Moving southwards
Trip Start
Apr 08, 2007
1
74
144
Trip End
Oct 01, 2007
Berati,
Albania
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Good times, but it made for a rather brief rest. Since the transportation system is at its most reliable in the earlier hours of morning, I didn't want to risk sleeping in too much. So, despite hitting the sack just before 3am, I got myself up and at 'em by 7:45. There's always the furgon to sleep on (which is exactly what I did). A few others were heading the same direction as me today, so we went ahead and made it a group effort. It seemed to help doing it that way, not just for the reduced taxi fare per head, but also because it got the furgon packed with people in no time flat. Instead of waiting for an hour and a half like yesterday, we were off in a mere five or ten minutes.
Today's journey brought me to the small city of Berati, southwards from Tirana a few hours. The trip was relatively quick, with enough interesting scenery to keep us entertained - at least for the time when we were actually awake. I so far hadn't noticed any of the things in my (admittedly short) travels around the countryside, but the infamous bunkers left over from the Communist era were literally everywhere. Apparently constructed in haste during one of Enver Hoxha's more paranoid periods, they were meant to repel any potential invading army and were built to withstand tank fire. Allegedly they're nearly indestructible, which would probably explain why nothing's really been done with them. There are so many of the damned things though that it'd sure require a long bloody time to remove the lot.
Berati itself is a charming little place. Under Communism it was one of two cities to be designated a museum city, so unlike most other population centers, it managed to retain most of its religious buildings in the atheistic purges of Albania's Islamic and Christian heritage. It also has preserved a very significant number of Ottoman-period houses across its attractive old town, many of them clumped together in two picturesque districts below and across the river from a hilltop castle. As a result, wandering around town is much more enjoyable and interesting than walking Tirana's traffic-ridden and drably concrete streets. This is Albania as it used to be, before Hoxha squeezed the culture and history out of it.
We did a fair bit of hiking today, mostly based on a spontaneous decision to climb up a questionable trail to a cliffside church below the fortress. Only two of the four of us (myself being one of them) thought it a grand idea. The other two thought we were right daft to attempt it, which I kind of thought as well on certain treacherous parts of the path. Sandals aren't really the best of shoes for a sudden spell of hiking. But I do have to say that the views made it all worthwhile, as we got to take in a wide panorama of the town below in the valley, with the hills rolling off towards the distant mountains beyond. This was a good thing, as the church itself turned out to be locked!
The girl that I hiked up with - Caterina from California - outpaced me a bit since I kept halting for photos and the like. After negotiating a couple downright hairy gravel paths along a cliff edge, I made it up to the castle walls and climbed on in. It seems like no one ever uses the "back entrance" so to speak, as there wasn't a soul there waiting. I found out later that we were would have had to buy a ticket at the main entrance . . . hehe, oops. Oh well, it was more interesting that way. By the time I caught back with Caterina, she was getting a free, personal tour around the castle courtesy of an Italian-speaking local. I was able to understand pretty much everything he explained since he spoke pretty slowly, even if I couldn't really contribute to the conversation.
Well, her finding the guy ended up providing a unique experience for the group of us. The other two - Arron and Catherine - appeared shortly after we'd had a good look around, and the guy invited all of us over to his house for a brief visit. Once there, we were treated to a plate of fresh cucumbers and olives, liberally soaked in delicious, homemade olive oil. And to wash it all down with: a little glass of homemade raki (a strong local spirit distilled from grapes, much like Italian grappa). Serious rocket fuel. Catherine chose not to indulge, so she had a thick Turkish-style coffee - another kind of rocket fuel, in a way. While we sat and chatted, we got to meet the grandfather who was a proud Communist, still wearing a watch with good ol' Enver Hoxha on it. Potentially the only remaining Hoxha fan in the country, now that I think of it! Anyhow, it was amazing hospitality and great look into local life.
After we said our goodbyes to the man and his family, we went back down into town and stopped for a rest in the hotel. I took one more little walk around a bit later on, wandering through the attractive backstreets of wooden houses. Berati has been a nice counterpart to the bustling, dusty and hectic way of life found in Tirana. I'm glad I made it a point not to just do a fly-by tour of Albania like many others. Lots of people just zip in from Montenegro, spend a night or two in Tirana and then make for Macedonia or Greece. This way I get to see a slower-paced, more traditional side of the country, which really helps me to appreciate the place better. I'll head down to Gjirokastra then tomorrow, an old city that seems to get positive reviews from most everyone who visits. I have to take a five-hour bus to get there - and I'll have to therefore get up pretty early so I'll have enough time in the city itself - but I'm sure it'll be worthwhile.
