Day 82 : Albanian Riviera

Today will be a long drive round the coast of Albania Riviera. 

We left at 9am from Vlorë with the intention to take the Vlorë Bypass towards Orikum and then from there continue on towards Ksamil as the final destination.

The view from Vlorë Bypass was really scenic and from a view point, we were able to see the entire city of Vlorë below us.

Unfortunately we couldn't read the signs which indicated that the road ahead on the Bypass was closed, so we had to turn around mid way and travel along the coast instead. This put us back by 45 mins.

The ride along the Albanian Riviera Coast was very scenic with the sea on the side and travelling through mountain roads, including the Llogara Mountain Pass.

Our first main stop was Drimdhë Beach (including some house hunting),
followed by Dhërmiu Beach, before heading to Livade Beach which came highly recommended by Suela Bako and Romir Zalla.

We then made our way to Spille Beach in Himare. The water here was sooooo clear!

Lunch stop was along the way in Himare at Taverna Stolis where we had a Grilled Octopus, Stuffed Eggplant and Seafood Linguine.

We continued our way at 2.15pm, and made a quick stop at the Ali Pasha Castle. 

We weren't planning to go inside as we wanted to reach Ksamil before sunset. There was also a cost of LEK 300 to enter.

The castle warden was there and I think he felt bored, so he invited us into the inner entrance to have a look. It looked really well preserved.

We then continued our way, but not without slowing down for numerous traffic situation ranging from cows, horses, sheeps and donkey. 

We drove past Ujëvara e Borshit Bar Ristorante when Clemens pulled to a stop. Water was running from below the building and as we walked to the back of the building, there was a number of beautifully landscaped waterfalls - Water from the springs in the mountains running through the building!

We stayed for a coffee and a raki before continuing our way, and arriving at our accomodation in Ksamil just before 5pm, but not before finding a weird obstacle in the middle of the road. 

Our apartment was a row of 3 duplexes built next to each other, and we had booked 2 of them for our stay for the next 2 nights.

According to the manager of the apartments, restaurants in Ksamil are closed this time of the year.

He recommended us a seafood restaurant in Sarande, which also sells seafood on site - Taverna Fish Filipi.

We ordered a fish soup, mixed seafood crudo, seafood linguine and a Grilled Cod. We may have ordered a little too much food as we struggled to finish our dinner. The food was OK, but we had better in other places. 

We were also given complimentary desserts.

Extremely stuffed after the meal!

Day 81 : Goodbye Tirana, Hello Albania Coast

I thought I had covered almost everything in Tirana but I was still surprised there was more to see as we did a last exploration in Tirana. While walking in the city, we came across this bizarre "disinfectant tunnel".

Seeing this made me think of the gas chambers that the Jews had to go through during Hitler times. 

We then head over to the roof top bar at The Plaza Hotel to see the view of the city, even though it was slightly obstructed. 

We next headed to Blloku to check our the funny street signs. 

How cute can these be? 

Do you have a favourite yet? 

We also went by the stadium to see if the vaccination centre is open, as we tried yesterday and we were told that when it was too cold, they are not open. 

Turns out today is my lucky day, as the vaccination centre is open. There were only 2 other people in front of me, and while in the queue to register for my booster vaccination shot in the most unexpected place, a film crew showed up while I was there. 

The Vaccination Centre is at the new stadium in the city. I asked them if this means that the stadium is not in use and I was told that they are closed on Mondays and on days when a game is happening. There's one happening in 2 days time. 

After getting registered, I was brought inside the stadium to a desk to get my shot, which went through very quickly with little pain. The film crew was actually on the side recording while I was taking my shot. Looks like I will be in Albanian TV very soon 😂

I then had to go to the "bar counter" and wait briefly to get my vaccination cert. They took my printed German ones, as they said they had to keep it. 

It was funny to see that the staff had repurposed all the Coca Cola chillers to store all the papers that was used to register the individuals that had showed up for the vaccination. 

We finally managed to leave Tirana at about 12 noon, but not before popping by a BBQ lamb shop to get a snack for Clemens. 

This became his pit stop snack when we tried to see if we can pop into the grand building in the middle of the highway, which we later found out was called Hotel Amadeus Palace - it started construction in 2015, but till now has yet to be completed. Some parts were already left in shambles when we were there. 

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to go in. 

We went through the beach town of Golem where we saw a resort with 2 bunkers on the outside.

It's nice to see how bunkers had been incorporated into some buildings

Also on the same beach was this building Resort Kamelia Hotel.... The bottom 20 storeys had been in use for some time, and the upper floors of about another 10 was later added on. I don't know how structurally sound this building is, but there was an earthquake here a few years back and a couple of buildings got damaged in it.

I certainly wouldn't want to be in this building if an earthquake happens

We also popped into a supermarket while in the town of Golem and the cheese display was really wide - I won't be able to tell the difference among the cheese. 

We then made our way to Zvërnec Island and made it by 3.30pm, with just enough light to explore before sun sets. 

There is a monastery on the island which can only be reached by crossing a very long bridge on a lake by foot. Super serene and peaceful. With very little tourists it's nice to be able to appreciate the sight better, than possibly in summer with too many people on the bridge. 

We finally arrived at our accomodation in Vlorë, a beautifully decorated apartment with a seaview and extremely comfortable. 

Super cheap too for a 2 bedroom apartment with beds for 6 people easily, at Euro 35 per night. 

We wanted to make full use of time. Without unpacking, we headed out to check out the town of Vlorë, a famous beach side town in Albania Riviera. 

It was about sunset when we started to explore, and we also saw this lighted piece of art in the middle of the city. Love the jelly fish! 

We then walked through the Old Town and found a Komiteiti here too and had to stop for a raki cocktail. 

And then dinner at Restorant San Giorgio for fish soup, Sea Urchin Spaghetti and Raki for me, and a complimentary lime sorbet.