Jane & Rog’s Balkans Tour (6 Viewers)

[Jane And Rog]

Good luck with the weather! We are about 70 miles south in Corfu and have had rain today and the promise of more tomorrow :-(

We’re now in sight of Corfu and have had a mortly grey day with rain too. And we nearly went to Scotkand!

 

[Langtoftlad]

Have you seen any signs or possible justification as to why so many Albanians are fleeing their home nation to claim asylum in the UK?
Is there any evidence or atmosphere of political repression and or a strict regime.

I believe most here believe it's for purely economic reasons - but being there you might get a different sense of it.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Have you seen any signs or possible justification as to why so many Albanians are fleeing their home nation to claim asylum in the UK?
Is there any evidence or atmosphere of political repression and or a strict regime.

I believe most here believe it's for purely economic reasons - but being there you might get a different sense of it.

Rog did ask, but the answer was a little bit weasel words. It was that they are very strong on family and want to be near relatives who are already there. Which begs the question- why did the first of the family go there?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Langtoftlad]

... and are all the Albanian car washers you came across in somesort of pre-asylum seeking training scheme so that they can disappear discretely into our Albanian car washing outlets?

Whenever I hear of Albanians - I always think of their gang organisations at in "Gangs of London" [TV]
or James Bond [Le Chiffre, Casino Royale] etc etc

 

[Jane And Rog]

We left the vineyard camping to get to Kjirokaster castle cool and early. Unlike the ones in Berat and Kruga, this castle isn’t lived in, but instead was used as a prison until quite recently.

We saw an early prototype Fiat Ducato - body rusting slightly but otherwise in tiptop condition for a renovation and an all-terrain vehicle too!

This US plane was the cause of some debate in 1957. The Americans said their pilot had got a little bit lost and was out of fuel, so had to make an emergency landing in Albania. The Albanian communists said they’d forced a US spy plane to land in their territory.

But those two sights, and this amusing sign, were as far as it went.

We were stopped from seeing the other 75% of the castle by construction workers, who were putting up the stage for a festival next week. Two Germans ahead of us were stopped too, and all four of us went back to the gate where we demanded our money back. After some efficient German arguments, backed by British agreement, an unusual show of European solidarity won the day, and 800 lek restored, we returned to Denby.

Here we had one of those motor-homing moments. I’d already suggested to Rog that we turn Denby while there wasn’t much traffic, so that we could take the wide, freshly surfaced road back down to the main road. We can do it later, he said. But we didn’t. Instead we set off on a terrifying tour of the narrow, steep and cobbled backstreets, with the brakes screaming and overheating, me screaming and overheating and Rog swearing and overheating.

We made it through though, and drove on towards Ksamil Camping, where we plan to stay to see Butrint tomorrow. Our Garmin flat out refused to take us on my chosen route - turns out it knows nothing of the nice new tarmac which leads over the mountains to Sarandë.

The campsite (unmindful.throwback.uncomfortable) has a very friendly owner who served us welcome (and welcomed!) ice coffees.

But we didn’t much like her policy of jamming everyone in. A good site in you need the services - otherwise I’d head for the most southerly of the beach bars, where the rash of hotels and bars dies away and it gets more rural.

We hiked over to one of these, Arameras Beach, in the afternoon and had a beer and a lovely swim. A motorhome was parked up - a lovely spot.

It then rained for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We dined back at the Mexican restaurant where we’d had lunch, as we hated the look of the glitzy beach restaurants so much. Very good - they have an actual Mexican chef, and the ceviche was a really nice change from Albanian meaty cheese served with cheesy meat.

Anyone fancy opening a pub in Stratford-upon-Avon? I have a name for you!

 

[Jane And Rog]

... and are all the Albanian car washers you came across in somesort of pre-asylum seeking training scheme so that they can disappear discretely into our Albanian car washing outlets?

Seems more like the rich Albanians really like clean cars and then the poor Albanians who do the washing are the ones wanting to get to England for a better life. That said the slave labour involved in these businesses in the UK is fairly well documented so it’s obviously less simple than that.

Whenever I hear of Albanians - I always think of their gang organisations at in "Gangs of London" [TV]
or James Bond [Le Chiffre, Casino Royale] etc etc

Every Albanian we’ve met has been polite and kind. Very keen to help and proud of a culture where you help others before yourself.

The explanation for the negative stereotype is that the illegal immigrants are in debt to the smugglers and looking after a cannabis farm gets you out of debt quicker than working for less than minimum wage washing dishes.

Of course all this smuggling and drug dealing does require organised crime which certainly exists. Like in Italy or the US you don’t really encounter it touring castles in a van.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jane And Rog]

Actually I say all that and then Jane spotted this perfume in the supermarket

I suppose they can’t complain if the two missing bottles were stolen.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Have stolen monkey’s stare screen, quik rite before found. Today gud day. Flynn gud dog. Lots water float run legs many times.More than ears less than legs. Lots hard squirrel to bring. more than legs! Hard squirrels slow&so easy peasy. Big monkey say “drop” so he can have hard squierrel. Small monkey _with fluffy head say bad dog% so Flynn must find more hardsquir€rels to make monkeyshappy.

 

[Grianan]

Fabulous photo of the castle. You’re really making the case for Albania!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jays2]

So I guess. He killed a squirrel then, or.

You've had difficulty with your sight , or.

Its those card games you bought ( birthday in Morocco) is turning your mind?

 

[Jays2]

No It’s Tortoises?

 

[Jane And Rog]

Just had to retrieve my phone from Flynn’s bed. No idea how it got there.

We had great plans today most of them went awry for one reason or another but we had a great day nonetheless.

Jane was to go into town and buy fish for a BBQ whilst I packed up, paid and picked her up from town. Except jane took all the money and had to return empty handed - don’t buy fish before a 40min walk in 30C. We drove into town and bought a gilt head bream.

Then, onto Butrint; a City inhabited by Greeks, Romans and Byzantines. The Venetians were also active here but more keen on building churches in the “malarial swamp” than the ancient city. Our plan was to be here early and avoid the coach parties but fishgate scuppered that slightly.

Whatever it’s a relatively well preserved Greco Roman ruin. Its long history led to a chaotic layout and it’s difficult to get a feel for how it worked. Sadly its most interesting features, some large temple mosaics, are preserved under a layer of gravel. You can walk on them but can’t actually see them.

Also it’s on a peninsula so Flynn got to sit in the sea.

Butrint’s preservation was funded in the 90s by a British foundation founded by Lords Rothchild and Sainsbury. Then ask the coaches to move out of our way and across a basic ferry and back up the coast to a wild camping just off or recent route south.

We stopped to survey the site - one review in P4N said it got slippery in rain. It did indeed look quite muddy so we checked the forecast: heavy rain all afternoon :-(

The rain arrived five minutes after we set off again. It was torrential.

We fell back to plan b: return to Camping Apollonia from a few nights ago. Remote, peaceful and definitely north of this band of rain. Except it wasn’t. The rain was pretty torrential so we got more cash and headed to a restaurant we could park at. Actually a winery with a restaurant we could park at. Albanica Winery (///bend.lifesavers.erosions) has level parking next to the cellars and a vineyard full of creatures for Flynn to chase.

Camping is free and the view down to the lagoons at the coast is amazing.

We parked up and sheltered from the rain before going upstairs for a wine tasting and dinner of yummy rolled veal breast. The portions are for sharing and I really wanted to try their home made sausages so they cooked a singlet for me to try.

No terrapins were harmed whilst making this blog post.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[dryad]

So I guess. He killed a squirrel then, or.

You've had difficulty with your sight , or.

Its those card games you bought ( birthday in Morocco) is turning your mind?

or a good night on the vino..
or.......just seeing if we are paying attention..
.

 

[Jane And Rog]

No tortoises were killed! And believe it or not, Flynn wrote that post before any of us had had a single drop to drink!

 

[Riverbankannie]

You certainly manage to pack a lot of experiences into your days!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MartynShaw]

What a busy time you are having!
I see you eating meat very often, how would Albania be for a vegetarian do you think? Or a pescatarian?

 

[Jane And Rog]

What a busy time you are having!
I see you eating meat very often, how would Albania be for a vegetarian do you think? Or a pescatarian?

I think if you were vegetarian but not vegan, you’d manage very well. There’s a lot of fresh cheese, yogurt, salads and bürek made with cheese. Fish / also plenty, but mainly at the coast which we’ve avoided. We have had trout twicd when near a river. Food here seems to be hyperlocal, which is great.

 

[Mikey RV]

The food looks great and the views from campsite.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MartynShaw]

I think if you were vegetarian but not vegan, you’d manage very well. There’s a lot of fresh cheese, yogurt, salads and bürek made with cheese. Fish / also plenty, but mainly at the coast which we’ve avoided. We have had trout twicd when near a river. Food here seems to be hyperlocal, which is great.

Ooo, I do like a cheese pie! Had a few in Corfu.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Ooo, I do like a cheese pie! Had a few in Corfu.

Me too. And most of our lunches have been veggie - the tomatoes are amazing, how they used to taste in France in the seventies.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Hi, I’m Denby. Or rather, that’s what you probably know me as, as that’s what my current inhabitants refer to me as in human-speak. In van-speak, I’m known as “Fiat-Ducato-Adria-Twin-SGX-Supreme-2019-AEX-Orange.” Yes, it’s a mouthful, but either I spend an inordinate amount of time waiting around next to other vans, in which case there’s plenty of time for introductions, or we whizz past each other on the road, in which case it’s usually just “keep on your own side, you jumped-up post van!

Anyway, as even the dog has had a go at blogging, and he’s really, really stupid, I thought I would get my plugs glowed up and contribute something.

Today’s weather has been really wet again, which I’m quite happy about. The two humans spend plenty of money on filling their faces with organic matter, but rarely treat me to a good wash and brush up. Well, the female one is a bit obsessive about my insides, but the male one doesn’t give a toss about my cleanliness, inside or out. At least after two days of rain my windscreens are clear and I’m a nice bright orange again, rather than that Farrow and Ball “Dusty Seville On A Stormy Wednesday” which is what I tend to in southern climes.

Anyway, first thing I took the humans to see St Mary’s Monastery. There were good roads to start with - as I’m sure my fellow vans could guess, I took the SH4 south to just south of Fier, then the A1, which is what these local humans think of as a motorway. Not my idea of one! There are no proper intersections, hard shoulders, or consistent signage - a disgrace, in my opinion. But at least the surface was good. But then, at Vlorë, it all turned pear-shaped - single track, very rough, and the male human kept worrying about his hacky gaffer tape repairs to some piece of plastic in my hold that he seems very attached to.

The dog was not allowed to visit the monastery, so was therefore allowed to swim in the muddy lagoon before being shut up inside me, with the corresponding consequences for my nice, clean interior. She won’t be happy, I thought, but the male seemed oblivious as he locked the dog away.

The humans returned from the monastery talking of priests and candles.

(Jane’s note. In 1967, the communists made all religions completely illegal, and the country was the world’s only official atheist state. Churches and mosques were demolished or turned into sports halls or warehouses. In 1990, with the coming of democracy, this law was lifted, but Albania is still a very secular society. The people we saw at the monastery lighting candles was the first visible signs of religious practice we’ve seen all trip. When we were touring the tunnels in Gjirokasta, our guide said that Albania was the only country in the world where people don’t kill each other over religion. Instead, he said, they kill each other over drugs and money.)

Then it was a few more bumpy tracks until they stopped me outside what I think they call a restaurant. They are like petrol stations, except that whereas I don’t care one jot about what the place looks like as long as it serves diesel at the lowest possible price, they seem to put a ridiculous amount of time into deciding exactly what fuel they want on this particular occasion. And then they have the cheek to complain to high heaven about the cost of my diesel, but I don’t see them drinking any wine that costs £1.39 a litre! Two reasons among many that the internal combustion engine is superior to the animal kingdom. (To be fair to the dog, although he does eat a wide variety of substances, he doesn’t seem to care one bit what they are, and often seems to prefer rotting things that he’s discovered for free, rather than the expensive stuff they try to feed him.)

Anyway, apparently this was a very good restaurant serving fresh fish, and they probably won’t need refuelling until quite late tonight. And I can do 650 miles on a tank if I’m careful!

Then, as it started raining in earnest, I was instructed to return to Apollonia campsite, where I’d spent the night almost a week ago. Good choice - a nice level pitch or gravel, and I’m not crammed next to other vans, some of whose ability to drive in a straight line when leaving is questionable, and leaves me very concerned for my shiny orange paintwork.

The rest of the afternoon was filled by the humans washing their outer coverings and hanging them out to dry in the wind whenever the rain stopped. Why they just don’t stand out there and let the rain do the job, as I do, I have no idea. It would have saved them €6.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gingernuts]

Map showing the campsite, castle & restaurant.

View attachment 767285

By the way, are people enjoying this blog? It doesn’t feel as engaged as Morocco - either Albania is less exciting, more people are off on their own adventures, or we’re not very funny or interesting these days. Probably the latter! I could always leave it and the few who are reading can just sign up to emails from our blog.

Great blog…….love it…… pre retirement travel reading for me

 

[Don Campbell]

Looks like there has been a big hike in prices since we were there about 1 month ago and as for Krk, several people told us to avoid it as it as prices are very high. We didn't go so no actual evidence, but Rab island was great.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Looks like there has been a big hike in prices since we were there about 1 month ago and as for Krk, several people told us to avoid it as it as prices are very high. We didn't go so no actual evidence, but Rab island was great.

It did seem expensive, I agree.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jane And Rog]

We left camping Appolonia for the Karavasta Lagoon and Bird Sanctuary. We explained to Flynn that he wasn’t to eat the pelicans or storks and set off for a walk.

Sadly our way was blocked at about 4km by a broken bridge over the swamp. We returned without seeing any exciting birds in the wild (this also helped Flynn keep his promise not to eat the pelicans).

Despite earlier failures we have cracked the shopping code in Albania. There are quite a few butchers but their hours are irregular and meat is cut to order so point-and-mime doesn’t work. Thanks to Google Translate we bought four chops from a nice lady in Divjake. Google (and my mime - it’s difficult to break that habit) wasn’t precise about the exact type of chop though. I bought four Barnsley chops; effectively double what we need. We also taught each other to count to four in Albanian/English.

Our final night is in Tirana Camping (///pencils.canning.traders) a lovely site in the hills above the capital. The approach is a few km over rutted unpaved track. Every so often there’s a friendly sign to reassure nervous vans that they’re not lost. The location and view are well worth it though.

We cooked the lamb looking over the lake.

 

[Don Campbell]

Is that the Albabian submarine fleet?

 

[Jane And Rog]

After a leisurely start to the day, we drove to Durrës, the port town from which our ferry to Bari in Italy departs.

But that’s at 10pm, so we lucked on some shady parking and visited the amphitheatre. This was built in the early 2nd century AD. The largest in the Balkans, it is elliptical in shape, about 130m at its longest point, with the arena itself measuring about 60m by 40m across. On the terraced seats there would have been room for about 15,000 spectators, about a third of the capacity of the Colosseum in Rome.

When gladiatorial combat was banned in the 5th century, the amphitheatre took on a new life. The arena became a cemetery and small chapels were created in the galleries. One of these has 10th-century mosaics of saints and archangels on the walls, which are the only wall mosaics ever found in Albania.

Big the amphitheatre may have been, but the crumbling brickwork did not awe us, and with the thought of Flynn back in the van, we hurried to rescue him.

We mooched round the town a little, viewing the Byzantine walls and gate (about 500AD).

It was getting hot, and after Flynn had cooled down in the sea, we stopped for a very good “Farewell to Albania” lunch at “Gusto di Mare & Sushi Time” (umbrella.plank.nerves).

First a massive platter of raw seafood, then a prawn & langoustine risotto that turned out to be stuffed full of the eponymous langoustines, rather than the usual one or two you get to decorate the plate. Copious beer and wine, and €60 the lot - very good value if you want a splurge.

Back at the car park, the sun had moved overhead and it was quite toasty inside Denby!

We then moved over to the port for a dreary evening of waiting, followed by more waiting, followed by even more waiting. The terminal ticket office that was supposed to open at 4pm actually opened at 6pm, and the port itself was also two hours late letting us through to the customs check.

We had a cursory screening - where had we been in Albania? did we have any Albanian friends?

Then we drove to just outside the ferry itself and joined an ever-growing car-park of vehicles, waiting until well past our 10pm departure time, while all the freight was loaded.

We realised later that, as the ferry is last on first off, all the lorry drivers were engaging in brinksmanship, and turning up as close to 10pm as possible - and in some cases later.

Finally we were on, and efficiently collected our key to our 4 berth inside cabin - the only dog-friendly cabin on board. To our surprise, it had an en-suite bathroom complete with shower! Rog and I took a lower bunk each and Flynn was (mostly) persuaded to sleep on the floor, as the ladder to the top bunk was a little too difficult without opposable thumbs.

Now all we had to do was re-enter the EU with Flynn. Should be straight-forward, after Moricco, we thought. Not so, Blackadder!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gingernuts]

After a leisurely start to the day, we drove to Durrës, the port town from which our ferry to Bari in Italy departs.

But that’s at 10pm, so we lucked on some shady parking and visited the amphitheatre. This was built in the early 2nd century AD. The largest in the Balkans, it is elliptical in shape, about 130m at its longest point, with the arena itself measuring about 60m by 40m across. On the terraced seats there would have been room for about 15,000 spectators, about a third of the capacity of the Colosseum in Rome.

View attachment 771661

When gladiatorial combat was banned in the 5th century, the amphitheatre took on a new life. The arena became a cemetery and small chapels were created in the galleries. One of these has 10th-century mosaics of saints and archangels on the walls, which are the only wall mosaics ever found in Albania.

View attachment 771662

Big the amphitheatre may have been, but the crumbling brickwork did not awe us, and with the thought of Flynn back in the van, we hurried to rescue him.

We mooched round the town a little, viewing the Byzantine walls and gate (about 500AD).

View attachment 771663

It was getting hot, and after Flynn had cooled down in the sea, we stopped for a very good “Farewell to Albania” lunch at “Gusto di Mare & Sushi Time” (umbrella.plank.nerves).

View attachment 771664

First a massive platter of raw seafood, then a prawn & langoustine risotto that turned out to be stuffed full of the eponymous langoustines, rather than the usual one or two you get to decorate the plate. Copious beer and wine, and €60 the lot - very good value if you want a splurge.

View attachment 771665

View attachment 771666

Back at the car park, the sun had moved overhead and it was quite toasty inside Denby!


View attachment 771667

We then moved over to the port for a dreary evening of waiting, followed by more waiting, followed by even more waiting. The terminal ticket office that was supposed to open at 4pm actually opened at 6pm, and the port itself was also two hours late letting us through to the customs check.

View attachment 771693

We had a cursory screening - where had we been in Albania? did we have any Albanian friends?

View attachment 771699

Then we drove to just outside the ferry itself and joined an ever-growing car-park of vehicles, waiting until well past our 10pm departure time, while all the freight was loaded.

View attachment 771696

We realised later that, as the ferry is last on first off, all the lorry drivers were engaging in brinksmanship, and turning up as close to 10pm as possible - and in some cases later.
Finally we were on, and efficiently collected our key to our 4 berth inside cabin - the only dog-friendly cabin on board. To our surprise, it had an en-suite bathroom complete with shower! Rog and I took a lower bunk each and Flynn was (mostly) persuaded to sleep on the floor, as the ladder to the top bunk was a little too difficult without opposable thumbs.

View attachment 771697

Loving the blog
Been looking for a digital thermometer for my van, can you remember where you got it?
Alex aka gingernuts

 

[Jane And Rog]

It’s this one. Even got dunked in water, so I separated it from its batteries and left it a couple of weeks and it was fine!

Amazon product ASIN B08CRV3XXV

 

[Gingernuts]

It’s this one. Even got dunked in water, so I separated it from its batteries and left it a couple of weeks and it was fine!

Amazon product ASIN B08CRV3XXV

Thank you just ordered one

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}