THE ALBANIAN RIVIERA - Ksamil, Butrint and Himare

Ksamil, the most southern city on the Albanian Riviera is probably a lovely place for ten months of the year. 

In August (& probably July too) it's so congested with people from all over Europe and Albania that we do not go to the beach.  We have an apartment with a wonderful balcony where we can hang out. 

Our Airbnb host greets us, then walks us downtown to show us where to find the market, the ATM, the fish shop and the beach.  During our stay, he visits periodically to drop off garden produce and his homemade raki.  We found a favourite place downtown for food or a drink if we want to get out, and we have a walking route. 

Our favourite day in Ksamil was a day trip to the ancient, walled port city in the National Park of Butrint.  It dates back to the 8th. century BC. 

The park brochure indicates that over time this place became a cult center with a chapel dedicated to Asclepius, the God of Medicine.  It was also an important port and trading centre. 

Later, when the Venetians ruled, city planning incorporated forums, theatres fountains, baths, villas and construction of both a water supply and a bridge to link the two banks of the Vivari channel.   After the city was sacked in 1537, it was never resettled due to environmental challenges such as the emergence of wetlands that caused flooding and created breeding grounds for malaria.

Strolling through the grounds we walk in the shadows of giant eucalyptus trees...

... and there's a tree labelled as a bay laurel that must be 25 or more feet tall.  I didn't know they grew so big.  The fallen leaves are fragrant underfoot.

Photos from around the site:

Signage tells us that the massive stone structures were built perfectly level with the use of plumb lines carved into the stone - see red arrow in the photo below.  Indeed on buildings and walls, we see these, still straight and true.

In the photo below of the theatre you can see that much of it today is in standing water.  

There are few mosaics here and the ones we see are generally in poor shape.

There's a lovely museum, no photos allowed.  There's a small area outside with statues from the site where photographs are allowed.  The cafe outside the museum is outrageously expensive.

In the channel are old fishing weirs and we can see across the way some people working on repairing nets, so they must still be in use today, although we can't find any information on the fishing industry here.  Whatever is being fished looks like it doesn't stand a chance.

A cable ferry goes back and forth across the channel all day.

We get to wait at this lovely hotel just outside of the Butrint gates, have a drink and relax while waiting for the bus to return us to Ksamil.  The tour bus drivers kill time here too.

On our last night at Ksamil, our host and his wife drop by with more fruit and raki.  She is there for about an hour, then has to go to work and he lingers on.  Neither of us speaks the other's language but pantomime and google translate help the conversation flow.

Its a short distance from Ksamil to Himare, but it takes an hour-and-a-half due to the turny, twisty road.  The little van is jammed full.  Someone is standing, 4 are on our 3-person bench seat and 3 on the 2-person seat behind us.  No aircon.  Eventually, someone opens the van side door to get air.  Glad when we reach our destination.

We arrive to a warm greeting at the Himare Downtown Hostel.  We have the only private room in this little place run by a mother-daughter team.  Kasandra, the daughter speaks perfect English and while mom doesn't speak any her smile and gestures can say more than words.  Mom is the cook who prepares delicious and different breakfasts every day.  We are a block-and-a-half from the beach and Kasandra loans out beach towels, umbrellas and floaties. 

This is one of the cleanest, well-run hostels we have been in.  You can buy beer and wine at grocery store prices.  The great selection of music is low. 

View from inside hostel looking out to the street.  The cool shade is welcome in this heat.

The restaurant next door has good traditional food and wine at reasonable prices.  The servers are all male university students from Tirana who came for the summer jobs.  There is space at the back of the restaurant and next to our hostel where they sleep, so we get to know these neighbours a bit too.

Kasandra is also a student (architecture) and tries to get some work done between running the hostel, eating and getting some rest from the long hours she puts in.

One day someone at the beach yells "TUNA".  Everyone rushes to the water and stands waist-deep watching the tuna dance in the air.  All seem mesmerized.  This goes on for quite a while until someone in a speed boat goes out and drives in circles as fast as he can where the tuna have been feeding.  Of course, they go away … then they come back in about an hour.  Magnificent.

We find Himare to be a much quieter town on the Riveria than Ksamil and when its time to leave, we can't go.  The hostel is booked so we pop over to a hotel that we know had rooms a day ago, but not now.  No worries.  Phone calls are made to various relatives and friends and we meet Padeli.  We come to call him 'the fixer'.  He laughs at that but seems a little pleased at the same time.  Such a kind man.  He arranges with a couple he knows with an empty apartment for us to stay there.  It's perfect.  The woman who was not expecting guests gets the apartment ready by the time we arrive.  She too speaks no English but checks on us regularly to see if we need anything.



One of the views from our deck

At the same time we meet a German couple with two kids who are having a bit of a meltdown as their hotel was double-booked and they are homeless.  We try to reassure them that all will be OK … Padeli is determined to help them.

Padeli checks on us regularly to see if we need anything.  He can arrange tours if we want.  We are invited to Padeli's home for coffee and raki … and there's the German couple, who are put up for a week in one of the apartments above his home and he has found them another hotel for their second week.  They are calm and relaxed.  We enjoy a couple of hours together on Padeli's deck.

Himare time is chill time for us.  And while there are castles and several beaches to visit, a day trip to Durres and boat tours to take we just relax, a few hours on the beach and in the sea every day, strolling the promenade at sunset and in the relative cool of the evening.  Relaxing back at the hostel where we are still welcome and time passes.

Promenade by day

Beach at sunset.  People leave their umbrellas and loungers on the beach.  Why carry them home?

Beach after sunset.  The moon is getting bigger

The bay is relatively quiet but each night several bigger boats return to the safety of the bay to tie up.
 

There is so much more to the Albanian Riviera than what we saw but in the summertime, it's tough to find accommodation and its hard to move around.  So much easier to choose one or two places and just relax.  Locals tell us that the crowds disappear as soon as September arrives … hard to imagine.

We are busy planning a hiking trip into the Albanian Alps.  We've got it down and it looks like this:

• leave at 5 am on a minibus from Himare to Tirana (tomorrow)
• bus Tirana to Shkodra.  Shkodra x1 night to arrange transportation, supplies, etc for the hike.  Hostel in Shkodra will keep our big packs as we return there x1 night after the hike.
• bus x 1 1/2 hours Shkodra to a ferry - onto the ferry - bus 1 1/2 hours from the ferry landing to Valbona.  Overnight Valbona.
• taxi Valbona to trailhead
• hike 8 hours from Valbona to Theth up and over a mountain
• stay, 2 days in Teth - short hikes are there if I can still walk, or just enjoy the view of Alps
• bus Teth to Shkodra.  Get in some sight-seeing at Lake Shkodra
• bus Shkodra to Tirana.  3 days in Tirana, then fly out to Edinburgh for our canal boat trip.