Mirapafsheem Albania - Dobar Dehn Makedonia!

Time to catch up! Time flies when you're traveling and having fun...I'll go day by day and a few pictures where I can fit them in!

Sept 6th - on to Saranada

I woke to my final day on the beach and spent a relaxing morning on the beach, packing to go and enjoying the sounds of the surf and the sun on my face. My legs and stomach were a little pink (to say the least) but I was going to push through the heat because I don't think I'll see that kind of sun for some time. I waved goodbye to the family who owned the hotel and walked along the rocky beach to the small road that would take me to the "main" road in town so that I could catch my furgon (mini-bus) to Saranda, a larger town on the southern tip of Albania (just before Greece). I shook my head at the cow munching out of the dumpster and said a sheepish hello to the kids I passed and then saw Sonya, one of the women I met from Spain. She and her friend Sara had decided to come to Qepero and enjoy the sun... Though it was great to see her, during the time i stopped to chat with her (3 min), I got the chance to watch my furgon zoom past. We asked about 10 people when the next bus with come and each gave us a different answer. So instead of moping, she and I walked to a local cafe to sit and chat for a minute...or a few hours, depending on who we listened to in town. Just as we sat, I heard the honk honk of the mini-bus racing around the corner and caught it just as it was about to zoom past (again)...SUCCESS! It was another hot and curvy, er...test of stomach strength through the treacherous mountain roads.

A view from the mini-bus of my drive to Saranda (from Qepero)

The driver was kind enough to drive me around a bit once we got into Saranda (a large city) but ended up just dropping me off in frustration somewhere in the city. With my bad map in hand and a stubborn will to find my way, I eventually found the "Hairy Lemon" hostel (odd name, but great location and kind people). With little time to waste during my short stay in Saranda, I grabbed another map, asked what bus to take and ran off to catch a bus to Butrint National Park. I met up with a girl from the hostel and her mother who were taking the same bus to another town and we somehow squeezed ourselves onto the hot, sweaty bus (packed with people well over the capacity) and headed off. The drivers in Albania are the worst I've experienced thus far and the roads aren't much better. I'll give the drivers a bit of a break though because according to what I've heard about the history, people outside of the party were not allowed to own cars or drive until the mid-1980s when the communist dictator died.
I piled off the bus at Butrint, a national park that has been preserved to display the ruins of centuries of cultures moving through. From greeks to romans to venetians to ottomans, the remnants of different traditions and religions still remain on this small patch of land in Albania, just before the border with Greece. I wandered for an hour or so, taking in the castles, crystal blue-green waters, ancient pillars and old bathhouses. It was a great chance to catch up with my breath and enjoy the outdoors a bit (even though it was catered to tourists).

ancient theater seating at Butrint

enjoying the ruins at Butrint

domes and pillars made of stone...

yep...i am holding up that archway - look closely (yea right)

Though I planned to catch the last bus back, I planned ahead and was outside ready and waiting for the 2nd to last bus....and the adventure of travel begins again. Apparently, the bus driver didn't want to go back to Saranda (as he is scheduled to do for 2 more trips), but would take us to the next town (Kismal) and we could fend for ourselves the rest of the way. The locals were shocked right along with the tourists, but we dutifully got on the bus to at least get us closer. We were kicked off near the center of the next town and after conferring with the English girl from the hostel and 3 germans, we opted to get a taxi back to Saranda...it wasn't too much money and beat hitch hiking or worse, walking back (it was hot and it was a long way).
The rest of the night was uneventful...a quick swim in dirty water (I didn't realize it was dirty until I got in), a beautiful sunset from my 8th floor balcony (where the hostel was), a pasta and salad dinner that made me swoon and a surprise run in with the British guy I met my first day in Albania. We shared travel stories, caught up and then I was off to bed to rest up for my 5am walk to the bus station in the morning.

sunset on the dock...nothing better

Sept 7th -on to Macedonia, the long way

Four AM came very early...and quickly, but I dutifully got up, made my "Irish brekkie" (the hostel provided the fixin's for Irish pancakes for breakfast), packed my bag...again...and headed out in the pitch black to walk to the station. I wasn't sure if I'd run into cows or dogs or drunks...turns out I met up with only a pack of dogs that were easily deterred by my threatening raising of the hand (i might have actually picked up a rock, but you would too if you were facing a pack of dogs). I walked fast and with a purpose and found the bus station with a few minutes to spare. Though I prefer not waking up at 4am for a bus, I do enjoy the early morning bus rides and watching the sunrise. Promptly at 5:30, we putted off (yes, it was a bit of a putting sort of bus) up north towards the town of Korca. This was the first of my three-legged journey to get to Macedonia. As I said before, only party members were allowed to drive for much of Albania's history, so many of the roads are old, in poor shape and poorly organized. There aren't many of them and even "main roads" are small and usually with one lane. So the seemingly short trip took 8 hours. Yes...8 hours on a bus. Thankfully they believe in smoke breaks (potty breaks for me!) and so I jumped off any chance I got to visit a local WC or tree (whatever options were available) and chat with the man from Mongolia traveling through Albania.
I slept and watched the scenery, attempted to write in my book but failed because of the road bounce. The roads were sometimes precarious, but gorgeous. We drove through the mountains and saw more bunkers than I thought possible. Bunkers have a funny history in Albania - after many broken allies with other communist countries (first with Yugoslavia, then with Russia, then with China), Albania's old dictator thought that the best idea would be to build a bunker for every 3-4 people in the country to defend themselves from outside attack. Now they are remnants of an earlier time...and are all over the place.

fields of grapes along the road to Korca

ah the sunrise from the road

I rolled myself off of the bus after the 8 hour jaunt along winding roads in Korca (pronounced Korcha) and immediately hopped on a mini-bus headed to Pogradets, the town in Albania just before the Macedonian border. The guys were nice, but young and usually this brings a curiosity about the quiet young one in the back (i.e. me). It was only 40 min or so and I should have followed my instincts and gone with the directions I had from other fellow travelers...but I thought i'd ask the locals. After hauling my bag out of the mini-bus...the guys insisted that I could get to Macedonia if I stayed in their bus to the next town. I asked them 50 times (not really...but close) if I could get to this monastery that was right across the border - they didn't know of the monastery, but swore Macedonia was in my sights. So I loaded my bag back up and off we went.
This is when I grabbed my map and started checking landmarks - town names, the sun, the curve of the lake. Turns out there are TWO border crossings...one which is more convenient to crossing via public transport to get to Ohrid (the town I'm going to) and the other that is out in the boonies. Well...with no english on their part and no albanian on my part, we figured out that indeed, i had it right in Pogradets (i.e. i should have bid them adieu and caught a taxi to the border). But now we were far from that town and a few minutes from the border. So I added an extra, more expensive leg to the trip. With my bladder bursting, the handed me off to a taxi driver who took me to the border...then I walked across the Albania side -through n0-man's land - to the Macedonian side. Once I got there - I realized I had no Macedonian money (denars) and little clue of how I would get to Ohrid.

the welcome sign to Macedonia

This is where my guardian angel comes in...she's been working hard:) The ONLY car on the other side of the border pulled up just as I was scratching my head, wondering what to do. I don't know why I asked the border policeman about the price of a taxi to the next town, but I did. This gave me an idea of how much it should cost...so I didn't totally get ripped off. I asked for a ride to the next town and talked him down from there...a student discount he called it. Off we went. He turned out to be one of the kindest men I've met so far. He helped teach me the language, agreed to take me all the way to Ohrid (saved me another leg of my trip) and made jokes about his people (calling them very poor...I don't agree, but who am I to say). I needed that after my constant run-ins with obnoxious transport personnel. He even drove me around the old town (cobble streets and all) trying to find my hostel. It is true what lonely planet said - the people in this region will take you all the way to your destination if you ask nicely:)

The hostel took me a bit to find, but the city of Ohrid is striking. It sits on the western edge of Lake Ohrid and is a major tourist spot for families living in the Balkan states. It is gorgeous, clean and great to swim in. Apparently, a rare species of trout lives there and is being over-fished by the locals (the lake is shared by Albania -1/3 and Macedonia - 2/3). It is one of the deepest and oldest lakes in Europe, diving to 300 m at the deepest part. I settled in to one of the best hostels so far - The Sunny Lake Hostel, run by 2 brothers, explored the town (and the old cobbled streets) and enjoyed some yummy trout soup and greek salad with 2 guys from my hostel. I was too tired to do much more than that and called it an early night...

me on the cliff overlooking the clear waters

Sept 8th - a hike to the clouds

I was up and out early for my exploratory run and got back to double check my directions and head off for the hike. The guy at the hostel suggested I take a hike to the top of Magaro (emphasis of the first 'a'), the highest peak in Galicica National Park. I strolled through the fruit market, bought more figs and a few plums (in season and SO tasty) before plopping myself at the bus station to wait for the bus. I figured a trip to the monastery first, then to the park...then home. Ah...another packed day, but not possible when working on other people's travel options. (running out of computer time so I'll speed this up)
- caught a taxi with a student and picked up a few people along the way to the monastery including a french woman with macedonian husband. I'm convinced she was sent by my guardian angel and offered me a ride to the trail head (12 km off the main road). Her husband speaks english, but she doesn't so this initial conversation was interesting. We sat for a bit at her home and then headed off...with my own personal tour guides.
- against their advice, they dropped me off and I started up the hill...and what a hill. 10 km total hike, and quite the steep elevation. The trail was a bit old, but still worked and got me there and back just fine. at the top I saw all of the view below - Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa.
- I had to hitch a ride home...the first guy was not so great and I got out asap... the second guy was great and practiced his english with me.

- Dinner and a few drinks with friends from the hostel and off to bed..

i'm in Chisinau now, but the story of my travels here are fascinating, so more to come....