Gjirokastër A 9:45am start left me time to hit the laundromat in the morning and consequently drape my room in wet clothing for the day 🙂 Our tour today was a walk up (literally) to the Old Town where we strolled through the “bazaar” on our way to the castle. The castle is a big, … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 14

Vlorë > Gjirokastër 9:30am start = another early morning seaside walk. Very pleasant. Today’s itinerary involves driving south along the Albanian Riviera today to Butrint with a few stops along the way. Gorgeous coastline both barren and also filled with condos, hotels, seaside promenades and beach clubs. Lots of investments and lots of boondoggles too. … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 13

Vlorë Leisurely start to the day so I had time for another morning walk, this time along Vlorë’s long waterfront. A simple day today: drive 30 minutes, meet a local guide to hike up to their farm for lunch, with an optional further walk up to an abandoned village. Everyone getting organized Kelly getting all … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 12

Tirana > Vlorë We had a late start today so did a nice 4 mile walk through town and into a park about 30 minutes away. I must say, my first impressions of Tirana are it’s a great, vibrant, hip city. Maybe it was the glow of yesterday’s beautiful afternoon and today’s picture-perfect early Sunday … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 11

Shkodër > Tirana On the road again! A 2 hour drive after breakfast brought us to Kruje. Lower Kruje - several bakeries and bars named after Bush as he was the 1st US President to visit Albania (2007) Krujë sits at the base of the coastal mountains In 1405 Skanderbeg defended Krujë from the Ottomans … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 10

Shkodër A rainy day caused a slight change in our sightseeing schedule. Just around the corner from our hotel we first visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral. 200 years old, became a gym during the communist years when religion was outlawed Next visited a Venetian mask museum. Venice has outsourced its production to Albania. I didn’t bother … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 9

Podgorica>Shkodër Not a busy day but a long one. We passed a major brushfire on our way to the border with Albania (just 1/2h away) which cast a haze on all the day’s photos. Unfortunately we’ve seen many patches of scorched forest from fires already on this tour 😦 At the border. We’re going to … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 8

Kolašin/Podgorica A very leisurely start this morning, 8:30am breakfast, 10am departure, so I had time for a swim in my bathtub! We said goodbye to our minibus last night and today we piled into four 4x4 SUVs for a day of riding around backroads and rough routes up and down the Maganik mountains. We were … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 7

Žabljak > Kolašin A very chilly start this morning - in the 30’s. I hadn’t expected such temperatures but with 5 thin layers I should be okay.  We stopped at Black Lake, just near our hotel. This is a mountain stream-fed lake but now that it’s summer it’s actually dried up into two separate lakes. … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 6

Kotor>Žabljak We started the day by driving an hour south to Budva, another coastal town but also blessed with big beaches and a modern city.  We only had an hour to sightsee so stuck with the miniature Old Town which fills the little peninsula sticking out like a lobster’s claw. Mostly dating from Venetian times … Continue reading Montenegro/Albania: Day 5