The Treasures of Southern Albania

The last time we were in Albania was 2019 and unfortunately did not spend any time in the southern part.  We came into the port of Saranda, dropped anchor, checked out of Albania, and left bright and early the next morning for Greece.  This time, we decided to spend some quality time in this beautiful town.  It is a short hop from Corfu town, Greece to Saranda in Albania (3 hours).  After running the gauntlet of formalities in Greece, we were underway by 11:30 a.m.  We arrived in Saranda several hours later where we were greeted by our favorite agent, and she quickly handled all our formalities for us…..man, I love Albania!  Not only that, she directed us to the one mooring ball in the bay, told us there was no charge, and we could stay as long as we wanted!  We quickly got the lay of the land along with a multitude of suggested sites to visit and places to go eat.  We arranged for a car the next morning and were super excited for a full day of new adventures!  

Our journey since launch in Preveza. Stops at Two Rock Bay (mainland), Notos (Corfu) and Corfu old town on the way to Sarande, Albania
Tied to a mooring ball in Sarande bay, Albania

That evening we headed off to an authentic Albanian restaurant with very high reviews.  The place was unique in that there was no menu.  The sign at the door stated that you needed to be willing to eat the house preparations of the day.  Why not?!?!  The restaurant was owned and run by a young man named Leo who prided himself on home grown, organic ingredients prepared fresh daily.  We were treated to 14 small plates that offered up amazing and unique flavors of both Albania and Greece.  We then had a baked cheese with marmalade and a spinach Burek….both also very tasty.  We were then given a choice between fish, chicken or pork.  Dan opted for the fish, and I decided to try the pork.  As expected, the dishes were delicious, and the house made wine was also very tasty.  We were then treated to a complimentary dessert unlike anything we have ever had before.  The owner spent a great deal of time talking with us and sharing his background and the building of his special restaurant.  It really was one of the best experiences we have had in a very long time.

Oda e babes – a small restaurant that has a fixed menu of 14 Albanian appetizers. Yum!
Leo, the owner and chef took a selfie with us. He was very friendly and proud of his culinary creations

We got an early start the next morning in order to see as many sights as possible while we had the rental car.  Our first stop was Butrint National Park.  This is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country of Albania. The ruins are nestled into the forest with unusual pockets of water throughout the site.  Butrint was known for being one of the finest and most beautiful cities in the Roman Empire.  There is a picturesque lagoon and high mountains surrounding this park.  We spent two hours wandering this amazing piece of history.  As always, I will let the photographs tell the story.  Fortunately, we made sure to arrive early and often had many of the sites to ourselves.  By the time we left a few hours later, the hordes of tourists from the cruise ships had descended on this magical place.  We were very grateful to have had the peace and solitude to absorb the magnitude of Butrint.

Butrint, an ancient Roman settlement
Exploring the ruins
The grounds were very pretty
Mosaic from antiquity
Ruins of a temple
Roman theater
Original cup holder?
Oh hey!
We enjoyed wandering the grounds and exploring
Freed slaves would have their legal release inscribed for all to see on the walls.
A church was built at the settlement during later stages of the Roman settlement
Castle keep at the top of the hill
A Roman sculpture found on the grounds.
Fortress wall down to Lake Butrint
A gate in the fortress wall. Made small so that it’s easier to defend.
The grounds were filled with ruins

Our next stop was a site known as the Blue-Eye Spring.  After finding a parking spot (it was remarkably crowded), we set off on foot for about 3/4 of a mile up and down the winding road until we got to a path that followed a beautiful light blue river through lush, dense forest.  There is a platform built over the Blue-Eye to give you a better view.  This has become a very popular spot for people to jump into the icy blue hole.  The Blue-Eye is a spring which sends bubbly water up from more than 50 meters of depth (over 150 ft.).  We were told that they don’t know the actual depth because they have not been able to map it any deeper.  The water is crystal clear and icy cold (not that we went in it, but I trust what was written on the sign!).

The “Blue Eye” of Albania. A fresh water spring that flows so hard they can’t measure the depth
The blue eye – 18,400 liters a second of water!
The hike to and from was very scenic

From the Blue-Eye, we had a long and winding drive far up into the mountain region called Gjirokastra.  The drive was over an hour (and sometimes a little hairy with narrow roads and plunging cliffs devoid of guard rails), but the views were spectacular!  Not only that but some seriously wicked thunderstorms were brewing.  We parked our car and started up the roadway into this beautiful little town.  It reminded me of something you might encounter in the Swiss Alps.  The cobblestone streets were lined with all kinds of merchants, cafes and restaurants which we quickly passed by on our mission to get to the castle at the top of the mountain.  It was a long, steep, winding roadway to the very top where we were eventually greeted by the sweet, cold air in the castle entrance.  It always amazes me how hot it can be outside and how shockingly chilly it is within the castle walls.  The castle of Gjirokastra was built in the 4th century A.D., and was by far the most intact castle that we have seen.  It is also the biggest castle in Albania.  Gjirokastra is known as the “Stone City” since all the streets, homes and the bazaar are built of stone.

The town of Gjrokastra
Lovely cobblestoned streets to explore
The town was lined with restaurants and local artisan markets

When you enter the castle, you are greeted by a huge arsenal of weaponry ranging from prehistoric times up until WWII.  After leaving the weapons hall (considered the weapons museum), we wandered through the various rooms of the castle.  Much of it is kept in it’s natural state, as there was no lightening in many of the underground rooms (such as the prison cells).  We did our best to explore all of them but some became a little bit hazardous with only the light of our phone flashlight to illuminate our path.  By the time, we finished exploring the castle, the storm I mentioned earlier had made it’s way overhead.  The wind kicked up violently along with thunder and lightning.  Time to go.  We decided to take the more direct route down, a path through the forest with lots of stairs.  Needless to say, we hustled.  We also raced through the bazaar as rain and hail had begun to fall.  Since we were still pretty far from the car and hadn’t eaten yet today, we ducked into a small restaurant to enjoy some more Albanian food.  We enjoyed a very tasty lunch while the storm raged outside.  By the time we were finished, the storm had died off to a light rain, so we did a little shopping at the bazaar before heading to the car.  By the time we returned to Saranda, we had logged over 8 miles of walking and 22 flights of stairs.  We definitely felt our busy day and were pleasantly exhausted.  We returned the car and headed back to the boat for a relaxing evening.  

The castle’s artillery museum
Monument to soldiers from a bygone era
The castle keep, high on a hill overlooking the valley
Cold war story of an American fighter jet that was either shot down or ran out of fuel and landed in Albania. Story depends on the side who is telling it!
The US Air Force plane on display
Wandering the large castle grounds
Thunderstorm incoming!
Great meal while waiting for the storm to pass. Tave Kose (Lamb in Yogurt) with some appetizers. Tasty!

After taking the next day off, we decided to rent a car once again and head off in a different direction.  This time we made an hour drive down the coastline to a town called Porto Palermo.  Dan had been communicating through one of his Facebook groups with a couple from the U.S. anchored in the bay here, so we decided to meet up in person.  After a quick exploration of another awesome castle (Albania has no shortage of castles), we met our new friends for coffee and the chance to swap stories.  Meeting up with other cruisers is also an awesome way to find the best places to go and things to do (not to mention critical things such as where to anchor and safe places to leave your dinghy).  Soon it was time to head back towards Saranda.  This night, we had a reservation outside of town at a place called “The Mussel House.”  This was another highly reviewed restaurant on Lake Butrint where they raise and harvest their own mussels.  They are the biggest mussel distributor in Albania and are said to have the finest mussels around.  We had booked a private tour which took us out on a motorboat where we learned how the mussels are grown and harvested.  At one point, our guide pulled up a net of growing mussels and plucked a couple off which he then pried open with a knife.  We were handed the mussel and told to enjoy.  As soon as I had mine in hand, I felt a little squeamish.  I don’t eat raw oysters for a reason!  What am I going to do?  I can’t offend our hosts who are eagerly anticipating my thorough enjoyment of their highly touted mussels.  I popped it into my mouth where I was instantly greeted by the taste of salt water (yuck), then came the slimy texture.  Everything in my mouth and throat immediately shut down in protest.  I tried to bite into it, quickly realizing it was alive, and did they only thing I could….I swallowed it whole.  Needless to say, I did NOT enjoy the raw mussel and apologized profusely.  They of course laughed at my facial antics.  When we returned to the dock, our tour included freshly cooked mussels and wine.  Now, we are talking.  The mussels were fabulous!  Another great Albanian experience.

Porto Palermo castle
This was the home fortress for Ali Pasha (pictured on left) who was much feared when he ruled
Top of the castle overlooking the bay. Our new friend’s yacht is in the background on the right
Touring a mussel farm on Lake Butrint. They have a reputation for being the best tasting mussels in all of Albania. They call them the “Queen Mussels’
Our boat captain pulling up a mussel net to show us how they grow
He then pulled one off and shucked it for us
MMMM….raw and very fresh Albanian mussel straight from the lake
Robyn’s turn.. She ate it! A little reluctantly but no international incident!
After the tour, we had a huge bowl of the Mussels prepared in olive oil and wine. They were so good!

Saranda is a very busy beach town with a number of “pirate ships” that take tourists out.  They love to pass by our boat, very close, with their club music blasting.  This goes on very late into the night (or should I say, wee hours of the morning)at which time they are brightly lit up in an array of colors.  The clubs onshore also have their music blasting which is periodically punctuated by the minarets exotically chanting their call to prayer throughout the day and evening.  It’s a very exotic experience here in Saranda, with a cacophony of sights and sounds, and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here (pretty obvious since we have been here a week!).  It is now Father’s Day, and we are killing time until our departure this evening for Italy.  We will leave Albania tonight around 5 p.m and arrive in Otronto, Italy tomorrow morning around 6 a.m.  Stay tuned for more fun as we make our way around the coast of Italy and Sicily.

This is what visiting by boat in a beach town looks like in Summer.

The 2022 Sailing Season Has Arrived

It’s hard to believe that it has been over 7 months since we left Zoe behind in Greece.  Despite being away for so long, those months did not go by quietly or uneventfully (would you have expected anything less?! Haha).  Here is a quick recap of our off season.  After spending a month and a half back in Phoenix, we headed to Maui for the months of December and January.  Although it was extremely hard being away from family for the holidays, it was a good plan since we no longer had a house to return to in Phoenix (we sold it last April to build new).  In February, we celebrated the marriage of my beautiful daughter Shawn to Mark.  In March, we celebrated our grandson’s 2nd birthday on a wonderful, full family camping trip (family on both sides of the family were there).  In the late hours of the last night, our kids burst into our tent to share the news that my son Ryan had proposed to Samantha (parents of our grandson).  It truly was an exciting and eventful weekend!  In April, Dan and I decided to do a 5 week trip to Australia (which had just opened up to tourists after 2 years of Covid lockdown).  You can read about that amazing adventure in a previous blog post.  When May arrived, we celebrated Dan’s son Jacob’s graduation from Northern Arizona University (woo hoo….all kids are through college)!  We also had the pleasure of celebrating my beautiful niece Carolyn’s graduation, and her wedding to Nathan.  This was a spectacular Romanian wedding, and like nothing we have ever experienced.  It also gave us the opportunity to see friends and family that we haven’t seen in many years.  And a final shout out to my son Richard (hired as a Delta pilot) and nephew Jason (hired as an Envoy/American pilot).  Eventful, right???

Shawn and Mark tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in Phoenix. Yes that’s what February looks like here!
The new engaged happy couple!
Jacob graduated…last child through school!

On May 24th, we made it back to Zoe!  We were thrilled to be back but dreading the amount of work that lay ahead of us.  We weren’t scheduled to launch for a week, so we had plenty of time to get everything done but living on the hard is not a lot of fun (much more challenging than living in the water).  We have definitely become more proficient at getting the boat in order as it only took us a few days to get her put back together and livable.  One of our favorite tasks is a visit to this very large and colorful roadside farmer’s market.  Here we loaded up with tons of delicious, locally grown vegetables and homemade products.  We also made a trip to the hardware store for a few items including a fly swatter.  I asked the clerk, but he had no clue what I was talking about.  So, I put my fingers together, made a buzzing sound while fluttering my fingers and then took my other hand and went “WAP”!  He busted up laughing but now understood what I was looking for!  It’s always an adventure shopping in foreign places, and we always get a kick out trying to figure it all out and communicate effectively.

Launch day is finally here…

Unfortunately, despite having our boat for over 7 months, the yard did not do any of our service work until the day before and the day of launch.  Of course, everyone showed up at the same time and chaos ensued!  In the end, Zoe looked beautiful and went back into the water without a hitch.  We spent two nights side tied to the marina quay trying to get our insurance sorted out.  Apparently, Greece was now requiring a large liability policy in addition to our normal insurance, so Dan was sent scrambling trying to find coverage before we set sail (get caught without it and big fines are involved).  We did end up finding coverage out of the UK.  Unfortunately, they were closing for a 4 day weekend to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, so we were stuck for at least another week.

Zoe looking good in her element.

Our second night on the dock, we were startled awake at 4:00 a.m. by this loud thumping on the boat.  My immediate thought was that someone had climbed onto our boat.  Dan got up and looked around, but there was no one.  As we lay in bed, the sound got more intense.  Dan said, “it’s probably just a fish slapping the hull”.  In my head I said, “that’s gotta be a pretty big ass fish”!  The sound continued to get louder and more frenetic, so we both jumped up and went out on deck.  The sea was boiling with these 6 inch fish going absolutely crazy.  They were leaping out of the water and on to the dock where they were flopping around helplessly.  Dan jumped down off the boat and started flipping them back into the water.  It was the craziest thing we’ve ever seen.  We found out from the marinero the next morning that they were being hunted by some very large amberjack.  They basically herd them creating this disorganized chaos.  Apparently  some of the seagulls got in on the action, plucking fish off the dock.  What a crazy night!

Post launch celebration, taverna style
We moved to the anchorage next to the marina and had our first grill of the season

After a week on the hard, 2 nights on the marina wall, and one night on anchor in the bay next to the marina, we decided to just take our chances with the insurance.  Worst case, we had the emails showing that we would have the coverage just not the official paperwork until the Tuesday after the Queen’s Jubilee.  So, we set sail for one of our favorite bays to while away a few days.  We timed our arrival in Two Rock Bay for Friday knowing that charter boats (which usually swarm here) would need to be back to base, and the bay should be pretty wide open.  It was, and we landed a gorgeous spot near the cliffs in pristine sand.  We were quickly greeted by my little fish friends who love to hang out around the boat waiting for handouts.  We also had our first swim of the season.  It was a little chilly but well worth it.  

Back to the serene Two Rock Bay as we work our way north
We anchored in 2 meters (a little over 6 feet) of water – the bottom looks like you can touch it!
The two rocks that give the bay it’s name

After several days in the bay, it was time to get moving again (and no, still no insurance paperwork yet).  We headed to another of our favorite bays, Petriti on the island of Corfu.  This turned out to be a very good decision since it wasn’t more than a few days before the mother of all storms blew through (at least from our personal experiences).  By the time the forecasts showed the magnitude, and the news stations actually gave the storm a name, it was too late for us to duck into a marina.  Greece does not have a lot of marinas to begin with, and one of our two options is a charter base making it impossible to get a spot on Fridays since the charter boats are due back.  This meant riding it out on the water and trusting our anchor (and my anchoring skills….which have come a long way, by the way!).   Not to toot my own horn, but I have become eagle-eyed at picking out the sand spots and highly adept at landing the anchor and setting it in a small sand spot surrounded by weed and/or rock (weed and rock are not your friend when anchoring).  Okay, I guess I tooted.  Never mind I’ve probably pissed off the sea gods now!  I take it back, I take it back!

Anchoring out means a never ending search for a place to park the dinghy. Even if the dock is rusty, decrepit and bird poop stained!

We had already prepped the boat earlier in the evening by letting out a lot more anchor chain and stowing everything that could blow away or come crashing down.   It wasn’t long before the wind started kicking up, so from 2:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m I stayed up in the salon keeping an eye on things.  We had already been through 33 knots of gusts the day before, and nothing was approaching that, so I headed down to bed.  At 9:00 a.m., I heard the wind kicking up yet again (another one of my superpowers 🤣)and told Dan that it was time to get up, the storm was here.  Within a half hour, the wind was howling, rain pouring, hail, and thunder and lightning simultaneously.  Every year, we get hit with a storm, and I foolishly think it’s the scariest storm I have ever been in on the boat.  Every year, I am proven wrong!  We managed to come through the storm completely unscathed (at least physically…..not so sure about mentally!).  The rest of the day was calm but rainy.  Just when we thought we were in for a nice, peaceful evening, the wind switched direction.  Before we knew it, the boat was bucking like a bronco from a large swell.  We watched the shoreline behind us soar up 4-5 feet and then disappear completely.  Luckily, we don’t get seasick, but it was violent enough to make us both incredibly dizzy.  Fortunately, it was over after a few hours.  Ahh, the joys of sailing.

Ominous warning!
The biblically named Storm Genesis. Forty knots of wind, hail, lightning and thunder!

Since our plan is to head over to Italy and then Sicily, we decided it was time to get moving north again (and no, we STILL don’t have our insurance sorted out!  Now, just to be clear, our umbrella policy in America covers the boat’s liability requirements but try explaining that to a Greek official).  The winds in the channel between Greece and Italy can get very interesting, so we have been carefully watching the forecasts to find our best window (this will require an overnight passage….my favorite….not).  We decided to spend a couple days anchored off the castle wall in Corfu town since this is where we will need to check out of the country and take care of formalities.  If you followed our blog last year, then you know that we are in the same spot as last year where we witnessed two deaths in the same day (one a drowning and one a suicide by jumping from the castle wall).  Needless to say, we still feel scarred from that experience and don’t find the same degree of joy in this spot anymore.  We also found this spot incredibly crowded this year (after we anchored, of course).  We had two boats that anchored way too close (one had to pull up chain to keep from hitting us when he swung around!)  Yeah, definitely time to go!  

Corfu Old Fortress
This anchorage is very atmospheric
Wandering the New Fortress in Corfu

We only spent 2 nights here which is unusual for us, but between playing bumper boats and the hordes of people in town (the cruise ships are back in full swing!), we were ready to go.  Our last night, we spent a fun evening with some new friends from the UK who happened to be on a boat like ours before checking out of Greece the following morning.  From there, we had a 3 hour sail (more like motor) to Sarande, Albania.  Stay tuned for some new adventures (finally!) from this beautiful country!

Heading north to Albania!