Transportation throughout our travels in Albania has been consistent, reliable and cheap. Drivers phone ahead to make sure another connection waits for any passengers moving on. Bags are whisked from one bus to another. Haven't been inside an Albanian bus station yet; don't actually know if they exist but their system works very efficiently.
Buses, furgons, airport-type shuttles can be found gathered, waiting in parking lots, gas stations or just queued in some disorganized fashion along a road or city curb. Destinations are located in the front windows. Some go only when full, others leave and arrive on schedule. No problems whatsoever!
Riding in our furgon, we were dropped off in the town center and just steps from the small hotel that we had intended to look for. This large city has many mosques, pedestrian ways, women dressed in high fashion and men that seem to drink coffee most of the day.
Our 50 Euro room at the Kaduku Hotel in Shkodra
Shkodra is located near the Montenegro border. It is the jumping off point for travelers/adventurers exploring the Accursed Mtn range in the Albanian Alps and the tiny villages, located up near the borders of Kosovo and Montenegro.
The challenge of getting into this, off the beaten path, and not the manicured location most tourists go to, would prove to be MORE than half the fun...,we booked van transport, ferry, and drop off to our mountain village through our hotel.....
So, the brochure laid it all out....nice and organized....
Here's the real schedule! Welcome to Albania!
Brochure 8am pick up/Actual 8 am! (Yay, the only thing on schedule)....
Brochure - Arrive at Lake Kumoni Ferry; 9am/Actual time 10am.....
Brochure-ferry departs at 9am/Actual time...NOON!....
Brochure...short drive to Valbona village/Actual time...90 minutes, with coffee/beer stop!
And, we were assured that returning to Shkodra would be no problem! In your dreams.
The van ride from Shkodra to the Lake Kumoni ferry should easily be a segment from World's Most Dangerous Drives... over 2 hours on a windy, cliff-hugging, broken pavement, pothole strewn trail better meant for walking than driving.
With very little traffic on the road, our driver could safely round blind corners while fully in the other lane. The views were ridiculously beautiful from our van...
....and these staggeringly, gorgeous views would be repeated, again and again, on the ferry and in the Albanian Alps over the next several days..
....it was as if the Cascades or Rocky Mtns and their valleys were somehow flooded, the fjords that resulted would be pretty cool!
...words cannot really describe the stunning vistas we came across.....a steal of a deal for only $15euros/person.....
Reaching the top of the dam, we entered a 470 m dark, narrow tunnel (looked vaguely similar to NORAD or the entrance to the secret Stargate TV show), and came out to Albania's version of a ferry terminal. Talk about the wild west!
There we waited; ordered some beers, along with something that resembled food - they said it was beef souvlaki. Yes, not so sure?
We met and talked with a couple of Albanians, who shared in this wacky adventure and watched the vehicle chaos unfold around us at the postage-size loading area below our deck.
Eventually, we got underway and enjoyed the 2.5 hr boat journey with a handful of tourists and some Albanian business people. The ferry was bright, clean and only weeks in operation.
Unlike, some of the battered, rusted alternatives we might have taken. We couldn't find out if this rusty ferry (below) was still running passengers or just freight at this point, but running it still was! The second picture is of an old bus converted into a boat. Huh!
At the head of the lake, we were met by yet another driver and taken to our guesthouse in Valbone. The 90 minute drive included, of course, a beer and coffee stop that is never less than half an hour making a journey even longer than first stated.
The setting in Valbone was very much an Albania Sound of Music....quaint stone homes, towering peaks, cold, clear streams and the requisite giant, sheep dog....just needed a Julie Andrews to burst into song.
View from our room
Our overnight lodging.
(Seems in Albania, the locals will tell you what they think you want to hear, rather than what actually is! Haha!)
Thank goodness for our 2 Albanian friends, as they were feeling the same uncertainty about getting back to Shkodra.
In the end, with rain starting to fall, along with roads and trails higher up still blocked by snow, the 4 of us decided to head back the next day.
Having our Albanian friends, helped solve any language/communication concerns. The only question was how to get to the ferry and when it ran.. ....In Albania, the answers to those questions can be as elusive as finding garbage cans on city streets.
Several hours later all was solved. A driver was found. We confirmed the ferry arrival. We ate and slept well that night.
Next morning, on the way back to the ferry, we took a short detour to an old Albanian fortress room, where elders of the clans would gather to fight or defend. Impressive!
Our ferry came, we got on, drinking our champagne- sized beers, bought for 150 leke (abt $1.50 Can) from the frontier style store on the lake.
Trip back was as amazing as the day before. Sitting on the lowered loading ramp doors, feet dangling cm above the passing water at the bow, sipping whiskey/beer......was just another crazy, fun day in Albania... even the ferry captain had a glass or 2! Where can you have such fun!
A trip for the ages...literally in the middle of nowhere.....organized chaos.....where else can you drink, sit on an open bow and savor life!
Once off the ferry, back at the dam, we hopped into a beat up old van...picking up 2 additional passengers, we bumped our way back to Shkodra...just had to laugh...
In the end...nothing really happened....but, everything did!.....We didn't hike, it rained, we needed to get back, didn't spend time in the area...but, we met some great people, got to places few go, saw the wilds of Albania, shared, drank, laughed....
Sometimes, this uncertainty, the unknown, the different, prevent us from living some truly, memorable moments!
The trip to the Albanian Alps was like a metaphor for our travels.....sometimes the destination is truly not really worth it, but the JOURNEY along the way is what makes it all so special - the travels!
We leave Albania shortly and will head into mysterious Montenegro.. a tiny country that shares the same coastline and rugged landscape as Albania...should be fun! Come join us!
Our final thoughts on Albania:
- Why Albania? Well.......why not? Stunning scenery, friendly people, easy to travel, off the beaten path adventures, cheap!
- women dress very fashionably - especially in the evening when they walk on the pedestrian way
- towns all seem to have an area where the locals just walk back and forth in the evening, in their best and newest clothes, high heeled shoes, they parade from end to end - sometimes blocks worth. While the women do this, in pairs or small groups, the men sit in the multitude of coffee shops and just watch and watch and watch. Rarely do you see interaction between the men and women. Huh!
- very safe here. Never felt threatened. People are only too happy to help and try their English.
- as a woman, Yvonne has had no trouble moving about in a partial Muslim culture. She wears shorts and tank tops which are way less provocative than all the local young women!
- many more street beggars...... simply stick their hand out asking for money. Often these are children who run after us. Some have been very insistent where locals have stepped in and told them to leave us alone. This also happens in restaurants until the owner spots them.
- ordering coffee usually means getting a cup the size of a child's tea party size cup with a tiny spoon, lots of sugar and a glass of water to wash down the extremely strong coffee.
- this is a country where men still spit on the street
- very few garbage cans are found anywhere, hence, the large problem is very evident
- there is not much choice for breakfast. It always consists of coffee or chai (tea), juice, egg, cheese similar to feta, bread and jam, plain yoghurt
- everyone seems to have a cell phone just like at home
- bicycles, scooters and motorcycles are used by many
- we've only met one other Canadian traveler. Most are European
We've had a wonderful time in Albania. Although, we could have easily spent more, it is time to move on.
We will talk to you next from Montenegro!! Cheers!
A few more random shots that we like:
