I was attempting to wait until the complete end of my summer
travels to blog one big blog BUT I cant, because my Trip to Albania was
Fan-Tabulous! I had the greatest of times in Albania, between my travel buddy,
the food and the scenery and options, Albania is definitely worthy of the term
“hidden gem”.
I spent 4 days at a hostel in Saranda, Albania which is a
coastal city in the south. Saranda is interesting in that it is very city, but
right next to the hustle and bustle there are kilometers of rocky, clear blue
and green Adriatic water and FULL of Umbrella and sunscreen-clad sun seekers.
We spent four days in Saranda, two of which we did day trips to nearby areas,
The Blue Eye Spring and Gjirokaster. The opportunities form Saranda are AMAZING
and the views are beautiful! The first day in Saranda, we stayed strictly on
the beach, This trip was for food and relaxation and that is exactly what we did.
Cocktails, food, sea and lots of sun, I am sure I am about 7 shades darker from
that hot Albanian sun. We also enjoyed AMAZING seafood Albania’s waters had to
offer us. We ate like Superstars and splurged every evening on treats such as
fresh grilled octopus in a white cream sauce and grilled stuffed squid with
fresh salad and great wine and cocktails. (Foodies will love this area of the
world!)
While in Saranda, we did a day trip to the Blue Eye, in
Albanian, Syri I Kalter. It is a spring which, from the top, looks like the
iris and surrounding area of an eye which is where the spring gets its name,
The center of the spring is at least 50 meters deep and pushes you up when you
jump in, but what wasn’t told was just how COLD the water was! The reason everyone
has these photos sans people is because you jump in and after about 30 seconds,
your body starts freezing the water is so cold. We met this super sweet Aussie
couple when we were at the hostel who accompanied us to the Blue Eye and it was
awesome hearing about them and their travel experiences thus far. You can check
out their blog here if you wish to
see their travels in and around the world thus far J We hiked (it felt like it in
that 90 something degree heat and dusty road, it was about 2km worth of walking
sooo yes HIKE!) to the Blue eye and jumped right in! We saw an (what seemed to
be) abandoned church at the entrance, and explored that some before walking to
the Spring. Once we enjoyed the spring and the AWESOME photo opportunities this
natural wonder offered we stopped at a Monastery which is being restored and
got some beautiful views of villages just outside Saranda and the construction
process for the monastery.
Our second day trip to Gjirokaster took us on an unexpected
tour of the variances of Albania’s landscape and we went from coastal beach
town to arid, dry almost desert areas in the process of an hour. Gjirokaster is
situated at the bottom of mountains which meet to form a wide dry valley. It is
a beautiful and intriguing site which, to get to, you take Winding, up and down
mountain roads, along the sides of mountains that range from luscious trees and
greenery to jagged rocks and steep cliffs. Gjirokaster is a city that has been
in existence for over 2500 years, and has an old and new city. The old city is
situated more into the mountain, whereas the new city goes from the bottom of
the mountain into the valley. There is a stark contrast when you are walking
down one of the major roads between the two areas that you know you cross from old
to new city. There is a beautiful Kalaja – Albanian for castle/fortress that
sits atop the old city and looks out into the valley. The fortress is fairly
complete and was the first complete fortress I have been to in Eastern Europe
up until this point. It was used as a location to hold weapons for the Albanian
army. In addition to the complete Kalaja, there is a World War Two airplane in
an outdoor area that you have COMPLETE access to.
Overall Albanian proved to be an amazing choice and I
definitely have plans to further explore, not just southern, but all of
Albanian in the future. The people were sweet (knowing Albanian and the
expressions/reactions which That caused were PRICELESS), food was Amazing,
destinations were endless and overall just an amazing trip. Ill post a
comprehensive summer travel blog after my final trip and another post of all Photos :)
Happy Summer!
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