Albania Mania! Loved it from beginning to end! Met a really nice girl from Albania, Aleksandra, on the ferry from Corfu to Saranda. She and her parents helped me find a great hotel on the beach with a balcony, ocean view, and pool for only 25 Euros! Dozed, caught up on the Olympics, and watched swimmers frolic in the ocean below (from my supercomfy bed) for several hours. When I finally emerged from my hotel to do some shopping, I received plenty of friendly but curious stares. Tried to find a bus station for the trip to Gjirokastra but had no luck. I finally ducked into a tourist information center where a friendly and very helpful woman named Violetta informed me that Albania has no bus stations. She pointed to a collection of mini-buses (furgons) parked around the corner and up the street and said I could catch one there. I could have easily hibernated in my comfy room another day but I needed to keep moving and get myself out of my funky mood.

Headed to Gjirokastra to check out its moutaintop castle, a UNESCO site. Found a nice hotel up on a hill with a great view of the castle, always shrouded in clouds. When I asked to use the hotel's pc, I found myself in the basement that doubled as a T.V. news station studio (one of the hotel owner's many businesses) and seated behind a glass partition with a woman newscaster reading the news on the other side. I felt so weird about people watching the news and seeing the back of my head that I wrapped up my emails fast and split! The Old Town area leading to the castle was quaint with steep cobbled streets lined with shops selling beautiful handmade linens, wood carvings, and everything Mother Teresa who was born of Albanian parentage. Didn't know that! The view of the city from the castle was spectacular as it was a clear day. The castle had a military museum with a room full of cannons and artillery from WW2. There was a captured USAF plane on display that was brought there by the Russians during the years that Albania was allied with the USSR. There were two flags flying at the castle, Albanian and American! It was an odd site and surprised me. I started seeing U.S. flags flying everywhere and as many American made items and slogans as Albanians could get ahold of. The owner of the hotel drove me to the bus stop, found me a bus to Berat, negotiated a great price, bought me an espresso, and stayed with me until my bus left! What a great guy! Hospitality is taken seriously by Albanians and travelers reap the benefits continuously!

Headed to Berat (another UNESCO site) with its many Ottoman houses covering the hills and mountains. It's appropriately called "the town of a thousand windows". The 14th century walled city of Kala was lovely with cobbled streets, tile roofs, grapevines hanging over whitewashed walls, and slopes covered in olive, orange and cherry trees. The many churches and museum were closed as it was a Monday, but a self-appointed tour guide, Vasil, found me and showed me the sites including the Red Mosque, the Inner Fortress, and a large underground cistern that supplied water to the fortress. There were at least 100 UNESCO workers all over the site working on excavations and restorations. Found a great restaurant and had a large plate of locally-grown roasted vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, cabbage, okra, carrots, squash, olives), heavenly bread soaked in local olive oil, and Albanian beer.

Took a slow furgon to Shkodra and found the rooms full everywhere. A friendly guy near the last place I tried helped me find a cool room over a kebab restaurant for only 10 Euros. I think I was the only person staying there and it was a little creepy but it felt safe. The four-hour ride to Theth started at 7 a.m. the next morning. There was a German couple, a local man heading home, our driver, Petrit, and me in a large van with tires that could have used more tread. We climbed to 8,800 feet over rugged peaks covered in pine trees within Theth National Park. The pavement ended half way there and the narrow dirt road was rocky with ruts that swallow cars whole. We were so close to the edge (inches) with no guardrails that I stopped looking down and started praying. Our driver had probably driven this road 100's of times I told myself as he chatted happily with the man in the front seat and the drivers of every car we passed (when he wasn't talking on his phone that is!) My water bottle cracked and sprang a leak from gripping it so tightly and my kneecaps were bruised from digging them into the seat in front of me. We picked up four German backpackers along the way hiking through Albania to Serbia.

The guesthouse was rustic with plank floors and no indoor plumbing but was on the valley floor with beautiful views all around. From my upstairs room I had views of hanging grapevines, fruit trees, corn fields, stone cottages, cows and sheep roaming, and a stone church. It was so peaceful, a big change from the frenzy of Shkodra. Our hostess served us hearty meals three times a day of sausage, potatoes, bread, eggs, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables, and milk straight from the cow. Each meal began with a shot of Rakija!

The trails were unmarked so I hired a very enterprising 12-year old boy, Valentin, to take me on a hike to the waterfalls a few miles away. He was a tough negotiator, but I finally got his price down to a reasonable amount. The hike was steep and slippery but he waited for me and also introduced me to all of his neighbors whose yards we passed through. One of them, an elderly woman, was taken with a silver and mother of pearl ring I picked up in Bali. I don't think she had ever seen mother of pearl. I gave it to her and she was so happy! I didn't miss it as it was always falling off and getting caught on the inner pockets of my daypack. The falls were worth the effort. Mist floated from them as they crashed onto the rocks and pools of aquamarine water below. We met two of Valentin's friends at the falls, a brother and sister. The young man was Valentin's teacher who took the opportunity ro remind him he needed to be in school five days a week, not three or four.

Stayed two days and met several hikers passing through. Made the horrendous trip back with another driver in a van loaded with 11 people. I silently calculated everyone's weight and distribution in the van. It wasn't good and I was sure that the right side was much too heavy. More praying. I was the last to get off and my driver dropped me at a hotel close to the Montenegrin border. It was a nice highrise with a great bar and restaurant. Thought it was a pretty cosmopolitan and trendy place until I happened to look out my window and see a flock of sheep in the parking lot. Next morning I waited by the side of the road for a taxi to Montenegro. Caught one loaded with five men and half an hour later we crossed the border.

Albania turned out to be a real gem full of delighful surprises. I'm glad I didn't listen to all the negative stuff that folks in neighboring countries had to say about it. The roads are fine (Theth excluded) and there's plenty of construction work going on to improve them. Yes, there's an overabundance of old, smoke-belching Mercedes but so what? There are worse things. The people are good natured, hospitable, and generous. A good portion of the country has been set aside as national parkland and is jaw-dropping gorgeous. It's relatively easy to get in and out of. Overall, it's a great place. Hopefully I can get back to Albania someday as there's so much more to discover!

Stuff:

Books Read: 12

Favorite Place: Istanbul

Least Favorite Place: Phuket

Best Food: Singapore

Friendliest People: Burma

Biggest Travel Fear: Not being able to find a place to sleep and having to sleep on a park bench

New Friends: 42

Pounds Lost: 25