Trip to Albania–The Albanian Riviera

BUTRINT

Ryan was excited to walk around through Butrint – a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most important archaeological sites in Albania… especially since he stared at the picture of the theatre on the cover of his mission study book for 2 years.   Inhabited since prehistoric times, Butrint was a Greek city, then later a Roman colony and a bishopric.  It entered decline before being abandoned during the Middle Ages after a major earthquake flooded most of the city.   (14 miles south of Sarande – at the very southern tip of Albania.)

KSAMIL

After a brisk walk around the ruins we headed to the beach in Ksamil.  Crowded with beach chairs and happy Albanians.  We found a quiet spot out on the deck to relax and enjoy the view.

Stopping to enjoy the sunset as we made our way to our hotel in Himarë.

HIMARE

The water was blue and beautiful, the city a mixture of new buildings, old run down buildings and the cement skeletons of buildings to come.  Ryan said that half erected buildings dot every city in Albania and that they usually run out of money before they can be completed.  Makes for a interesting landscape.  Himare sits in crescent shape around the water.  We arrived in town after it was dark.  We had difficulty finding the right person to hand over our keys, but after a phone call was able to check in.  The small hotel was fine, but definitely the least endearing place we stayed.  We still hadn’t eaten, so we walked down the street and found some dinner… a great side salad, four cheese pasta, bread.  It was really good.  Then we headed back to the hotel to watch a few more home videos together and then went to sleep.

Our little hotel came with breakfast on the fourth floor.  Lots of bread, jams, wafer cookies and fruit.  We always grabbed some fruit for our lunch or mid morning snack. Definitely nice to have breakfast included.

After breakfast we checked out and went to check out the rocky beach.  Cool water but clear and beautiful.  We stayed for just under an hour and then took off for our next destination.

LIVADHI BEACH

I enjoyed this beach.  Nice covered bed-like lounge chairs and comfy blue bean bags lined the water.  We played in the water, but we also relaxed – me on the bean bag and the guys on the mattress, each reading a book.  (Ryan’s was Lord of the Rings in Albanian)

DHERMI

Our  third beach of the day was in Dhermi.  So many chairs, but not as crowded as Ksamil.   Turquoise water and beautiful mountains.

After our three beaches we headed north to Vlore.  Within minutes the coastal road took us high above sea level.  So fun to experience Albanian’s Adriatic Coast.