Arriving in Albania

Our first port for the summer is Saranda on the coast of Albania about 2 hours sail from Crofu. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was expecting from this country that time has passed by. We have heard wild rumors telling of misadventures, thievery, pirates, and bribes as well as friendly people, beautiful unspoiled coastal cities that welcomed visitors with open arms. Fortunately, it was the latter that welcomed us. Agimi, the port commissioner, met us when we were throwing our lines to the cleats and helped us secure the boat as well as the immigration papers and official entry stamps. This former Communist block country has settled into democracy and has quickly adapted to the western culture. We walked around the town for the first afternoon. Since it was May Day and an official holiday, not much was opened. But we managed to find a pleasant restaurant playing Mick Jagger’s classic “Satisfaction” and young Albanians sharing the afternoon with each other in Levis and tee shirts. Though this is a predominately Muslin country there was not much sign of it. What I did notice is lots of young boys wandering around, going to the beach and hanging out with each other. Very few young girls were anywhere to be seen. It is definitely a culture where the males rule the roost. We relaxed for the afternoon at a local restaurant, settling in with the free wifi signal and a soft drink. The next day we rented a car and drove to the impressive Roman ruins of Butrint. Butrint was already a bustling port city when Julius Caesar charged through with his army while chasing Pompeii around the countryside. Later when Augusta Caesar rose to power, he poured wealth into this ancient Roman city to make it a first class resort. The most prominent villa was built by one of the Senators of the time. There is a beautiful amphitheater that is surrounded with water and hundreds of turtles that sun themselves on the ancient stones. Somewhere along the way, the seas silted, time swept over the city and it crumbled in the jungle for a couple dozen centuries. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that archeologist dug and dusted off what was left of the crumbling stone to reveal what was once lost.

We then headed in the other direction to “Blue Eyes”, a natural underground spring. On the way we got a little lost. But we had fun with the locals as we use hand gestures, a few words of English that may or may not be the correct words to use and smiles to finally figure out where we made a wrong turn. But it was all worth it to see this incredible natural underground spring that penetrates deep into the earth. Divers have gone down over 200 feet and still not found the bottom. What comes out is crystal clear cool water that gushes enough to form its own river. The color of the hole ranges from turquoise fading to a deep cobalt blue. And the river that flows from it is also crystal clear since there is no silt from rainwater washing into it. The spring and river are both beautiful and amazing to see.