overstaying
type: Article
content: I've been to Albania a couple of times in 2019 for short visits, or on my way to somewhere else. I was looking forward to spending time on the coast, so finally in March 2020 I managed to head out for a month-long stay. Or so I thought. Not long after I arrived, the coronavirus lockdown began. As 3 months approached, I emailed local authorities and quickly obtained a visa extension 'until travel restrictions are lifted'. After a while commercial flights from the capital to some other countries started to run, and I wasn't sure how long I could push my overstay (usually, the fine for overstaying is €500 per day!). But lots of expats kept telling me it would be fine. Around the 4 month mark I was stopped by police in town and asked for ID, and fortunately had my printed visa extension email on me, which was enough for them, so then I was less worried. In the end I needed to head back to the UK for other reasons, and stayed in Sarandë for five months in total. For the first few months of lockdown, everything was closed and there was no public transport, so I wasn't able to see much of the country. Later when inter-city travel restrictions lifted I took a couple of cautious road trips. In any case, there were definitely worse places I could have been stuck. Where? I spent most time this year in Sarandë. It is a smallish seaside town, quiet in the off season, and a little smelly and loud in the town center from an excess of construction and road traffic. After a week in the center I snapped from this, and managed to move south to the outskirts. It's also smelly in the more rural outskirts from locals burning trash. But at least it wasn't so loud. My new place was right in front of the sea, close enough to hear the crash of the waves from the balcony, and a short scrabble from a little rocky beach that was mostly empty until July. There was no disadvantage in my opinion to being a 30-40 minute walk from the town center. When running, the local buses stop nearby. There's a…
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Overstaying in Albania
published: 2020-07-31T15:01:48+01:00
tag: travel
tag: albania
tag: sarande
tag: lockdown
tag: coronavirus
tag: covid19
tag: tourism
tag: castle
tag: beach

week-review-20--
type: Article
content: Worked way too much on Open Active. Ups and downs with nodejs. On schedule if nothing explodes in my face, but things keep exploding in my face. Swam a lot, it was really hot again. Ate in Salad Farm a bunch. Jellified a ton of stuff with agar agar. Went into the hills to try to see the comet (didn't though). Baked some good stuff. Improved what my /eats and /stuff pages look like. Finally finished all of Stargate Atlantis. So I watched all of all Stargate during lockdown. Except the movies. Will it never end. I like it but I can't believe the sheer volume. Also finished attaching sleeves to my crochet cardigan. Hiked up to the Monastery of the 40 Saints for wonderful Sarande views. Started on a page that lists all my blog articles by title, which really is just highlighting how I've only been communicating by week-in-review and photo posts for a while now. Need to step my article writing game back up.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Week in review: 20 - 26 July
published: 2020-07-26T23:59:45+02:00
tag: albania
tag: sarande
tag: open+active
tag: crochet
tag: ods
tag: week+in+review
tag: vegan
tag: food
tag: hacking
tag: travel

vegan-albania
type: Article
content: During five consecutive months in Albania this year, plus shorter trips last year, I have done a lot of eating in Albania. Mostly I cooked for myself, because a large chunk of that was during the coronavirus lockdown. But when things started to open up again, I did eat at restaurants a few times. I'll round up some of these experiences here. Skip to: Eating out Groceries Tirana Shkoder Sarandë Përmet The Riviera Gjirokastër It's worth noting that 'vegan' is unlikely to be a well-understood word (though some places do know it) but 'vegetarian' is fine. Don't assume that because you start ordering a bunch of vegan dishes, and asking to remove cheese from some things, they'll get the gist of your requirements - be specific about everything. I never had a problem modifying dishes in restaurants, and waiters in touristy places spoke good English. Personally in the Balkans I don't ask too many questions about butter, and like to imagine that since oil is cheaper it is probably used for cooking most of the time. I also look for traditional recipes online for local dishes to get the impression if they're probably vegan before I go somewhere to try them, so I don't have to have too detailed a conversation about it in a restaurant. But that's because I'm conflict-averse and socially awkward. I drank the tap water in Sarandë and experienced no ill effects. You might hear otherwise from other people. Lots of locals and expats alike buy 8L bottles of water for home (which are very cheap). A better option to both of these, if you have the opportunity to drive into the mountains, is to fill containers up with fresh mountain water from a roadside spring. They're easy to spot and well-used. Eating out Traditional Albanian food is limited for vegans, but what options there are typically consistently delicious. Vegetables are fresh, local and seasonal, and Albanians have a habit of baking things for hours using lots of fresh herbs. One thing I quickly learnt the hard way in Shkoder wa…
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Vegan in Albania
published: 2020-08-04T12:57:20+01:00
tag: shkoder
tag: permet
tag: gjirokaster
tag: tirana
tag: sarande
tag: albania
tag: vegan
tag: food
tag: travel

sarande
type: Collection
total items: 3

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items: vegan-albania
items: overstaying
items: week-review-20--
name: sarande
part of: sarande