Sun and Sea in Saranda

With $300 in our collective pocket, my future husband, his little brother, and I chased down the dawn bus from Tirana to Saranda, the southernmost city in Albania. After traveling 40 miles in 8 hours (which tells you something about Albanian roads), I finally realized the strange noises coming from the back of the bus were coming from a (live) duck in a plastic bag carried by a respectable looking gentleman (which tells you something about Albanian buses). I took this in stride, in part because I have the blessed talent of being able to sleep on public transport and because, after all, the best way to travel in Albania is with an Albanian watching over you. Or two.

For the next 10 days we alternated between staring at the sea and staring at the sky, taking a break for a well-earned lunch.

Since we were not brave or fast enough to catch the small octopi that others fished up by hand for their lunches, we perched instead on cliff-side cafes to eat piles of mussels in spicy tomato sauce, and tzaziki by the bucket. Between swimming, games of chess, beer, and sunning ourselves on beaches our only clue that we had not been transported to a simpler era was the Greek pop music blaring from every bar and cafe along the waterfront in town.

Holidays in Saranda are as yet not for the faint of heart - unless you are willing to spend the requisite 50€ a night to stay at the Hotel Butrint where hot water, clean towels, and electricity are plentiful and consistent. Or so I've heard.

Our accommodations were more exciting, however. I caught my first glimpse of a scorpion in our shower but it didn't really bother me since the shower didn't work anyway. We showered in a shed instead, which curiously enough had a snakeskin nailed to the door (a warning?). If you can stand the occasional cold shower and don't demand fancy drinks with umbrellas in them or multiple discos, this is an ideal place to go for a seaside retreat on the cheap.

And if you're curious about Albania, but not willing to commit to a real voyage, come over from Greece (Corfu is an hour ferry ride) for at least 2 days - one day for the beach and one day to see Butrint (see separate posting about Butrint). The best time to go is between May and July, because in August the beaches are as crowded as in the rest of Europe.

Watch out for scorpions and poisonous flowers. And ducks in bags. And learn some Albanian too. As in the case of the Croatian coastline, I have a feeling that Albania is going to be "discovered" by the mainstream soon. Scandanavians have already caught on to the charms of the Ionian Sea and a few Germans have followed their lead...