Bukur Qepero! (Beautiful Chepero!)

(a day or so late...)

Greetings from Saranda, Albania!

Two days on a quiet beach and now here I am in the big city. I can see Greece from the window of my hostel (Corfu) - quite incredible. The beaches here aren't as nice as Qepero (more details soon), but the crystal clear water will do.

Sept 4th - Berat to Qepero

It was hard to leave the beautiful and quaint city of Berat but onward I must go. So after getting up way too early (jetlag) and walking in the sprinkles to the bus station (i was quite wet once I got there), I hopped on a bus to the port town of Vlora. To be honest, I was a bit nervous because I was following the advice of others, but had no map to go off of. But I had my guardian angel with me (she's been working very hard lately) and I was gifted a kind bus driver and his helper who helped me along. Each bus has a bus driver and then another guy who collects the money and helps people with their luggage. This guy gave me a front row seat and made sure I got to where I needed to go. Plus he kept his eye on me - which is a nice feeling when you are in a place and don't know where you are going exactly. I had a bit of a layover between when I got to Vlora and when I needed to leave for Qepero. This little town was a mystery to me before I got there. Albanians knew it well and said it was beautiful, but the English guidebooks had nothing. I met some women from Spain who had a more detailed book - but they knew nothing. The ladies on the bus going to other small towns along the coast were very helpful, speaking quickly in Albanian and not caring if I didn't understand. (I actually like this because it helps me hear the language and at least try to learn it). The bus driver was less than pleasant and his mood varied between yelling at us for eating grapes on the bus (delicious grapes) and arguing with passengers about something or another. The ride along the coast was quite wind-ey (meaning hairpin turns that make me green just thinking about them) along the hills and cliffs that are above the coast. The weather was less than perfect, but I had faith that the weather would eventually turn for the better. The pictures are fairly cloudy (but quite beautiful nonetheless).

Most of the roads along this pass were one lane and the driver honks as he's making the 180 degree turn to warn other drivers that he's coming. Honking is rarely done out of anger - more as a warning. We made a few turns where I looked down and couldn't see the road (just the cliff beneath me), but not a problem...I made it. As I was instructed, I told the locals that I needed to find "Foro Leka" (the man's name who owns this little hotel) and they dropped me off next to a small road headed to the water and said just go straight.

So I did...and here's what I saw:)

It was still raining, but I knew it'd be beautiful. The door to my room (with a kitchen and a bathroom) was about 50 m from the water...with little huts and a patio next to it. I couldn't have asked for a better spot. Qepero (pronounced Chepero) was my treat...my gift to myself and it was perfect. I spoke with the girl who's father owns the place and she gave me a little run down of where things are and what to do. I made some pasta for dinner, walked along the beach (minding the cows of course because they were walking on the beach too) and then headed to bed early - my first good night's rest of the trip.

Sept 5th - Qepero and old Qepero

As per my attempt to keep training for the marathon and my tradition of running in new places, I headed off for an early morning run after I was woken up by sun streaming through my window (fine by me)... The townspeople thought it was a bit odd, especially since I was able to run from one end of Qepero and back in under 30 min (gotta love small towns!). The main road really was a highway, so I had to dodge cars and trucks as well as the donkeys and the cows who were also rummaging along for food. As I mentioned earlier, the cows just munch out of the trash...I caught this one red handed!! I'm not sure if they are low on grass or just prefer the leftovers:)

I proceeded to go for an early morning swim after my run and then lay on the beach for 6 hours - just what I needed. The waves lulled me in and out of sleep, I read a bit and soaked some sun. I thought I had enough sunscreen on, but I always think wrong. After I got my fill of relaxation time, I took the 45 min walk up to the top of the hill to old Qepero. All the houses are made of stone and partially falling apart. But it was quite quaint and beautiful. I practiced my attempt at speaking Albanian as I wandered the few streets that were there, but I soon realized that most of the houses were built on top of each other. I headed around to the other side of the peak and took a few pictures and rested a bit (I feel like I'm the only one who sweats around here and so I had to dry off before I went back down.) Being on the top made me wonder what made the people build on the top of the hill...perhaps there was a spring or a river, but it seems to me that most villages were started near water and the water seems to be rather far away. That and the food source (fish) is also a few kilometers down hill... I am sure they had a good reason...I wish I could ask them. I met an older woman on my way down the hill - all dressed in black and bent over walking up the hill. She asked me where I was going and where I was from...though short, exchanges like these have made my trip very special.

i sneaked a shot of the little old lady

old building around the back side

I decided to have dinner at the hotel - fish, "potatoes" (french fries) and an amazing salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and fabulous cheese...all doused in the most fabulous olive oil ever. Stuffed to the brim and tired from the sun, I headed for bed with the waves lulling me to sleep.

the bunkers falling apart on the beach - all that work to keep the people safe

more to come...