“Getting Lost in Albania and Kosovo”

• July 6, 2020
• By Daryl
• 0 Comment

We leave our hotel driving past old factories with chimneys pointing at the past; the Soviet Union legacy. 

We are searching for Mesi bridge, an old stone bridge from the 18th century. We see it right alongside a dilapidated bridge that is in use now, as the replacement bridge. Again, the the cobblestones are worn smooth with the passage of time and the carts sliding past from stone to stone. I imagine the click clock of the beasts of burden, crossing the bridge with the farmer riding on the cart, doing his best to encourage the the beast for the days toil.

We stopped at a farm animal swap meet. Sheep, horse and cows are for sale. We stand out from everyone else, with our cameras. People are telling us what to photograph. Another man tells us locals don’t like to be photographed. I said that’s funny, but everyone is telling us to take a picture. After talking to several locals, we head out with the curious having strained necks from gazing as we pass.   

Finding the correct road is a constant struggle. Signage is far and few between. The mountain roads follow the canyons and connecting to them requires backtracking.  A new route takes us back up canyons more Eastward. Wide expansive views open up with green chaparrals covering the mountains. Trees are short and all the same age, recovering from being denuted in the past. 

Ragged black shale and basalt were broken and tortured, making way for the four-lane freeway.  Wide canyons, shaped by biblical proportion floods, had small rivers flowing to the Mother seas. Twisted wire fencing protects drivers from rock slides and falling rock. Heavy concrete ballast hold the fencing close to the edge to allow rocks to flow under, in controlled fashion, as they fall. A subterranean tunnel bypasses a whole mountain, it was three miles long. 

A deep blue-green lake comes in to view, down below, as we clear the peak. Massive rolling mountains flank each side of this reservoir. The rolling mountains rise 10,000 feet in clear view. We are driving at an altitude of 1,400 feet above sea level. The sides of the mountains are green, without tall trees.  

After a couple toll stops, soon, we are at anther stop, but this one has a longer line. We suddenly found  ourselves crossing into Kosovo. A quick u-turn  just on the other side of the border gets us  back on track. It turns out the town we wanted to see was in Kosovo but our rental car does not allow that. 

Rerouting leads us back through a village, and we both see strings of  brass bells for farm animals. We stop and buy a small one for our travel collection. 

Another castle visit is our next quest, and that leads us on a gravel road with lots  of turns. We think this must not be the way. Soon we head up a hill with an abundance of trees. It was looking good, then tucked away with mountains all around, the town comes in to view. The sign said Panorama Hotel, 9 kilometers away. It seemed more like nine miles. The hotel was in our budget, 30 euros. We get to our room and look outside and what view. The view with red tiled buildings, Mosque, shops and Castle, laid out in front of us. Dinner was excellent and cheap. A rain storm accompanied us with thunder and lightning. The sunset cast a wonderful light off the buildings with a full moon rising