The best laid plans...despite my thorough spreadsheet, I goofed with our plans for the day. We were supposed to do a cool hike in Montenegro with only a 1:40 drive to the trailhead based on what Google Maps said. However, Google Maps didn't realize that we would probably need a donkey or some sort of ATV in order to go over the border through the mountains. So, there really wasn't any way to get to where we wanted to go from where we were. Therefore, it turned into a long, but chill drive through the mountains on the windiest roads ever to get to Shkoder, a city with a sweet vibe.
Because of our change in plans, we had a leisurely morning at our guesthouse, instead of rushing to squeeze in too much in the day. In fact, we didn't depart until almost 8:30am which is kind of unheard of for us.
Breakfast at our guesthouse.
This was the breakfast for Albanians sitting next to us: an espresso and 2 raki
The first part of our drive followed the Lumi Valbones which is ridiculously blue. But it is definitely not warm. We stopped again at the place we had stopped at on the way to Valbona where we met the Kovoso guys, but this time we had the place to ourselves. It was so gorgeous. Dan was not a fan of swimming in the frigid water though.
Dan wasn't a fan of the freezing cold water. He couldn't get out fast enough.
A perfect heart rock.
We stopped in the town of B.Curri to get some baked goods and fruit because we would not see another place to stop for at least the next 4 hours. The drive was a remote mountainous drive of single lane super curviness. We played a game to see how long it would take before we couldn't see a chevron ahead - it was so curvy that it took a very long time.
Stocking up on baked goods for our drive.
And getting some fruit.
A view of where the ferry ended on our way to Valbona.
A massive hydroelectric dam
This is what our GPS looked like for 4:30 hours - so windy.
We eventually made it to Shkoder and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the city. It is clean, beautiful and biker and pedestrian friendly - people were biking and walking everywhere.
Check out this incredible hotel room. Definitely not how we typically roll.
This big gyro/souvlaki/sufllaqe was $2.50 and yummy.
This photo was taken around 4:30. This area was packed by the evening. Shkoder is such a lively city.
Dan is holding a bottle of raki in his hand.
The welcome cat for our hotel.
We went out for dinner at a traditional Albanian restaurant around 7:30. The city had come to life. There were so many people out and about, similar to our experience in Berat and Permet. The cultural tour guide that we met in the mountains in Valbone told us about the "xhiro" which translates to "around". It is a tradition that Albanians did during the communist era when there were no cafes or bars. There was not anything to do in the evening, so people we just walk around. This is how they would meet up with their neighbors and friends and meet new people. It's wild to think about how different is must have been just a few decades ago. Dan and I love this tradition of the xhiro - it is incredible how everyone seems to do it. In Shkoder, there were so many people who were super dressed up too, like in prom dresses. We felt a little under dressed.
Another outstanding traditional Albanian meal.
Albanian xhiro
Albanian xhiro
Now that we were out of the mountains, we were able to get back into our gelato routine. Phew! Dan did some research and found the best gelato place in Shkoder. It is run by an Albanian who lived in Italy for 25 years. It definitely hit the spot.
The gelato place
We wandered around and came upon this graduation ceremony - looked like from high school?
The graduation ceremony was complete with fireworks and Katy Perry's "Firework" song blasting.
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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