Thursday, July 17
Wednesday, July 16
Tuesday, July 15
Farewell to Albania
I've got the ferry to Corfu today although I could, theoretically, have got it tomorrow morning, however I am not 100% confident of its reliability so I'd rather wander around Corfu for a day.
Monday, July 14
The aqueduct
This is the Ali Pasha Aquaduct which was built to supply water to the castle's enormous water cisterns. I am not sure that it was worth about two hours of strenuous walking and an ascent of 300 meters though
My personal guide
I got to Skendulate house at about 9 and they were just opening up. This is Cristi who had to act as my guide, much to his annoyance, until his mother turned up. Here he is demonstrating how they roasted coffee beans before they crushed them in the mortar and pestle.
His confidence and use of English was quite remarkable.
Skendulate house
A traditional house built it the 18th century. It was confiscated by the communists and then returned to the family in 1994. The family have owned it for seven generations. Everything about it seems original.
Sunday, July 13
Improvised fencing
There was a factory here that made cutlery and many of the gardens have their fences made from the scrap material.
Enver Hoxha wos here
Turns out that Enver and I have stayed in the same hotel. Here he is addressing the people from the balcony.
Hotel Cajupi
After the sub-optimal conditions in last night's accommodation I've gone upmarket. So for £24 I get a sterilised bog seat and a great view.
Durres - Gjirokaster
113 miles, 3h 12m, 1200 lek ~ £7, in a minibus
The last hour was spent sitting next to a very old lady with a wrinkly face like a walnut, grey hair up in a bun, fingers the size of sausages from a lifetime of toil and dressed in her sunday best all black outfit. I don't know what she was telling the rest of the passengers but they were all very amused by her tales.
The only minor problem, for me, is that she had a severe body odour problem.
Sunday in Durres
The streets are full of people selling junk spread out on the pavement. Secondhand shoes, used TV remotes, cracked and mismatched crockery, you name it and someone is selling it. I've not got a photo because I don't feel comfortable taking pictures of their poverty.
I'm now on the bus to Gjirokaster. It will be a long journey I think.
Breakfast
I complained because my bathroom ceiling was dripping this morning, presumably because of a leak in the bathroom above, and so I've got a free complementary breakfast which wasn't included in the price for the accommodation. The triangular things are an Albanian speciality consisting of a huge amount of oily puff pastry filled with a minuscule amount of cheese. The pale yellow substance in front of the jam is another version of the margarine that I had earlier, it is really foul, Albanias don't do butter and I have noticed that the milk for sale in the supermarkets is all imported UHT.
Saturday, July 12
Haggling over a chicken
The two women inspected its bottom and then handed it back and walked off. Maybe it had worms or diarrhea.
