It is early in the tourist season anyway, and everything has been stunted by lockdown. A roadtrip along the Albanian Riviera revealed many quiet places - in some cases altogether deserted - along with grateful guesthouse and restaurant owners. The Riviera stretches between Sarandë and Vlorë and is characterised by glorious beaches and charming villages situated in the mountainsides overlooking the sea. The road is in good condition and winds along with amazing views and some breathtaking cliffedges and sharp turns. I didn't manage to check out every single beach, but I saw plenty. There are lots of castles too, and places of historical interest. I didn't get as far as Vlorë, but did stop in Orikum, the seaside town just to the south. There's a really long beach with (mostly closed) restaurants and bars all along. I can imagine it would be a bit of a party scene during normal times in the summer. It was pretty desolate though. Photos of Orikum are here. The Llogora Pass is a steep switchback road towards the north end of the Riviera, with Palasë beach at the bottom and Llogora national park at the top. The national park is a different world, with pine forests and cool mountain air. There are plenty of well marked hiking trails, as well as Cesar's Pass, where Julius Cesar's army marched. I stayed in a friendly guesthouse in the woods. The owners run a restaurant with delicious homemade pasta, and kept bringing free dessert. I hiked to the top of Maja Thanassit (GPS trace, photos) and to Cesar's Pass (GPS trace, photos). Visibility was not good. Palasë beach is renowned for being gorgeous but seemed to subject to a large construction project and not very accessible. The next one down is Drymades. Not a lot there, but nice sand. The next town over is Dhërmi, which is absolutely charming; white houses and cute windows set into the mountainside. Vuna a bit further down is also picturesque, a smaller version of Dhërmi. I'd spend more time there in future. Gjipe beach is nestled in the base of a canyon. There are a couple of different trails to get there from the road. One is longer but gentle and runs along the coast. The other is more.. exciting.. along the top of the canyon. I took the former (GPS trace). As I arrived on the beach, a couple of other people turned up in a canoe, which is the other way this place is accessible. There's a hut there renting canoes and paddleboards, and a campsite, so I expect there's more action here normally. But for my visit, it was peaceful; here are more photos of Gjipe beach. Himarë is the 'captial' of the Riviera, as a medium sized town right on the sea instead of up in the mountains. It has a nice promenade, and lots of restaurants and shops that function all year round. There are several beaches and you can follow the coast around quite a way for different vibes. Interestingly the main language spoken there is a Greek dialect, and there are Greek flags flying all around. There's also a castle on the hill overlooking town. I stayed a couple of nights in the hostel, which had no other guests, and was hosted by two stranded workaway volunteers and two small friendly dogs. I didn't get the impression there is much to do in Himarë itself, and on one of the days it rained heavily so I just bummed around the hostel. They had a massive abundance of orange trees so I made fresh juice every day. When the rain let up I hiked from Himarë to Jalë beach, via Livadh. It's a really nice coastal hike with a variety of terrains and foliage, and the long beach of Livadh to break it up (GPS trace). Of course as soon as I arrived a torrential downpour began again. Eventually found an open bar and sheltered there with hot coffee and chips. Gave up on waiting for the rain to end, and got wet heading back, but made it in time for the clouds to part and a beautiful golden sunset on the beach in Himarë. Photos of the hike to Jalë and back. The next stop around the coast is Porto Palermo, home to a castle of Ali Pasha. I was surprised, pleasantly, to be sold a ticket to enter and have a fast, mumbled guided tour with a comprehensive history of the entire place in mostly comprehensible English. It's worth a visit, and the views are lovely too. Here are photos of the Castle at Porto Palermo. In between Porto Palermo and Borsh are many other little beaches to stop at. But at some point, they all start to look the same. I also skipped Qeparo village which I'd read has some amazing ruins in the mountains. Maybe next time. Borsh itself is in three parts; upper, middle and lower. The middle is the main bulk of the village with shops and restaurants. The beachfront has restaurants too, and lots of hotels. The beach at Borsh is the longest on the Riviera. I walked a good chunk of it and it seems to go on and on (here are photos of Borsh). It seems like it should be possible to walk all the way to Lukovë along the beach. Given a couple of days. There are lots of ruined bunkers. I stopped in the village at the Waterfall Restaurant for a coffee; I would have had a pizza but they'd only just opened and weren't ready for that yet. The setting is pretty unique - tables are among small cascades of water. It's loud, but in a good way. Borsh Castle is amazing. The road towards Upper Borsh is a bit sketchy, but there's a tiny bit of parking at the bottom of the castle hill, and the trail leading up to it is surprisingly well maintained. It's a complete ruin and there's no fee to enter. The views are incredible, both inland towards the mountains and out to sea. I'll let the photos do the rest of the describing. The road back to Sarandë winds away from the coast and passes through the villages of Lukovë, Shën Vasil and Nivicë. There are lots of tracks leading off to more secret beaches that are worth investigating one day... (boat tours will take you to some of these from Sarandë in the summer).
That thing of reading about other peoples' lockdown experiences and realising that it's not very different to my regular life, that many introverts are having lately.. but more specifically I'm discovering that meeting friends regularly in-person is a huge part of life for most people - and I guess was common for me too at one point - but that I completely went without since I started travelling and just got used to my friends and family being almost entirely online (aka in my pocket) for years now. I don't really know where I'm going with this. Just that it's interesting seeing people adjusting to it (or failing to) and I don't even remember having much of a period of adjustment, it was quite natural for me. Maybe I'm just an antisocial asshole. I love all my friends and family, really I do, even in pixel form. Maybe this is why I spent so much time in my teens and twenties, eventually seeping into my academic work, fighting the idea that online is 'not real life', etc.
A hike across the top of the canyon at the Benje, which none of my photos capture the epicness of. Once away from the main pools, there are no people at all. After a couple of hours (GPS trace) is a serene spot with small waterfalls and naturally forming pools (though these are cold). Back at the thermal pools, but further into the canyon - where most people can't be bothered to venture - can be found smaller thermal pools. Stayed here, had a picnic and a soak, until almost sunset, before returning to Permet for dinner at Antigonea. Finally fasule! And some delicious mountain herb byrek. The waiter, with all good intentions, tried to bring a fish on the house.. People are so friendly.. it's the thought that counts :)
Amy added 79 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202003-al/
Just 20 minutes drive outside of Sarande is the Blue Eye, Syri i Kalter. It's a natural spring over 50m deep - divers haven't yet found the bottom. It's incredibly clear and blue and cold. There are distinctive beautiful blue dragonflies there.
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Borsh beach is the longest one on the Albanian Riviera at about 7km. It has lots of hotels and restaurants along it, but nonetheless feels quite calm. Perhaps it was because the season, delayed by pandemic lockdown, hasn't really started yet. There are also bunkers and caves. Borsh village is divided into three parts: the upper (Hori), middle (Vanja) and coast (Shkalle). Apparently they don't like each other.
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High above the Borsh coastline is a castle! It's ruined and free to enter, after climbing a surprisingly well-kept winding path. The views over the coast and mountains are incredible. Definitely one of my favourite castles. Along the main road, in middle Borsh, is a restaurant set over a series of small waterfalls, Ujvara Veranda. It's loud but very cool, and a great place to stop for a coffee (freddo espresso!), which I did. Finally, back to Sarande for a night in my own bed.
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Spent the week off working on the v-stitch sweater which was super satisfying to work up, then finally seamed the two parts together. I really like it. Started on some shorts to learn a version of the pineapple stitch. My yarn and hook were wrong so they're too big, and obviously so lacy as to be only beach-appropriate, but it was a good exercise.
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I made a bag that is way too big and stretchy, but surprisingly robust. I really enjoyed the star stitch.
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Post-hike trip down to the nearest beach.. Back down the intense mountain side switchback of Llogora Pass, and back up again, popped my ears and gave me searing pain later that evening. It passed eventually, though a week later my hearing still isn't properly back. The beach at the bottom of the pass is Palase, but it was lined with a construction site and wasn't very accessible. The next one along is Drymades/Drimadhe. Very little there but probably busy in a non-pandemic summer season. Overcast but cool enough to swim.
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I discovered the Greek margarine in the supermarket is secretly vegan, which opens up a whole new world of baking possibilities. Two kinds of bread, one with a seedy packet mix and one with two kinds of cornflour. Both good. Flapjack! Curries, chilli, the usual. Sprouts! Green lentils sprout great too. Fruity salad with wheat berries. Pasta with avocado sauce.
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This week's cooking a mixed bag.. A disappointingly dense orange, almond, ginger and cardamom cake.. I call it pudding cake I guess and pretend it was supposed to be like that. Passable falafel, after a shaky start. A good pile of gooey choc chip biscuits. Curries and fried potatoes.. Lots of things with somun (simite). Penne dishes.. an attempt at 'cheesey' sauce with carrots and potatoes; expensive truffle mushroom sauce from a jar. A small batch of homemade seedy bread. An extravagent lemon pie with blueberries (expensive) and dark chocolate. An excellent pizza with fluffy dough that rose all day (and sweet potato fries).
Amy added 35 photos to https://i.amy.gy/madefood/
Some burgers failed to hold together so I called it sloppy joe and proceeded (with homemade bread). After the mix had chilled the next day, with a bit more flour, I turned it into burgers. A highlight was french toast with batter made from semolina, cinnamon and rice milk. With homemade syrup. Made a really good chocolate cake. I wanted peanut butter frosting, but ran out of vegan butter. It goes really well with fresh cherries though.
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After a week off, I missed my oven. Well, maybe I missed the cake it produces. I immediately made a peanut-butter-and-jam cake with cherries from the mountain roads near Gjirokaster, and local jam from Permet. An experimental spinach and mushroom quiche with semolina batter worked really well. Vegan quiches are always with tofu, which I can't get here so this is a good alternative. Banana cream pie, which didn't set at all, hence only photos of it in the dish. Really good sag aloo.. and usual comfort foods.. fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, bananapeel bacon sandwiches.. Peanut butter cookies with cherry jam in the middle.
Amy added 26 photos to https://i.amy.gy/madefood/
A detour for a walk to Gjipe beach, which is accessible by boat, along a narrow winding canyon path, or a long winded but gently sloping coastal path (I took the latter - GPS trace). It's a beautiful small beach, which I could have spent longer at, but night was drawing near. Onwards to Himare, where I met some cute small doggos, fellow stranded travellers, and a mediocre pizza. Himare is a seaside town, perhaps the heart of the Riviera for tourists, and very Greek. People speak Greek in the streets, and fly the Greek flag all over. There are three beaches and a lovely boulevard. It's backed by mountains, and there are excellent hiking trails around.
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Last stop: Gjirokaster. An historical mountain town about an hour away from Sarande, with a massive castle (400 Lek, plus 200 more for 3 museums inside), a beautiful twisty old town, and a totally different vibe from the coast. Lunch at Taverna Traditionale, which was amazingly friendly and delicious, fresh from the oven, and included vegetarian kofte! And a specially made byrek with spinach and no cheese on the house, and some free fresh fruit for dessert as well.
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Hike from Himare to Jale beach via Livadh (GPS trace). Spent a lazy morning in the hostel due to heavy rain, chatting to the volunteers (also stranded travellers) and the wee doggos. The sky cleared with enough time left in the day for the hike to Jale beach around the coast. It's a nice trail. A long stretch is across Livadh beach, in the next bay around. Got to Jale just in time for the rain to come down again, and hid away in the only beach bar open to wait it out. It didn't stop, so in the end I just had to get soaked returning to Himare, where I was greeted by a finally clear sky and warm sunset.
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I finally finished my first ever crochet jumper! The holdup was being indecisive about putting sleeves on, but eventually I put half length ones (because typically I roll sleeves up to my elbows anyway). I started with this DROPS Design pattern, but started messing with it at once: I changed the hook size, yarn weight, sized the smallest size down a bit because I wanted a tight fit, changed the flower motif for dragonflies (which took an hour of crochet maths and pattern sketching on paper), changed the main body stitch from a loose double crochet with gaps to the trinity stitch because I like the tension, look, and it's a fun stitch to do a lot of. On the bottom edge I did some little puff stitch 'flowers' too. My sized down version only took about 170g of yarn :o which is less than 2 balls. It fits well, is perfect for temperate summer evenings, or keeping warm in my very heat-proof apartment, but a bit too cosy for wearing out in the sun (even without the sleeves - which is what made me decide it needed sleeves in the end).
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A hike through Llogora national park. Climbed Maja Thanasit, from where you can see Italy on a clear day. It was not a clear day. Could barely see the sea. The mountains are beautiful though, and the air was fresh and cool. The trail was well marked, for the most part, and terrain was easy to moderate. Loop on RunKeeper.
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Waking up in the mountains again, surrounded by cloud. A short hike to Caesar's Pass, where Julius Caeser marched his armies in pursuit of Pompey (GPS trace); views intermittent.
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North to Orikum, through the valley village of Dukat. The beach at Orikum is long and white and empty. The bulk of the town is inland, so it's quite peaceful on the coast; a bit desolate in fact. Then south again, back down the Llogora Pass for the last time.
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Permet is a small town, two hours inland from Sarande. They have "everything besides the sea", they say, and it's true. A clear blue river runs through the center, with rocky beaches on each side. There's a big rock, which you can climb for fantastic views of the town. It's cooler than the coast, surrounded by mountains. The town center is full of cute cafes, nice restaurants line the river, and it all comes alive at night.
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A short drive or a 3 hour hike up the mountain from Permet, you find the thermal pools of Benje. They're not hot, but they're not cold, so very nice to sit in for a while. There are 6 pools, artificially made around the natural springs where you can soak up different healing minerals (apparently) and enjoy the mountain views and air. After an evening visit to the pools, I returned to the town for dinner at Trifilia, which featured many 'wild' 'mountain' things (cabbage, herbs..)
Amy added 26 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202003-al/
A few minutes drive around the coast from Himare is Porto Palermo, a quiet bay with a castle on a little island. For 200 Lek I got to explore it, plus a rapid and hard to follow, but enthusiastic, description of the castle's entire history and use by Ali Pasha Tepelena from the guy selling tickets. There are a few signs inside, and pictures. There is also a nice little-used beach nearby.
Amy added 47 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202003-al/
Lockdown restrictions loosened a little bit and I went for a longer walk, into town then back the 'scenic route' which took longer than expected and gave me sunburn.
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The sea the sea the sea and crochet. Temperatures went right up, I swam every day.
A week at 'home'. Some nice sunsets on the beach near my building, plus some good storms. Met some extremely smol kittens nearby.
Amy added 19 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202003-al/
Travel restrictions lifted a bit, so.. small roadtrip up the coast, to the mountains. Driving through the towns along the Albanian Riviera presented lots of places to stop on the way back. The roads is windy but mostly well maintained, except for occasional sudden cobbled bits or abrupt narrowings. Many cute villages built into vertical hillsides. Amazing views.
Amy added 38 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202003-al/
Yesterday I left my pizza dough to rise pretty much all day and it turned out soooo good. I also think I may have used more yeast than I normally do, and I didn't oil the tray I baked it on because that usually makes it soggy - and it didn't stick anyway. Normally it doesn't rise much in the oven, and is either very slightly over- or under-cooked, or sometimes both... still functional as a pizza base and if you were eating it and weren't a pizza base connoisseur you wouldn't think there was anything wrong with it, but I know it's not perfect. Anyway, last night's was perfect and I hope to always repeat this in future.
Përmet is a small town, two hours inland from Sarande. They have "everything besides the sea", they say, and it's true. A clear blue river runs through the center, with rocky beaches on each side. It's possible to scramble down. It's icy cold, but shallow edges mean it's nice to paddle when the sun is out. Down there were local youths lounging in an intimidating group, but friendly to say hello and ask 'where from?' and offer weed.. In the town center there's a big rock, which you can climb for fantastic views of the town. It's cooler than the coast, surrounded by mountains. The town center is full of cute cafes, nice restaurants line the river, and it all comes alive at night, even immediately post-lockdown, with lots of children and elderly people in the streets and outside restaurants. There are no hostels. I stayed in Hotel Ramis which was pretty much empty, in a small room with a nice balcony overlooking the river. The owners didn't speak English and were surly-friendly. Breakfast was salad and bread and local jams. Përmet is known for 'slow food', even hosting an organisation to promote and regulate it, whose sign you'll see on several restaurants. Two slow-food restaurants I tried were Trifilia and Antigonea. Trifilia has an outdoor terrace, and friendly staff who understand vegan. The highlight there was wild mountain cabbage salad. In Antigonea, by the river, I was delighted to find fasule, dolma, and byrek with wild mountain herbs. The waitress offered complimentary fish (this poor fool only ordering salads and side dishes?!) and raki too which I politely declined. I went twice to the famous bënjë - thermal mineral baths. They're a short drive or medium-length hike up the nearby mountain, into the canyon. The first evening, there were quite a few people there. The water was not so much hot, but it wasn't cold so it was comfortable to climb right in whatever the weather. There are several pools each supposedly with different healing properties. The two main ones are by the distinctive Ottomon bridge at the beginning of the canyon. Further in there are more pools that fewer people venture to. The springs are natural, but the pools themselves are manmade, with stones building up the edges and plastic lining them (under layers of mud) to keep the water in. In the morning, there were fewer people, but still not zero. Before it got too hot I hiked along one of the trails across the top of the canyon. The views were incredible. No photos can capture the epicness of the canyon. The trail was varied, with some overgrown narrow paths, steep up and steep down, as well as wide roads with no shade. Then stopped to read for a while near some beautiful (cold) pools where the only sound to be heard was the trickle of the water. There had been something here once - there was an abandoned hut and some walls. But no other hikers came this way. There were more people in the pools by the time hiked back. I walked further into the canyon, at some point giving up and wading through the water with my trainers on because the rocks were too uncomfortable for bare feet and there was often no easy way through without getting wet. I lounged in some of the pools further into the canyon until the sun started to go down. More photos of the town, river, and views from the rock, evening at the thermal pools and hiking and bathing in the canyon.
Lockdown restrictions loosened up a bit in my area, but not in a way that impacted my life noticeably. I went out for a longer walk and got sunburned. Crocheted one sleeve of my sweater and one handle of my bag. Will I finish either? Anyone's guess. Watched a lot of Stargate. Finished season 2 of The Durrell's. Cooked a lot. This week's cake was flapjack. Utterly failed to make English-style pancakes. They need more work to veganise than American ones. ODSCo-op substituted our in-person meeting (which we call CoGM for co-working plus OGM) with an online one ('NoGM') and it was fun. Had lots of meetings and internal Co-op work, but did some OCDS stuff too. Really not been up for engaging my brain much. Everything is exhausting. Anything that isn't immediately achievable I lose focus on quickly. I haven't even been reading books. I'm so frustrated with myself that I've done no writing since lockdown started either.
Watched lots of Stargate SG1. Finished The Successor. Finished the bag and the jumper! Worked on scraping data from politicians interest declarations. Worked on DID Spec editorial stuff and thinking about how the registries should work.. Sat on the beach in front of the building. Learned some new crochet stuff from patterns from 1944. Made an extravagant lemon pie with blueberries and dark chocolate, among other things. Started crocheting a summer top, half from pattern, half from my head. Learnt the spider stitch which is tricky and takes 3x as long as a single crochet, but has a nice texture and fun once you get the hang of it. Pondered future travel... Albania announced opening borders on the 18th of May, which gives me 10 days to leave the country before my visa is up, but not sure where else will let me in yet.
Rediscovered the elegant simple beauty of a single crochet (made a tshirt) Curfew lifted for most of the country; started planning adventures while simultaneously being anxious about going out and making decisions again. Swam in the sea EVERY DAY. Wrote some scrapers for UK MP and counciller registers of interests. Did some DID editorial and registries stuff. Actually worked quite a lot this week, but also spent at least an hour per day anxiously checking local news sites for Albania and surrounding countries to try to figure out wtf I might be able to do at the end of the month. Results: inconclusive. Watched a lot of Stargate.. Went out for ice cream!! (sorbet) Made a really good chocolate cake, and other things. More people seem to be moving into the building. Getting loud around here.
Adventure week! The travel restrictions lifted for some plague-free areas of Albania, so I took the week off work and went on a trip. To Llogora national park, for hiking in the mountains. Along the Albanian Riviera, visiting empty beaches and coves: Drymades, Orikum, Gjipe, Himare and Jale, Porto Palermo, Borsh (and Borsh castle). To the Blue Eye near Sarande. Inland to Permet, with thermal pools and epic canyons. To Gjirokaster for the castle. I did do a bit of DID stuff at the beginning of the week though. It was good to get out of Sarande, but also very nice to be back 'home'.. I forgot how tiring travelling is..
Recovered after last week's adventure. Watched Stargate SG1 and Atlantis. Finally finished season 3 of the Durrells. Read at the beach in front of my buildling. Enjoyed some good sudden onset storms in Sarande. Tried and failed to make ongoing travel plans. Did a bunch of stuff for the DID Spec and Registries. Wrote some more Register of Interest scrapers. Baked some stuff.. Finished a jumper, started and finished shorts with pineapple stitch, and started on some socks.