Trail Tales: October 2013

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Albania 24Aug-14Sep13

My 5^th trip to the Republic of Albania was definitely my favorite. This was the first time I have been there in warm weather; it’s always been winter on my previous visits. I spent a lot of time with old friends and made some new ones. The food was fantastic like always as everything is fresh, no preservatives there. The funniest thing that happened was on the third night I was eating at a Mexican restaurant, in Albania, in August, listening to American Christmas music. You just can’t make that up!

I had the opportunity to hike a few beautiful mountains: Maja e Gamtit (4131 feet), Maja e Brarit (4072 feet), and Maja e Dajtit (5292 feet). Maja e Dajtit offers panoramic views of the capital city, Tirana. I saw the ruins of Shen Mari (St. Mary's Church) in the village of Shemine on the way up. On the Dajti Plateau, I visited the ruins of the Ish Kampi i Pionerëve (Former Military Youth Camp) used during Communist times. A little further south I met the owners of the Foresta Bar, Hotel, and Restaurant. Using my limited Albanian language and hand signals, I was able to communicate with the elderly couple who led me to the trail head that leads to both peaks. The trail starts behind their home, climbs approximately 1000 feet and then splits in two toward each peak. After hiking around the area, I spent a couple hours enjoying some local beers (Korca) and fresh berries from behind their house.

I also visited the beautiful Kalaja e Rozafas in Shkodra District, Northwest Albania near the Montenegro border. Rozafa Castle dates back to antiquity. It was built by the Illyrians, and eventually captured by Romans in 167 BC. The only bad thing was that my sunglasses fell off my head when I leaned over the castle wall and was hit by a strong gust of wind blowing up the steep hill. The good thing is it gave me a reason to run up the steep face to find them. Mission accomplished, not only did I find my glasses but I found someone else’s too which I gave to my friend Dashi. The castle offers beautiful views of Liqeni I Shkodres (Lake Shkodra), the Buna River valley, and Hxamia e Plumbit (Lead Mosque) built in the early 1700s that now sits unused and at times underwater during flood season. After visiting the city of Shkodra, we had a great lunch in the village of Shiroke where we ate Krap (a type of carp only found in this lake) and buke misri (traditional corn bread slow-baked like a cake) along with more local beer and wines.