A Real Update

When reading over my blog posts I'm finding that they're really depressing. It's been easy to point out the flaws of this country I'm living in and I've felt at times that there is little to look forward to. Progress at my job is stalemate. Finding more opportunities to do something have been slow going. The weather has been cold and my house has been colder. I truthfully have been blue.

But there must be something positive to come of this. Right?

Spring is coming and things are looking up. Cats are mating, flowers are growing, and it's sunny and getting warmer. I went to an Outdoor Ambassadors conference recently in Elbasan and led a session on brainstorming. But also had a chance for some sharing of woes conversation with fellow volunteers and great Greek food. I'm slowly trying to get better at my job of being secretary of the committee, spicing up the newsletter a bit. Been discussing with fellow committee members on opportunities for the Anti Trafficking in Persons committee and reaching out to organizations to gain a partnership. We're hoping to have a fundraiser for an awareness campaign for one of these groups as a gala in Gjirokaster. Many pins I'm making on pinterest are related to finding ways we can use trash to make decorations for the event.

Tomorrow I'm going to go a friends in Permet and check out her site, which is located in the valley of a beautiful mountain range and then will be going North to Korca to another friends place. The road there is through the mountains and very picturesque. I'm going up there for the Close of Service conference where I will sadly be seeing some friends I've made for the last time in Albania. But I'm looking forward to the new group coming in March and moving into being their mentors. There's a party up in Peshkopi in March and hopefully Alana will get together a little football and bbq down here with me in April too. Some of the best parts of PC really is being with these interesting unique, high achieving people.

And even in my down times, I've been spending a lot of time with my boyfriend Ryan. He's always perky and entertaining and brings me back around to the good. He's a great partner in the kitchen, teammate in Risk (not!), opponent in tetris battle, shoulder to cry on, lender of support, and goofy loveable guy. Would have been a cold and bleak winter without him.

It's interesting how, before PC the volume of work I used to get done was about ten times more. Now, a productive day is getting out some emails or talking to one person or getting the girl I tutor to actually have our regular session. Simply making a decent supper or scoring a hard to find grocery item is success. It's a different pace of life that has taken time to get used to. But if seeing new things, spending time with great people, and being challenged harder then ever before in my life is success.. then this is it. 

Just another day in Albania.

2-21-12
The sun was shining and we were preparing to enjoy the bumpy ride to Saranda to fetch a package from home. Little boys in the bus were lightly quarreling, pulling each others coats, and slapping each other on the head as we wait to leave town. Providing more entertainment then concern, as their rambunctiousness as they travel alone on public transportation between neighboring towns is quite normal.

The sun glinted brightly off the sea as we came around the corner near the foot of the hill of the monastery ruins. Here we were greeted by two high school age boys joyfully playing with a hawk they had captured, swinging it around by it's wing before throwing it to the ground where the dog they were with ferociously tore into its heads. Momentarily all eyes of the bus passengers were on this scene and then we silently, with little more then my own gasp, continued along.

Nearing the turn off to the main road a frequent stop, as it is also the intersection for villagers traveling East, I at the last moment glanced to see the new attraction of the young devious boys sitting in the seat ahead of me. Coming up from being face first down a man was being helped by his friend. Another man had already darted across the street in front of the bus and jumped on. Despite the cries of the people for taking the man to the hospital, we traveled on leaving behind the man who once turned I saw had a large gaping bloody gash on his forehead and stumbled towards us. Possibly intoxicated, as drinking raki (The equivalent of which in the US is moonshine.) throughout the day in lokals is normal. We left that man behind, and the driver called out that he wasn't a taxi.

We headed home after a short shopping trip, a quick soup and salad meal on the sea, planning of our spinach feta casserole dinner, and reading of the troubles and interests of those across the ocean in our homeland. Ten people packed into the furgon and we picked up two drunk guards along the way. Just another day in Albania.

Traveling in Albania

Ksamil

I’ve spoken with people that have voiced an interest in visiting Albania. I really do suggest it. I may complain heavily about this country, but at the right time of the year and for a short spurt, this would be an amazing adventure. Understandably, people are different types of travelers with different budgets and to accommodate this I’m going to give some suggestions and scenarios. Hopefully this can be a useful guide for making any plans for your travels in Albania.

Furgon

First thing you must decide is how you wish to travel. If you’re young and spry (or at least you are at heart) then you can travel through public transportation easily. The maze of public transportation becomes more understandable with some assistance. And if you're really really ambitious, hitch hiking is fairly easy and quite fun sometimes. Never do it alone, especially women. I have had occurrences of inappropriate propositions.

But for public transportation, often other volunteers communicate amongst themselves to verify prices, locations of pickups, methods of getting connections from here to there, even connections to a reliable furgon or bus driver. If you desire, we have a Google document where we share the times of public transportation and pick-up points, this is by far the best compilation of all this information. Linking up with other volunteers can also be done through couchsurfing.org, there are many of us on there and if you hop between the homes we can help you connect with other volunteers that can show you around their sites and be your personal tour guide (Note, obviously not all volunteers want to do this and sometimes I don't even.)

Sometimes you have to stop for a herd of sheep.

The positives of public transportation are that it’s extremely cheap. A round trip from my site to Tirana is 1300 lek = $13. It's about 300 km = 185 miles, half the length of the country. So it’s extremely affordable, and also gives you a more authentic sense of Albania.

The negatives are that it’s not always easy, as I said before unless you are in the know it can be difficult. However, that’s only sometimes. Sometimes you can easily get from here to there by playing the “I speak English and please help me get there” and a nice bus driver assistant will sit down you in a chair and let you know when to get off and where to stand to get another form of transportation and talk to the next driver about your need to get wherever you’re headed next. I find this especially true in the summer time.

Also, the road is rough and it is completely common for people to get sick on the bus. I usually try to sit by myself and avoid getting near the person eating something. I get an upset stomach sometimes but have not gotten sick yet, but very often someone will be getting sick on your bus. During certain times of the year there are also obnoxious amounts of people that will be crammed into the bus or furgon, and I mean far more people then there are seat belts (Not that anyone uses seat belts ever, anyway. Albanians seem to feel uneasy if you're using them.). Generally, obvious tourists are spared the need to stand during the ride or sitting on a plastic stool in the aisle, but it happens.

Tirana

There are usually breaks on long trips. We (PCVs) call these pilaf stops, it’s a preordained location where everyone gets off and goes in for a bit to eat, coffee, and/or use the restroom (which are usually squat toilets in the South). Sometimes these are natural water source locations and people will refill bottles. For travelers I would say do so at your own risk of giardia.  The menu is pretty much the same everywhere you go (and this isn't just pilaf stops, this is almost every mom and pop restaurant in the country); your options will be pilaf, a dish of kos (which is yogurt but often sour), tasqepab (meat in a greasy red colored meat broth), and sometimes salat or other soups.

Taking a combination of publication and private transportation is possible. I’ve known of people willing to pay 100 euro (~ $125) to get themselves halfway across the country with a taxi driver. Renting a car is possible as well, Hertz is available from the airport. But it's quite expensive, I've heard $260 for 3 days from one friend, the most expensive in the world, probably. Taking a taxi or the bus from the airport into town will get you where you need to go to rent something much cheaper, (I can find exactly where if desired). Possibly getting a car rented in Greece or Macedonia and bringing it here would be cheaper.

Gjirokaster Art Fair

Take note, driving requires keeping a certain attitude as well. The roads are well.. complete shit in certain places, especially in the South (see political disparities between the North and South of Albania supposedly in relation to the current prime minister [What is said in this blog is not an official statement of the US government or US Peace Corps]). Where there is little to no road, people will often make their own way and drive on whatever side is most traversable. Prepare yourself for crazily being passed, rough terrain, narrow passing on bridges, minimal to no police control, and any other kind of madness you could fathom. Note: Family members remember the trip from the airport to the resort in Jamaica. Take that x 10 for Albania.

Please don’t run off yet, I know that’s all a bit daunting but it’s negotiable. Albania isn’t a walk in the park. You will be visiting a developing country, it is expected that things aren’t perfect. The reason it is visited is because it is a challenge. You are making the conscious decision to say, hey hardly-known-about-section-of-the-world, I’m gonna come check you out. Mire? (Good- the most used word in Shqip, remember that. Pronounced meer.) I sincerely hope that you will not listen too much to some of these things that are said about Albania online through other travel blogs, in my opinion, these people weren't keeping this in mind. 

Roadside attractions

Ok, second decision is what are you most interested in experiencing. Are you looking for a vacation for the history, beach, culture, hiking and camping? Of course a combination is easy to do, and certain times of the year you should really do one or the other.

If you come in Winter, December-March you will be cold. Central heating systems do not exist and in post -communist all concrete structures, the buildings get cold and stay cold. It is February 18th, the weather is sunny outside but I can see my breath in my bedroom when the heat isn't on. But, you can experience the culture and even some more hardcore traveling. Skiing opportunities are available in parts of the country for amazingly low prices with everything you need including the skiing outfits. Visiting these rustic villages and spending time around the fire with the grandma’s and their knitting is possible and if desired I can elaborate on this further. My area of the country is the warmest being that I’m on the sea and it’s the most southern location in the country but this year we're actually in a state of emergency in regards to the heavy snow fall that has been hitting all of Europe causing days of blocked roads and power outages.

Spring, March-May, is nice, it’s warmer but quite rainy. But getting around and doing more hiking and camping opportunities would be great at this time. It’s not too hot where you feel uncomfortable doing physical exercise. It can be a relaxing more laid back trip. Early summer is what I’m really getting at.

Mid-May to even mid-July is when I really suggest visiting Albania. The weather is beautiful, even at its hottest there are beaches available and they won’t be completely taken over by tourists yet. Public transportation is getting back up to summer frequency; you can sit outside and really enjoy yourself.

Voskopoja

Late summer is still nice but it’s hitting the hottest points. If you travel during this time it’d be great to see the colder areas of the country as they will be more beautiful and more comfortable than in other months. The beaches will be packed, and I mean to the point where one cannot find an open chair on every single beach (happened to me last year). This is because most of the country is on pushim (vacation) in August as school is not in session and people take off work to go to the beach. In can be just downright unbearable to tell you the truth. In late July I was in Tirana and it was so hot it was insufferable to the point of being unable to move about. We just stayed at one air conditioned lokal and waited for night to go on to another location.

Fall is also nice, it’s hot but cooling off. In some parts the leaves will change and it’s quite beautiful. The beaches do go to feral though and by October they are back to their normal state of being too rocky to go out in.

So keeping this all in mind, I’m going to present a few scenarios for consideration. I’m going to take the liberty that everyone wants to come see me of course and Ksamil will be in each of these options. I’m also very bias because I’m located in the South and don’t have as extensive knowledge of the options in the North.

Idea 1- Mad dash- For those that find all of these ideas daunting and want to take a mad dash into the country for a short while to see me and then get out, here’s an idea.

Fly to Athens, Fly or ferry to Corfu, ferry to Sarandë, travel to Ksamil by bus or taxi, Ksamil activities and Butrint, visit Syri i Kaltër (Blue Eye), go over to Gjirokastër by taxi, return to Sarandë ferry to Corfu, fly away

Idea 2- Southern beach tour-

Corfu- Sarandë- Ksamil- Dhërmi- Vlorë /Durrës- Tirana

Idea 3- All inclusive South tour

Tirana- Dhermi- Sarandë - Ksamil- Gjirokaster- Permët/Leskovik/Ersekë -Korça/Voskopoja/Pogradec- Elbasan/Librazhd- Tirana

Idea 4- All inclusive Albania tour

Tirana- Dhërmi- Sarandë- Ksamil- Gjirokastër- Permët/Leskovik/ -Korça/Voskopoja- Elbasan/Librazhd/ Pogradec - Tirana- Shkodër- Theth National Park- Bajram Curri- Kosovo


So this is a lot of information already, I can layout suggested the itineraries for each of these options but will wait to hear from people about their specific interest. I have a lot of time on my hands, it's really no problem. :)

Some things to pack for traveling:
- Hand sanitizer
- Tissues
- iPod
- book/magazine
- good shoes
- a backpack if you're not renting, rolling bags when using public transportation suck
- light tent if camping
- swimsuit
- Xanex- If you'd rather sleep through the bus rides.