| ABOUT THIS TRAVEL Albania
6 days, April 06
ALBANIA INTRO
Kind of travel: A wholly independent travel
When: 21st- 26th
April 06
How I moved: Vans
that leave when full (furgons) have been the main means of transport. Sometimes by taxi
(expensive!!) and once by a private car
Freezing or baking?: apart
two chilly rainy days, it has been a wonderfull sunny spring weather (20C)
Where I slept: small
hotels but not so cheap (10-20 euro)
What I liked: the
unexpectated not-annoying people, the Ersek- Permet road and the unmissable Berat
What I disliked:
the rubbish thrown everywhere, the half-built houses, the bumpy dusty roads and the
furgons/ buses stinking of vomit
How much daily: albania
it's not so cheap. Furgons or buses: 1.2 euro/ hour of travel (2- 6 euro). Taxis are
very expensive: 30 km= 20 euro (Tirana-
airport, ufficial fare: 21 euro = 2500 lek) Hotels: 10-30 euro for a double.
Restaurants: 4-9 euro. Final daily expenses: 35 euro/day
Dangers/
hassles: believe me or not, I seriously risked to
break my leg in one of the several opened sewers in the walk side!!! For the rest I found
Albania a safe country
What you do need: some
motion sickness medicines in the mountainy roads, since, even if you don't normally suffer
them, the stink of vomit in the buses won't help you :-)
THE TRAVEL
What a luck to meet an helpful Italian businessman
on the flight to Tirana and get a lift directly till Elbasan!!
Thank Pierangelo for your help and your company in my first
taste of Albania.
Elbasan is a small nice town, it was a pity I had no time to
have a stroll around before I jumped on the minibus to Korca (3h, 3euro). In Albania such
minibuses (called furgon), that leave when full, are the main means of transport: by
furgon you can reach almost any corner of the country.
The road to Korca is very scenic especially while skirting the
lake Ohrid where I would have like to stop over! Korca is one of the biggest towns in
Albania with a young student population. The day after I rented a taxi for a half day trip
to Voskopoje (3h, 23euro). Some centuries ago this town, 20 Km from Korca, was the biggest
city of the Balcans, while nowadays it’s nothing more than a typical rural village,
plunged in the mountains, where to wander around for some hours.
The trip proceeded and I really recommend you the mountainy
road from Korca to Permet, called the Tibet of Albania; even if the 6 hours bus trip can
be tiring, the view is great. In Permet I got a furgon to Gjirokastra (2h) where I hanged
around a bunch of hours before getting on the seaside in Saranda (furgon, 1.5h). Here you
can breathe a Mediterranean atmosphere, more touristy (read richer) than the inland, but
you can enjoy the pleasure to eat a good fish in any of the severals restaurants by the
sea.
The bus trip from Saranda to Berat has been long (7h) and
frankly a little bit disgusting; read the story!
Berat is very beautiful and you cannot miss it if travelling in
Albania!!! The landscape on the way from Berat to Tirana gets flat and boring, having no
comparison with the southern part.
Tirana is a mix of styles (italian, soviet, super modern,
slums…), but it’s difficult to get charmed. Anyway I recommend you don’t
miss the awesome train station :-) and the nightlife at the "bloku" quarter.
The last day I had a day trip in the ‘not so special’
Kruje before flying back home.
Alby
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