On the road in Albania EEEK!!!

The road driving into Shkodër, Albania

We had enjoyed Montenegro, then crossed the border into Albania. We were headed to Shkodër, Albania's 4th largest city and one of the oldest in the Balkans.

Not far from the border, we reached a crossroad. While trying to decide which route to take, an Albanian couple pulled up beside us and helpfully gave us advice on the shortest route. We took their advice, and ended up travelling on roads that were the worst we have been on!

Donkeys wandering the road

Our poor motorhome bumped and rattled on a terrible unsealed and potholed road, and turned from a nice white colour to grey, on what was a very slow and torturous trip.

After dodging a tortoise crossing the road, then three donkeys that were wandering across the road outside a mosque, we eventually arrived in Shkodër.

There were no campsites in evidence, so we drove around to see if we could find parking.

Then, we were waved down by a couple who (to our amazement) were the same couple we had seen near the Montenegro border hours earlier.

The mosque at the 4 am call

They suggested we follow them to park at a nearby hotel. We followed them tentatively, given their earlier advice. However, their hotel was full.

So, we farewelled them, and went on to find parking in a tourist bus spot, right in the middle of the city.

It turned out to be a very, very noisy spot with local music blaring until the early hours of the morning and loud cars. Leigh slept better than Marg but the 4 o’clock mosque call disturbed us both.

Marg at the ruins of Rozafa Castle, Albania

We met an Albanian guy there, who had worked in Ireland and spoke with an Irish accent. He informed us that we would be perfectly safe there. And it was safe too - just very noisy

We were up and moving very the early the next morning!

We took a quick drive around Shkodër city, then headed to the hills to visit the local Rozafa Castle, which gave spectacular views of the area.

While there, we met a delightful old woman who seemed so pleased to see us. She spoke no English and we got by with sign language, hugs and lots of nods and handshakes.

Driving into Tirana

She was very interested in the van; that we could sleep in it, and it had a kitchen and bathroom. It was a lovely moment, seeing her old face crease with delight at these innovations.

Moving on from the castle, we found a local garage that provided an unexpected parking spot. We were able to park, pick up wifi, and fill up with fresh water before moving on.

We then travelled on slightly better roads to Tirana, the capital of Albania. We stopped only briefly there as our impression was that it is big and dirty.

Transport in Albania

We travelled through Elbasan and over a very, very winding, narrow and steep road that had lots of "hold your breath" moments with steep sheer drops. Quite stressful. We were very pleased to get to the end of it at Lin, near the border crossing where we would go into Macedonia.

Our impression of this part of Albania is that it is dirty and poor, with slums right next door to 2-storey palatial homes.

There were lots of donkeys and horses pulling carts, plus other interesting forms of transport. Farming is heavily labour-based with sickles and scythes being used more than machinery. Often it was women bending down doing the work, while the men stood by overseeing.

There seems to be high unemployment with lots of groups of men standing and sitting around in the many coffee houses.

We saw a woman in a burqa riding a bike and texting at the same time, which we thought was very skillful.

There was no sign of McDonalds or Starbucks or any western commercialism at all, in the areas that we visited.

We were impressed with the friendliness of Albanians and their willingness to tell us about their country, and to offer advice about things to see etc. They seemed genuinely pleased to have us in their country and we felt very welcome.

Our next destination is Macedonia. 

This blog describes part of our 7 month campervan trip around central and southern Europe, which began in Germany in April.