ROLLING ON THE RIVIERA - Ksamil and Sarande, Albania

....our previous post about Tirana, and travelling to the Albanian Riviera........

The time of year was approaching where we would normally be heading back to South East Asia to have some R and R on Ko Fruitopia after our year of travelling. Obviously, this wasn't to happen, as all of South East Asia was still closed (apart from a couple of unattainable options for the likes of us). A pretty good option was to continue our beach time in Albania by travelling further down the coast to the far south and Ksamil. 

Packing up at the end of summer, Monastery Beach, Albania

The furgon (small bus) down the coast was hugely interesting. A winding road followed the coast, with tiny bays sparkling in the sun, ancient hilltop villages, castles jutting into the sea and what looked like a Communist-era abandoned military base, complete with James Bond-style submarine cave! Unfortunately, Sal was as sick as a dog, and was only watching the inside of a plastic bag, hoping it didn't have any holes in it.

We are inherent beach snobs, having lived in Australia, and spent so much time on Thai islands, not to mention visiting beautiful beaches in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia regularly. Sal, in particular, was very dismissive of European beaches (although some of that could have been our only other European beach experience on Sunny Beach, Bulgaria!). 

Ksamil, however, was an absolute eye opener. Never before had we experienced such gorgeous clear blue water- it really had to be seen to be believed. Several stunning small bays were strung out along the Ksamil coast for a few kilometres, all sparkling water and clean sandy beaches. Several islands were close to the shore, and massive Corfu loomed in the background. It was strange to be so close to both Greece and Italy. We occasionally saw huge ferries further out, presumably going between Greece and Italy (the regular ferry from Sarande to Corfu had been cancelled). 

Arriving at Ksamil, Albania

Lovely clear water, Ksamil, Albania

Islands off Ksamil, Albania

Looking out at the Ionian Sea, Ksamil, Albania

The rocky backdrop inland of olive groves and goats wandering around added a true Mediterranean feel. The fact that it was early October, and the weather was absolutely splendid 25-30 degrees only made it more perfect.

The village proved itself to be friendly and relaxed from the moment we got off the bus. We sat and drank a coffee in the central cafe in the gorgeous warm sun. We were approached by a man we had met in Tirana and his friend, and chatted about local issues for some time. We said goodbye, and wandered along the lane on the way to our accommodation, stopping briefly when an old man making home-made raki in a still in his back yard insisted we join him for a shot, which we were happy to do. What a delicious taste! 

Friendly neighbours making raki, Ksamil, Albania

Our room didn't come with a sea view this time, but was perfectly placed in the village to be quiet, yet only a few minutes walk from the centre and the beach (and again we had two bedrooms!). Most of the Ksamil backstreets were pleasant "villas", built big enough to occupy the family, and had a few rooms or apartments for tourists to rent. When they all fill up in summer, it must be a very different place to the one we visited! There wasn't much open food-wise in the village, apart from a few cafes and posh restaurants for the remaining rich tourists. There was, however, a substantial supermarket in the centre where we bought basic food and cooked it in our apartment. 

Our accommodation, Ksamil, Albania

Part of our little apartment, Ksamil, Albania

People's backyard's in Albania amazed us, and Ksamil was no different. The variety of homegrown fruit and veggies was astounding. Common plants in back street gardens included pomegranates (nearly every home had at least one tree), ditto for grapes, persimmons, citrus, olives and tons of basil. Other popular choices were fig trees and quinces.

Pomegranates growing, Ksamil, Albania

Unidentified flowering tree, Ksamil, Albania

Most days in Ksamil were spent on the gorgeous beaches - we didn't know how long the fine weather would last and wanted to make the most of it! We tried various spots- all had the lovely water and sand, but some were a little more lively than others. There weren't many tourists around but it was the most we had seen in one place so far in Albania. 

Gorgeous views, Ksamil, Albania

Near empty beach, Ksamil, Albania

Our favourite beach, Ksamil, Albania

A surprising and welcome aspect to Albania beaches was that the locals themselves have a beach culture. In most countries we visit, the beach is for the tourists, with the locals thinking it's madness to spend time lying in the sun, preferring to stay in the shade. Albanians, however, enjoyed their beaches-  catching rays and swimming is part of their culture, and we liked that very much! Being Muslim, we were fully expecting some kind of burkini scene going on, but there was nothing like that at all.

All this exploring in Albania was wonderful, but our finances were on our minds, as we had spent more being in the Balkans than we would had we been in South East Asia as we had planned. We decided to stay in nearby Sarande for a month to try to keep costs down slightly. 

After using the old-fashioned approach of wandering around town and asking locals for accommodation options, we lucked out on finding a penthouse apartment on the sea front, smack bang in the middle of the promenade. It boasted a huge, light-filled living space, fully equipped kitchen and a balcony twice as big as any room we've had in the Balkans! We even had a washing machine! Staying put for longer time is always cheaper than travelling about (a major reason for our slow travel philosophy in life), and the price for this apartment was less per night than we had paid anywhere else in the country. As well as cutting costs for the month, Rich took the opportunity to resume his important exercise regime he had missed out on so far this year, due to no long stays in Penang or Ko Fruitopia. The lounge room was plenty big enough to spread out a mat and full water bottles served well as weights. He was very happy!

Morning view from Sarande apartment, Albania

Our sunny living space, Sarande, Albania

The view from our massive balcony

Not having had a proper kitchen to cook in for so long, we immediately went shopping for all the yummy, fresh produce we were craving. We had a funny experience when we visited the tiny local market first. It was just the place we usually love, full of little old ladies selling fresh produce from their back yards- vegies, honey, figs and raki. We delved in, and picked out a selection to keep us going for a few days. When the sweet looking lady showed us the price breakdown, we were surprised, to say the least, that everything was at least three times the price we would have paid elsewhere. We had a good natured laugh about how expensive it was, and her prices rapidly fell, but in the end we decided to give up, and patronize one of dozens of small fruit shops in the town. These had prices clearly shown, and we took advantage of tasty in season treats- figs, pomegranates, apples and grapes, as well as all the usual healthy salad options. The local supermarkets were stocked full of great local products, such as a multitude of dried beans, cheeses (salty goat feta was our favourite), coffees, yogurts and jams packed with fruity yumminess. Added to this were the numerous seafood shops where we bought prawns and fresh sardines and the amazing bakeries with lovely fluffy bread. The climate was so compatible with the Mediterranean cuisine. Food was very affordable, especially cooking for ourselves, and combined with our bargain apartment, we felt a bit more secure financially.

Our selection of goodies, Sarande, Albania

Sarande is sometimes called a city, which is a bit of an exaggeration, really. It was a biggish town, full of apartment buildings and hotels climbing up the hill, a serene little harbour and port, a few posh eateries along the sea front, and dozens of cafe/bars and small local shops in the heart of town. Church bells and the mosque's call to prayer rang out alternatively and unobtrusively during the day. Most days we hung out on our balcony in the sun, drank strong coffee and raki at a couple of our favourite cafe/bars, cooked, exercised, listened to music and caught up on news on the internet. There weren't many sights in the town itself, but we enjoyed some lovely days out by foot or bus during our stay here.

Sarande harbour, Albania

Some interesting eating options, Sarande, Albania

One of our favourite cafes, Sarande, Albania

The fishing port at the far end of town had a surprising amount of action, with the guys bringing in 100 kg tunas, amongst other things. Rich was in heaven just being around all the fishermen fixing nets, sorting fish and repairing their boats. Down the other end of town along the coast were small resorts and more apartments, mostly deserted at this time of year, and empty beaches. It wasn't very appealing to us.

Bollard at fishing port, Sarande, Albania

Midday at the fishing port, Sarande, Albania

Decorative wall, Sarande, Albania

Fisherman near mango Beach, Sarande, Albania

The St George Monastery and nearby small Monastery Beach cove were quiet and beautiful, although we endured a nasty, surprise attack by swarms of mosquitos whilst climbing up and down the monastery hill. The monastery itself was closed, but the sweeping views were a lovely perspective of the surrounding islands and bays.

View from high up at St George Monastery, Sarande, Albania

Window detail, St George Monastery, Sarande, Albania

Lovely bay, Monastery beach, Sarande

Lekuresi Castle, overlooking the town of Sarande had the best panoramic view- what a strategic place this must have been to view what was going on down below in all directions. It was originally built in the 1500s, although there didn't seem to be much left from that time. The restaurant that had been incorporated into the remains was actually very tasteful and boasted amazing views. As well as the beautiful gleaming sea aspect, the opposite direction showed off the mountains and many speckled small villages and farmland.

Looking out at mountains from ruins, Lekuresi Castle, Sarande

Gorgeous look out, Lekuresi Castle, Sarande

A trip to the end of the southern bus route took us to some ruins including the Triangular Castle and the Ali Pasha Castle on an island off the coast. The day included a walk through some marshlands to see remnants of old look outs, bunkers and yet another huge unexplained underground tunnel complex in the side of a hill. We touched on this in the first Albania blog post, but there are literally hundreds of thousands of these old defence structures dotted around Albania- some huge complexes, some small look outs. The Socialist leader, Hoxha, was somewhat paranoid about an enemy invasion.

Looking out the other side, Sarande

Calm lagoon, Sarande

A church on the hill, Sarande

Part of Venetian castle ruins, Sarande

Man searching for bait in the marsh, Sarande

Roadside lookout, Albania

Decorated bunker on the beach, Albania

Scenically placed look out bunker, Sarande

One of the best day trips saw us heading inland, and catching a little bus to Delvine, a surprisingly large and bustling town about 40 minutes drive from Sarande. There was a small old part of town with a central square and the usual cafes (they really are literally everywhere in Albania!). We loved the walk up to the crumbling ruined castle on a hill over looking the town and the surrounding countryside of mostly big hills covered with olive groves and citrus orchards. Not a beach in sight!

Little critter we saw on our walk

Old buildings in Delvine, Albania

Wandering the castle ruins, Delvine, Albania

What a poser!

Atmospheric ruins on Delvine hill, Albania

Scenic Delvine, Albania

An unexpected feature of Sarande, and maybe Albania in general, was the huge amount of ex-pat Americans living there. They are granted a free one year stay when they arrive, and apparently with the current world situation, hoards of them are moving to Albania- one of the few places in the world to which they are welcome with no restrictions. For the many of them who work on-line, it is a really great situation to be in- especially at the moment. We caught up with a few at the American Bar, and although we had radically different lifestyles, they were a jovial bunch, and we enjoyed speaking with some native English speakers.

It was during our stay in Ksamil and Sarande that we really realized how lovely the Albanians are-  generous, patient, laid back, friendly, all in an understated way. Their attitude to life and it's details was wonderfully accepting and relaxed. One local man we spoke to thought their national psyche was a result of being under such a strict dictatorship for so many years.

Patiently working away on the boat, fishing port, Sarande, Albania

The early November days were still gloriously warm, in the mid-20s, but nights were turning chilly, and we realized the long Riviera summer was gradually coming to an end. We had another choice about where to head to next. We found it's hard to enjoy and live in the moment, sometimes, when the future is so uncertain. Probably most people in the world are feeling some kind of version of this. Before we left Sarande, we took advantage of the many second hand clothes shops in town, and added a few more cold weather items to our wardrobe, just in case. The woman in one shop was generous in both her prices, and her insistence on not only giving us a shot of her yummy home made raki, but filling a bottle to take away with us! Maybe we did pay too much for the clothes! We had some appealing destination choices, and headed off to explore a bit more of southern Albania.

PS. Sarande had some distinctive, arty signs that looked very retro, although we can't say for sure when they were produced. Sal became enthralled, Rich was patient.

Funky Sarande signs, Albania

By the way.....we have said this before, but if anyone is receiving this blog post via email, and are not interested or annoyed by the updates, please let us know. We don't want to force ourselves onto anyone!!!

.....next blog post about inland Albania castles here........