Greetings from Otranto, Italy
Wait, what? Somewhere other than Albania???? Yep, it's true - Maelstrom and her crew are finally on the move.
At 2:30pm on Thursday we pulled out of the Orikum marina and after a quick stop at the Vlore Port to check out of the country, we pointed ourselves towards Italy and began our 13-hour overnight sail to Otranto. To say we are glad to no longer be stationary is a huge understatement, but try as I may, I cannot say leaving Albania is without mixed feelings.
So, here it is, my reluctant love letter to Albania.
When Ron and I began planning this adventure and listing all the wonderful places we would go, Albania was never even considered. We ended up there as a result of needing to get out of the EU/Schengen and having less than optimal time to exit.
We arrived on October 9 and left 5 months later...an awfully long time to stay somewhere you had not even really heard of 7 months ago.
While unplanned, our time in Albania was wonderful, strange, beautiful, filthy, vibrant, backwards, modern and archaic...all at once.
The younger generation of people are amazing. Friendly, helpful, polite, kind. (I should qualify that since I am 47, I conveniently categorize anyone around my age or less as 'young') The older generation are awful. They take rude to a level that is so rude it makes me laugh. By example, I cannot count how many times I would be in the market, in line to pay for my items, and an older person would jump the entire queue and insist they be helped first. WTF???
Everyone dresses the same no matter the situation or event - Ron and I have dubbed it the “Albanian uniform”. The men wear black track pants, black hoodies and black puffy jackets. The women wear black leggings, Uggs and short fur coats (some real, some faux) or long wool trench coats. It is the epitome of casual chic.
Everyone smokes. Everyone! All the time. Everywhere. They drive like maniacs and make double (and triple) parking an artform. They unapologetically take up space - if someone is in your way, that is a 'you' problem. They spend an exorbitant amount of time in outdoor coffee shops, no matter the weather. They are very trusting - corner convenience stands jam-packed with beer, wine, cigarettes and confectionary are left unattended every night with full confidence their contents will be present and accounted for the next day without any concern.
The food is exceptional. A little too much meat on most menus for this vegetarian, but the quality of produce, and ingredients in general, more than make up for the amount of goat offered at most traditional restaurants. Organic is the standard, not a marked-up section in the grocery store. The 3AM street food is delicious and saved my life more nights than I should admit. If it weren't for the daily gym workouts, I fear the calories 'in' would have seriously exceeded the calories 'out'.
The landscape is breathtaking, and the year-round climate is quite comfortable. Mountains, ocean, olive groves. Lots of sunshine. An entire winter without a single day below 8 degrees.
Over time you get used to the volume of garbage everywhere and very good at stepping over the dog shit.
The nightlife is fantastic.
The language is very very hard to learn. ('Albania' in Albanian is Shqiperi)
Albania - you are unique – truly like no other place I have ever been. I am grateful for the safe (and warm) harbour, the experience and the hospitality you afforded us. I am grateful for the amazing and compassionate vets in Orikum and Tirana who worked so hard to try and keep both Zooey and Tucker with us for as long as possible. I am grateful for Tony who became 'our guy' and went out of his way to help us get our Bimini enclosure project finished, and anything else we needed. I am grateful for the people we met (ex-pat and local), for the food, for the wine, for the sights, the sounds and TBH, the needed distraction while Ron and I finally processed all the change we decided a long time ago to embark upon, but truthfully, had not yet really been prepared to embrace.
And, while it was actually tempting to stay longer, and maybe even permanently (yep, we actually talked about it), it was time to say goodbye. If for no other reasons than Ron's unwillingness to get the mandatory bowl haircut (not flattering!) or my considerable lack of 'junk' in this here 'trunk', which also seems to be a local requirement (there are not enough squats in the world, sadly).
Albania - I mostly love you. Thank you for everything. Being the final earthly resting place for Zooey and Tucker, you will always have a piece of my heart.
Onwards!
May you have fair winds and following seas.
Charity xo
Some highlights of our time in Albania (mostly Tirana) since Christmas:
Two months in a modern city gives you plenty of time to cut off all your hair. My stupid broken finger is still not completely healed - argh!!!
It also gives you time to take care of 'human business' like teeth cleaning (at a fraction of what it costs in Canada).
SO many calories 'in' - each one worth it. The great thing about retirement is you can join a gym and work out every day for 2 hours in the middle of the day. Somehow Ron and I both left Albania fitter/thinner than when we arrived.
Got to visit the touring Salvador Dali exhibit which featured his Devine Comedy works. He happens to be one of my favourite surrealists so his collection being in Tirana was serendipitous. The paintings are terrifying and mesmerizing. I hope to see more of his masterpieces when we get to Spain.
Albanian Night. You dress up. You watch a musical/play. You dance. You eat. You drink. If you are Charity and 11pm is way too early to go home, you follow it up with a karaoke bar :)
Cathedral tour in Tirana. Beautiful churches: Christian Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim and Bektashian. Communism only ended in 1991 so all of the churches are quite new.
Albanian cooking class. Learned how to make tasty traditional dishes including Byrek - which was the very best snack on the way home from the bar at 3AM.
Valentine's dinner out under the twinkly lights.
Our little girl fought like hell. Her compromised immune system from the cancer made it impossible for her to warn off the pancreatitis - which is what took her out. She was the very sweetest, most gentle, kind and crazy dog. Loved everyone. Rest in peace my love. I miss you so much but I am so happy you and Tucker get to play and cuddle together for the rest of time.
Vineyard tour just outside Durres, Albania. Those terraced, south-facing slopes make very happy grapes.
Gladiator amphitheater ruins in the middle of Durres, Albania.
Tirana, Albania is a beautiful city - especially at night.
Admiring Maelstrom from the Otranto shore. This anchorage will be our home for a few days. The next N/NW wind will send us to Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy.
