Balkans                                          2016

Balkans 2016 Albania Kosovo Macedonia

Balkans - Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia - 2016

 
After having two days with fairly long drives, it was good to have a less pressured day of travelling today.  Our target was to travel from Gjirokaster to Dhërmi, which is a small town on Albania’s coast, sometimes referred to as the Albanian Riviera.  The distance to be covered was only 126 kilometres, and the estimated driving time (according to Google Maps) was 3 hours and 8 minutes.  The driving time estimate was probably fairly accurate, but we took considerably longer by stopping frequently to admire the scenery and examine local areas more closely.
We left Gjirokaster at 9:00am, and repeated some of yesterday’s drive.  We initially headed south from Gjirokaster before turning west to cross the Gribe Mountains, following yesterday afternoon’s ‘high’ road rather than yesterday morning’s ‘low’ road.  We reached Sarandë at about 11:00am, and parked the car to explore the waterfront area on foot.  As we had seen yesterday when the drove through, Sarandë is essentially a resort town.  It was fairly busy when we walked through today, so I can imagine it must be a teeming mass of humanity during the height of the summer holiday season.  
We took the time to have a coffee before continuing our drive northwards along Albania’s Adriatic Sea coastline.  This stretch of coast is quite dramatic, with high mountains extending right to the coastline in places, with small, unspoilt beaches in deep bays and adjoining villages punctuating what is otherwise largely wilderness.  There is no coastal plain as such, just steep slopes extending into the water with colourful houses perched on the steep hillsides.
The road north from Sarandë began by running along the landward side of a linear mountain range that separated the road from the coastline.  After passing through a village called Shën Vasili, the road climbed and twisted above deeply indented bays, demanding that I stop fairly frequently to get photos despite the hazards of doing so on the narrow road.  The hillsides on both sides of the road were often covered with olive trees, and less often by orange trees, frequently cultivated on stone terraces in an effort to increase the cultivatable area in the steep terrain.
Perhaps the prettiest and most interesting section of the coast that we saw today was the Bay of Palermo.  It was here that Ali Pasha Tepelena constructed a fortress on a tombolo that still stands today.  The fortress was used as a military depot during the Italian occupation, and its location was stunning, being surrounded by white limestone rocks and turquoise blue water.  Approaching the fortress, we came across an interesting ensemble of buildings, including a restored church that was built for one of Ali Pasha Tepelena’s wives (a Christian), and several crumbling communist-era buildings that still displayed fading painted slogans from the Hoxha era.  In the distance, out to sea, several offshore islands could be seen, all of them Greek territory.
We walked up to the castle, which was closed because it is not yet the summer tourist season.  Driving onwards, after a few kilometres we came to an impressive concrete-faced tunnel blasted into the cliff face.  This was a shelter for Soviet submarines, being the home base for the USSR’s Adriatic submarine fleet.  When relations deteriorated between the Soviet Union and China in the late 1950s, Albania sided with China.  In 1961, Albania and the USSR broke off diplomatic relations, and when the Soviets withdrew from the region, they reluctantly left their submarines behind for the Albanians to use.
Our hotel for tonight is in Dhërmi Beach, which is located a little beyond the beautiful village of Dhërmi.  Dhërmi was so pretty that I had to make one last stop to get some photos before continuing to the hotel to check in.
After a short rest, Di and I decided to go for a late afternoon walk.  This took about an hour and covered a five kilometre round trip, up the steep hill from the hotel to a bend in the main road offering a great view of Dhërmi, then down to the main section of Dhërmi Beach and around the shoreline back to the hotel.  Although it was late afternoon, it was quite a hot walk as the temperature was about 30°C and the humidity was fairly high.  Nonetheless, we saw some lovely scenery in the afternoon light, and returned to the hotel ready for a good dinner.Balkans_Travel_Diary_2016_13_files/IMG_8102.jpgBalkans_Travel_Diary_2016_13_files/IMG_7848.jpg

Day 13 - Gjirokaster to Dhërmi, Albania

Saturday 11 June 2016