We had a lot we wanted to pack in today, so there was no rest for the weary. We got up, packed up our gear, headed for our hike up Maja e Qorres (6620ft) and then the town of Gjirokastor and finally the town of Permet which is about 4 hours of driving. But first, we hit a bakery. As usual, I kind of over ordered because that is what I do in bakeries - I just love them.
The bakery we stopped at for breakfast goodies.
The bread looked so good.
Obviously, this is the bread delivery vehicle.
I may have purchased more that I should have.
For our hike, we drove to the top of the Llogara Pass, parked and found the trailhead fairly easily. Maja e Qorres and Maja e Cika are the 2 highest summits in the Albanian Riviera which a cool ridge connecting the 2. Unfortunately, we only had time to hit the first summit because of time constraints. Plus it would have been well over 5000ft of elevation gain in a fairly short distance which our bodies may have not liked. There were lots of incredible fragrant smells from the sage, oregano and thyme for most the hike. There were also some annoying shoo flies for part of the hike. The final summit push was tricky and super steep - good thing we are so young and agile!
Dan standing near the saddle before the final 1.5km to the summit behind him.
Some tricky and steep hiking on the final summit push.
It was cool to see the Albanian flag on the summit.
On the summit of Qorres looking out at the ridge and Maja e Cika.
I found the most perfect heart rock.
I love hiking on ridges - they make me happy. Too bad we didn't have enough time to hike the whole ridge to Maja e Cika.
There were lots of beautiful alpine flowers.
Lots of pine trees had the bark cut off them like this. We want to know why.
At the end of our hike, we stopped at a restaurant next to where we parked, ordered some cool drinks and a salad, used the facilities and mapped our way to Gjirkastor and then Permet.
Borek with spinach - so good!
Traffic jams in Albania
Gjirokastor is a UNESCO town which has a rich and long history. I read that it is a beautiful city to visit and that the bazaar and castle are not to be missed. We arrived mid-afternoon and the place was hopping! As we drove towards the Old Town, we navigated super narrow, steep cobblestone streets looking for a place to park - this was stressful. Dan exclaimed that "I would pay $1000 to park right now!" Luckily, we found street parking shortly after that and saved ourselves $1000.
We made our way to the castle and walked around the grounds. The castle, which was first established in the 6th century, was impressive. I particularly loved looking at the architecture of all of the arches.
This cat photo is for you, Fallon
There was a nice view of the city from the castle.
Looking down at the bazaar
An old US plane from world war I with an interesting story to go with it.
After the castle, we went down to check out the bazaar. By that point we were hot and sweaty. It was bustling with people and the architecture was beautiful. The black and white cobblestone had cool patterns in it that was apparently done by one guy. There were lots of goods being sold - some of them were authentic handmade artisan goods and some of them were mass produced and cheap. In general, Dan and I are not huge fans of being in places with lots of people so we didn't last long in the bazaar.
Gelato makes everything better.
We saw a wedding party at the bazaar (with a cat photo bombing the picture).
Here's a view of some of the cobblestone patterns.
Sometimes the road all of a sudden gets super narrow.
This photo is for Angela. We were impressed by the cow's udders.
We were glad to finally arrive in Permet after 7:30. We couldn't find our lodging right away because the address we had was wrong. Luckily, Google was able to help us out. The place we were staying was on a narrow cobblestone street so it was tricky to find. The woman running our guesthouse did not speak any English, but we were able to have her recommend a restaurant for dinner. Holy cow - the food was outstanding! I am loving Albanian food ❤️
Our rolly suitcases did not like the cobblestone roads.
Trifilia - the restaurant we ate at with incredible food.
Almond gelato is a specialty of the region - so tasty.
And more gelato. There's no such thing as too much gelato, right?
With full bellies and tired bodies, we headed straight to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a big day as we are planning on hitting a more challenging canyon.
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...
After the castle, we went down to check out the bazaar. By that point we were hot and sweaty. It was bustling with people and the architecture was beautiful. The black and white cobblestone had cool patterns in it that was apparently done by one guy. There were lots of goods being sold - some of them were authentic handmade artisan goods and some of them were mass produced and cheap. In general, Dan and I are not huge fans of being in places with lots of people so we didn't last long in the bazaar.
We were glad to finally arrive in Permet after 7:30. We couldn't find our lodging right away because the address we had was wrong. Luckily, Google was able to help us out. The place we were staying was on a narrow cobblestone street so it was tricky to find. The woman running our guesthouse did not speak any English, but we were able to have her recommend a restaurant for dinner. Holy cow - the food was outstanding! I am loving Albanian food ❤️
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