In the third week of September my husband and I set off on a whim to Albania. We had no real plan in mind. Albania, a Balkan country, is bordered by Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro. It is just short distance from Italy across the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Due to the isolationist agenda of its former communist leader, Albania was cut off from the rest of the world and was inaccessible until the fall of communism.
Now people are starting to catch on to all the natural beauty and history that Albania has to offer. In the five nights that we were there we went from the capital city of Tirana to the white sandy beach town of Durrës. We camped, swam and fished at Southeastern Europe’s largest lake, Lake Shkodra, and we explored old fortresses, churches and mosques in the town of Shkodër.
Şeref fishing at Lake Shkodra which borders Montenegro.
It was from Shkodër that we took the four hour drive on the only road to the tiny village of Theth in the valley of the Accursed Mountains.
Theth in the valley of the Accursed Mountains.
The Accursed Mountains or Albanian Alps is a mountain range that extends to both neighboring Kosovo and Montenegro. It is home to herders and small scale farmers and has been ruled since the fifteenth century by the law of Kanun.
These are traditional Albanian laws that seek to regulate all aspects of mountain life such as economic organization, brotherhood, clan, hospitality and even blood feuds. We had been advised that a portion of the road to Theth would be impossible to continue on without a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Unfortunately we had a Fiat.
View from the top at Qafa e Thores, clear and chilly.
This difficult point came at the top of the mountain at a pass called Qafa e Thores. At this altitude it was quite cold and we were not really sure what our next step would be.
View from the restaurant where we managed to hitch a ride.
We went into the mountain top restaurant, a bare bones operation with no electricity, no heat, and several men with whom we could not communicate and the lone wall hanging was a painting of Mother Theresa. We bought a beer and a bag of chips and we waited. For what we were not certain. Finally a younger man came in, sized us up and correctly guess our predicament. “Taxi?” he said. “Taxi.” I replied, gratefully nodding my head. A minute later he handed me his phone and I found myself in negotiations with a man who said that he could send his dad to give us a ride and it was going to cost us fifty Euros. It was going to be dark in an hour and, given that there were not any better options, I accepted the offer from the man on the other end of the strangers phone to have his dad give us a ride into the Accursed Mountains. When the dad arrived he had somehow picked up a Frenchman along the way. The extra passenger reduced our fare, which was nice.
Albanian Alps
The only road leading into and out of Theth is a winding, deeply rutted dirt road. At times the passes were narrow and the drop-offs steep. Our driver seemed like he had done it a few times so I was fairly comfortable. After about an hour we arrived at the idyllic village which boasted a population of about five hundred families across the valley. The Frenchman headed off into the woods to find a place to camp. It was already getting dark and that didn’t seem like the greatest plan to me. But who was I to judge? I’d just hitched a ride with an Albanian man who didn’t make a sound the entire drive.
Theth farm
We had booked a room at the Guest House Flodisa which turned out to be a family estate which was being modernized into a guest house. The brother and sister who ran it were very excited to learn that Şeref is Turkish. It came out later that they are really into Turkish t.v. series which are apparently all the rage in Albania. They had many, many questions for Şeref.
Nature’s alarm clock.
We were only able to spend twenty-four hours in Theth due to our time constraints. But the time we spent there was memorable and without a doubt we will return. That evening we set out to get the lay of the land. We came upon a small market that also seemed to double as the local bar. So, when in Rome…
Kid eating cans at the local joint. And not the goat kind.
The atmosphere was not terribly hospitable therefore we moved on in search of a restaurant. After walking for a while along the river that goes through town we came upon a place that looked like it could be a restaurant. It was raining by now and we were underdressed so honestly any shelter would have been fine. We were, as it turned out, at the Bujtina Polia guest house. I am still not sure if we were really welcome to eat there or if the owner just took pity on us. But we were served the most splendid meal with the other guests. Fresh vegetables, beef similar to pot roast, pickles, homemade cheese and bread fresh from the oven along with generous pours of house made wine and rakia, a plumb alcohol.
Theth, church on the left.
The next morning our hosts served us a lovely village breakfast of eggs, warm bread, pungent cheese and strong coffee. We were ready to head out. There are several day hikes you can take from Theth. We chose one that we could complete in a reasonable amount of time so we headed off to the Grunas Waterfall with a pool at its basin.
Sheep grazing at the Church of Thethi.
It took us about two hours hours to get there and when we arrived we came upon a group of men skinny dipping. Şeref nearly required a fainting couch!
Sorry, no nudes.
Along the way we passed the picturesque farmhouses, we waved to curious herders and bored animals.
Hello M’Lady!
We passed the ‘Lock-in Tower’, which is one of the few kulla’s that survived destruction during communist times. These towers were used in the event of a blood feud. A person or family who needed protection could take shelter in the tower. Sometimes they would wait there for years.
Lock-in Tower with the Albanian flag on the door.
When we were ready to head back to the pass our host gave us a ride up the mountain. He explained that soon the road would be closed as snow keeps it blocked for six or seven months out of the year.
Very few families still stay in Theth year round, most go to Shkodër for the winter. Along the way we picked up a hiking Dutchman who needed a ride to a crossroads where he would hitch a ride to Macedonia. Since it seemed to be the thing people did around those parts, we gave him a ride and shared our chips with him too.
Farming village on the way to Shkoder.
We loved Albania and look forward to returning. In the south there is something called the Albanian Riviera which I am told has all the beauty of Greece but without the hefty price tag.
