Albania by Road -Gjirokaster, the Blue Eye Spring & back to Seaclusion.

We woke in the morning, suitably refreshed and popped upstairs to our quirky hotel terrace, well roof top for breakfast and were initially served with this… Tea!

Initially we declined but the hurt look on our hostess´s face meant that at least one of us should try it, well David being a mainly coffee drinker, that was down to me…. and surprisingly its wasn’t bad, not that I opted for a second cup! We were also treated to a Yoga lesson on a large terrace a short distance away, well what else do you do over breakfast.

After that, we checked out and had a quick walk back to the car to get our trainers, then went up through the village to get a decent cup of coffee, have a wander around the Bazaar in daylight, before we started the hike up to the castle.

We then headed up quite a lot of steps to the Castle. It was well worth it and to quote David, “it was one of the best castles I had got him to wander around in recent years, and trust me I have dragged him around quite a few”, probably helped by the examples of old war artillery within the walls, and the shell of an old bomber, well after all he is a chap! I will let the pics do the talking

Gjirokastor and its Castle

And its amazing piece of modern art…

A couple of hours later, we headed back to the village for some much needed refreshment in the heat of the day before setting off again..

Next up, after an hour´s drive, which for the most part was a straight road through the valley, during which David counted over 17 petrol stations, it became a bit like counting Churches in Greece, until suddenly we turned onto a very windy road that took us to the top of the mountain range and back down again, without a petrol station, or a wee stop, in question, boy did I wish we had utilised one of the 17 we had passed beforehand! An old outpost of a bar was a very welcome sight indeed, just before we arrived at the entrance to the Spring.

Blue Eye Spring

The “Blue Eye” is a water spring and natural phenomenon occurring in the village of Muzinë southern Albania. A popular tourist attraction, the clear blue water of the river can be seen from a depth of more than fifty metres. Divers have descended to fifty metres, but it is still unclear what the actual depth of the karst hole is, as they didn`t get to the bottom.

It was stunning but 2 things to note, if you ever go there… don´t go at the weekend, popular is an understatement, and secondly, when you pass the stands offering to rent scooters, dont scoff and walk past, thinking how could people manage a scooter along a natural trail.  🥴 How mistaken we were, it was a perfect tarmac road for about 2 miles in the glaring heat, just perfect for a scooter. Sadly there were no such stands at the Blue Eye end, otherwise we would have gladly paid whatever they wanted rather than walk! Although we did watch three mature gents bombing back down the hill towards a corner where we were standing and looking at each other, as yes you guessed, it one of them lost it on the bend, and with him in a heap and his mates laughing at him, he gingerly got up, put a brave face on and continued on his way..

Shattered and very grateful to get back to the car, we headed toward the windy coast road back to Orikum, via Porto Palermo and the castle we didn´t get to when we passed by onboard Seaclusion.

It was an interesting, if not long drive, and we were happy to turn the corner and see the castle. We parked up and walked up the hill to the entrance to be told by the guy on the door that it was closed as they were preparing for a music concert. Luckily for us, the girl who was organising it saw our forlorn faces and heard our exclamation that we had just driven for 2 hours to the see the castle, she let us in, just so long as we didn’t get in anyone’s way! Luckily they were all inside, so we were able to climb up on the roof and take in the views at least.

Porto Palerma & Ali Pasha´s Fort

Due to its strategic position, the shores of Porto Palermo have been utilised for defensive purposes from antiquity to World War II. The fort served as a former Soviet submarine base during the communist regime in Albania, nowadays its semi abandoned tunnel and barracks attract attention of visitors, as well as the stronghold walls and gates built by the powerful Ali Pasha of Ioannina. Sadly with the hive of activity going on we didnt get to the tunnel.

I have pinched some ariel shots from the internet to give you a better feel for it.

And the very dodgy quay, we were thankful we didn’t try to moor up to, despite others clearly doing it.

Some calamari & a beer from the little bar on the beach, put us in good stead to head home which entailed driving to the top of the mountain range, with its stunning scenery and views. Had David known about this, perhaps he might not have had the beer!

At 5pm, we finally arrived back in Orikum, just in time to get to a supermarket for some much needed provisions, before 6pm when we had to return the car.

Whilst we had been away the marina had hosted their Italian regatta and this was there last night… so a stage was set up and we thought we might find the energy to go and partake, that was until we realised that it wasn’t for a band, it was for karaoke, and trust me these Italians could not sing, so much so we were grateful to stay on board, eat, drink some vino and sleep, ready for our departure in the morning!

We hope you have enjoyed our land-based excursion, we aren’t sure we would come back, and even if we did, whether we would recognise parts of it, there is so much growth and capital investment, if a little laundered. The country will change a lot in the foreseeable future, for better or for worse, who knows!

8th July 2023