get the salads that we always get for flights at Market...
There was not time to be jet lagged because we had things to do today. The weather and wind cooperated, so we grabbed some breakfast at a bakery on the beach and then headed to meet the paragliding folks. Because, why not go paragliding on your 1st morning in Albania? Plus, today we got proof that Kara and Dan were on a beach during a vacation - unheard-of. Check out the color of that water - it really is that blue! A delicious breakfast from a bakery on the beach. A bakery on the beach The paragliding launch spot One of our pilots using some flagging tape at the end of a stick to figure out the wind - very high tech. Setting up the paragliders We did introductions with our pilots, set up the gear, waited for the right wind and figured out who would fly with whom - they divided up our weight, so I went with the bigger pilot named Guisne. I was told that all I had to do was run when I was told to run and then hold the camera. That sounded easy. So, I was excited, but not nerv...
Dan thought it was a good idea to do Benjes Canyon today despite the fact that it is a more technical canyon and very few people even do canyoning in Albania. So, I was a little anxious the night before thinking that we might die in a canyon in Albania. I am writing this blog now, so we obviously didn't die - yay. The morning started off well with a yummy breakfast in the garden of our guesthouse. Then we packed up our gear and headed off to find Benjes Canyon. We had to go several kilometers on a dirt road which would have made our rental car company very unhappy. We drove very carefully though. Breakfast in the garden of our guesthouse Our guesthouse There were even little pizza fritta - just like I learned how to make from my Italian mom and Nana We parked at a church that was tricky to drive to. The approach to the canyon was about an hour of hiking in the hot sun on a faint trail. It seems like we have spent a lot of time sweating since we have been in Albania. Eventually, we...
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