July 4th in the Albanian Alps

Trip to northern Albania and Mountain region

A page out of our four day trip that you might enjoy reading.
Kaki, David, Peter and I hired a guide and set out to hike in the mountains.

A July 4th to Remember

Part I  5:15 AM
Tirana. We four are picked up in a non air-conditioned, no seat belts, mini van. Endrit is our guide and his friend Anis.
We pick up one beefy guy on the way north, although the driver had hoped to pick up more folks traveling north from Tirana.
After 1 1/2 hours we stop for the essential coffee. Coffee and tea for six people cost $3.00.
The next hour we climb up steep steal gray rocks, ringing a damned up lake with hundreds of power lines. This region supplies most of Albania with electricity.
There are very sparse settlements and our beefy passenger is let off at one of them.
We come to a big pile of brush like material covering the road, maybe 2 feet tall. The man standing beside the pile coaxes us through and thanks us for helping to crush his crop of thyme!
This part of our July 4th ends as we go through a 200 meter tunnel that feels more like a coal mine than a tunnel for cars.

Part II 9:00 AM
A water vehicle arrives to take us up the canyon lake that was a river before the damn was built. Actually the water vehicle is an old metal bus without a  chaise and wheels on a barge. Passengers cram on the boat along with luggage, food goods, construction material and gasoline in 2 liter plastic bottles. There are no safety instructions or life preservers and no guard rail on the front of the barge.
We travel up these mountain canyons, stopping at "villages". This is a whole new meaning of the word village. About 12 times the boat pulls in perpendicular to the shore where there are some rocks (as opposed to cliffs) and one or two people are waiting for the boat. There may be a donkey to carry the supplies that are off loaded. One or two people exit or enter by a crude gang plank. Someone carries off a 50 pound bag of flour up the steep path to god knows where.
We end at a piece of land with only a rusted car ferry tied up, no longer running.

Part III 12:30 PM
Many, many of us board a mini van. No AC with the temperatures at 90 degrees by now. The road in under construction so we slide under the back hoe that is moving dirt above us.
We are dumped off in a town, badly in need of trees to help with the heat. We walk, limply to the nearest cafe and order 4 beers, a coke and water for a total price of $5.00. Meanwhile, cows are sauntering through town, apparently led by no one and in no hurry to move for cars.

Part IV 2:30
We pack into the second mini bus with the same lack of safety or comfort features. This time the driver continues to stop and put people into the van when there are no more seats or room for luggage. He stops at a gas station and fills up 3, 2 liter soda bottles of gasoline. There is truly no room for them so he puts them by his feet on the floor among the petals. With a very cracked windshield, we take off on roads that defy description. Heads are hitting the windows, people on top of each other but merry conversation among the travelers, especially the driver. There is enough lumber on the roof to build a house.
We follow the most gorgeous river with aqua blue water and climbing higher and higher into the snow capped mountains. Occasionally we stop at some remote place and after a honk of the horn, someone comes out and the driver gives them the gasoline, money that someone has asked him to deliver, crates of soda, 50 pound sacks of flour or lumber. It is sort of like My Grocer!

Part V 4:00 PM
Ten hours later we arrive at our modest guest house with natural waterfalls, ringed with mountains in the small village of Valbonne. The reception is friendly, the roasted lamb tasty and we are in bed by 9:00.
The only problem is the bus group that arrived later in the afternoon. From 9 until 12 PM they had a raucous group dinner and dancing to this god awful ethnic music.  Insulation is not a strong suit in these guest houses!
While there were no fireworks, hamburgers and hot dogs….it will truly be a 4th of July to remember!