One of the things that I was interested in checking out during our stay in Albania is a popular hike in the Accursed Mountains in the north of Albania. It would require two or three nights away from Tirana and Sandy decided that she would skip it. She didn’t feel like a 9-hour drive each way and she didn’t want to sleep in an additional two or three beds. She thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the awesome park and lovely neighborhood by our apartment. She also had a wonderful catch-up call with our friend, Sara, from Orlando. I investigated planning the hike on my own, which is doable, but I also looked at guided tours for the trip. In the end, I opted for a guided tour because the number of segments to coordinate made the guided option too appealing. Of course the cost was higher but it was worth it in my mind – and if I did it on my own, I am pretty sure I would have needed three nights away from Tirana instead of two.
We were a group of seven – Fjori (our guide), Roger and Lydie (Netherlands), Yaniv and Marina (Israel), Lucy (China but living in Tirana for four years), and me. We all met at a gas station at 5:30am on the northwest side of town. I taxied there because it was raining on the morning of departure and the SpeedTaxiAlbania app worked perfectly for getting me there on time. We boarded our van and headed north to Koman. The ride was around three hours and upon arrival, we had croissants and tea or coffee. Given the weather and the forecast, we all knew and Fjori confirmed that we had an adventure ahead of us and we likely wouldn’t be able to do the full trip as planned in the itinerary. The first adjustment was made here at Koman. We were supposed to go on a small boat up the Shala River, which is sometimes referred to as Albania’s Thailand. The idea there was to see the scenery, possibly swim, and have lunch. It was just too cold, windy, and rainy, so that experience was canceled and instead we boarded the ferry that took us to the next planned stop – Fierze. The ferry ride up Komani Lake was beautiful – unfortunately the weather didn’t inspire spending a lot of time outside to enjoy it.
It took a little less than three hours and then we took a van to our overnight guesthouse in Valbona. That was a little more than an hour’s ride and when we arrived, Lydie saw that her backpack was missing from the back of the van. We backtracked to some of the other drop-off guesthouses and didn’t find it but learned that another van behind us found it and they brought it to her at our guesthouse – Natyra. That was a relief. We dropped our stuff off in our rooms and then all got together for lunch in the onsite restaurant. I won’t remember all of the food we had, but every single meal the last few days has been too much excellent food. I get up stuffed from every meal. I recall lunch on Thursday including lamb, salad, homemade bread, sour yogurt sauce (this is quickly becoming one of my favorite culinary discoveries here – it is quite similar to tzatziki). There was a lot more food. This was our first chance to sit around and get to know each other a bit and you could tell that it was going to be a great group with which to experience this adventure. The weather forecast had not improved and so we knew that afternoon that the hike to Theth the next day was not going to be possible. We talked with Fjori about the options and we all decided to hike the trail as far as we can and still be able to get back here to Valbona before dark. This is where one of the life lessons I have learned along the way provided another perfect case study of the lesson. The lesson is to do my best to not get too caught up in the emotions of disappointment when something planned doesn’t look like it is going to happen the way I expected it to happen. It’s possible that the revision will turn out to be even better than what was originally planned. Of course we were all disappointed by the weather and the inability to not do the hike that was the centerpiece of this particular tour. But Fjori made the best of it and off we went. The guesthouse owner drove us to the trailhead, and we started a hike uphill that took somewhere between an hour or an hour-and-a-half. Fjori was encouraging us to make it to a coffee shop along the trail. It wasn’t an easy walk uphill and we had to keep the pace up to avoid returning in the dark and everybody was very encouraging of each other.
This is where the life lesson comes in – when we got to the coffee house, I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect picture. Light snow was falling, the shop owner had a gorgeous campfire going, we had mountain tea with honey to warm up, and our group was bonding in a way that made the experience perfect. At this point, I knew that for me, this experience was going to surpass whatever could have come with the hike we were supposed to do tomorrow. No doubt it would have been beautiful, but this was perfect.
We then hustled our way back down making it back to the van as dark settled in and went back to the guesthouse for another excellent meal and conversation and wine. Fjori then broke the news to us that we had to be ready to leave tomorrow morning at 4:55am – ouch! The guesthouse was kind enough to make food for us from which we each packed a box to cover us for breakfast and lunch tomorrow and then it was off to bed.
Yesterday (Friday), we all were ready pretty close to 4:55 and we drove back to Fierze to catch the ferry at 6am. We were the only ones on the ferry initially, but as we made our way to Koman, we stopped and picked up others until we had a pretty full boat by the time we arrived. The ferry serves as a river taxi for locals in this area. At Koman, we boarded another van and this one took us to Shkodre. We arrived in Shkodre around 11am and had the chance to walk the town before lunch. Shkodre is known as the city of bicycles and that was evident as soon as we got out of the van. It’s like The Netherlands – you have to keep your eye out for the bikes so as not to get hit. It’s a good size town – around 200,000 people – and has a great central pedestrian area to explore.
We stopped for tea and coffee and then lunch before getting back in a van and making the two-hour drive to Theth. This route really gets you into the Alps with a winding road up and over the pass to drop you down into the impossibly beautiful village of Theth.
I guess people don’t usually think of the Albanian Alps, but if you picture the typical Swiss Alpine village, you’d get the idea of what Theth is like. The downside for me is that Sandy isn’t here to enjoy it and I’m only here for one night. We checked into the Bujtina Polia and I didn’t think last night’s guesthouse could be topped, but I’m going to say that it was. They were both amazing and felt so welcoming but this one felt like family. I would really like to return someday. After chatting with fellow travelers Lilly and Matt from France (they are on a year-long journey similar to Sandy’s and mine) and warming up by the fire, our group walked over to the Isolation Tower. Fjori filled us in on the interesting history of the tower and covered quite a bit of Albania’s history. The Isolation Tower is 500 or 600 years old and it was used as a punishment location for those who had committed murder. The punishments and how they were handled were reminiscent of what I had read in Njal’s Saga back in Iceland. After our education, we headed back to the guesthouse for – you guessed it – more amazing Albanian food and beers and then off to bed. We did learn that we get to sleep in tomorrow.
This morning we needed to be ready by 8:30, which gave us whatever time we wanted to check out the Catholic church next door and to eat breakfast. The church is fairly simple inside, but the outside and its setting in this beautiful valley are photo-worthy.
A little after 8:30, we set off for the 50-minute hike to the Grunas Waterfall. The hike was a nice one and the waterfall is tucked away among the cliffs and a great spot for pictures, of which we all took plenty.
We then walked back down to the guesthouse and boarded the van to take us back to Shkodre. We were back in Shkodre a little before 2pm and finished the time together with lunch at a very nice restaurant. The one thing I don’t think I’ve mentioned about Albania so far is that the meals always seem to begin with enough appetizers to complete a full meal, which this was again the case. And then we still had the main course, which was fish. The sour yogurt sauce at this restaurant was my favorite so far. Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Roger and Lydie because they are staying in Shkodre for a few days. Fjori then took Lucy, Yaniv, Marina, and me to our taxi back to Tirana (Fjori is also staying in Shkodre tonight) and we headed back to Tirana, arriving at 5:45pm.
I was excited to get back and meet Sandy for a typical Saturday night outing for us – beers and burgers together. We met at The Taproom by Pan – Pan is a brewery here in Tirana. It was great to catch up with Sandy and we both really enjoyed the vibe and beer and food at The Taproom. Oh, and the music. The owner was playing an alternative 80s/90s mix that included Depeche Mode’s Flexible (and some New Order). I don’t think I’ve ever heard Flexible other than at a Depeche after-party in Germany or when I play it. We will probably come back before we leave Tirana.
That ends this adventure. While it didn’t go to plan according to the itinerary we all signed up for, the experience was likely more satisfying than what it would have been. Watching Fjori adapt to the required changes and creating something memorable for us was impressive. The scenery was stunning throughout the last few days – I still can’t believe how perfect things were at the coffee house that first day on the trail. The conversations I had with each person in our group will stay with me and of course, “keep walking, Marina” and “where is Lucy?” When Sandy and I decide to join group tours or put ourselves in positions to spend time with other travelers it is our hope that we get to have meaningful interactions and create lasting memories. That is certainly the case for me in the last few days. It’s hard to believe the adventure started just the day before yesterday – it feels like we had a week together and I am hopeful that our paths will cross again on our collective journeys.
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