Back in the bloggin game!

So sorry to all you loyal readers out there for being absent for so long. Life, how shall I say it, took over. :-) Nevertheless I intend to try to bring it on back for the home stretch in Albania. Only a few more months to go, until I head for my next adventure. So stay tuned!

~ Lauren

Ode to Skanderbeg...

What happens down in Mexico...

...and you know how the rest goes. :-) Now I only wish that I could have stayed in Mexico! Pristine beaches, a wonderful little eco-friendly town, and a great cast of characters in town for Zack and Jodi's wedding. It was a wonderful vacation, and I highly recommend Troncones, and Casa Ki, where I stayed, to all. Here are a few photos I took that I thought were worth sharing...enjoy!

The view of the beachside of Casa Ki, where I stayed and spent many, many hours in the armchairs. I regretfully did not take any pictures of my delightful little bungalow, Casa Rojo, but you can see some on the website: www.casa-ki.com

Dinner being caught for one of the local restaurants.

A rather fuzzy shot of one of the dozens of pelicans that would swoop and sail over the shallows, feasting on the ocean's bounty. I loved watching them, though they are devilishly difficult to capture on film!

Another view of the beach, with other guesthouses, bungalows and restaurants in Troncones.

View from Casa Delphin, where some of the other guests were staying.

Moonlit night over the beach, with a local's fire burning in the distance.

Scene of the nuptials.

The vows.

The cutting of the cake.


CONGRATULATIONS, JODI AND ZACK!!!!

Dhermi

I recently went to one of the most charming little beach towns ever! Nice and quiet, it becomes incredibly popular with Tiranese on the summer weekends. And the road to get to Dhermi is fanstastic, too, as you drive along the coast, cut up through forested mountains, and then wind your way down steep curves to reach the new coastline, with Dhermi visible in the distance. I stayed with some friends and in general, had a jolly good time. I think I may be a closeted beach bum...

Farah and Arian taking a yogurt and honey break on the drive to Dhermi.

Dhermi beach.

Dhermi beach at sunset.

One of the secluded pocket beaches along the northern shore.

View from top of mountain, heading down to tiny Dhermi. The large island is the distance is the Greek island of Corfu.

Winter beach blues...?

I had a very difficult time this year adjusting to the fact that I saw absolutely zero snowflakes this entire winter season. Not in Albania, not in Cleveland, not even during transit through NYC! Not in London, not in...well, you get the picture. Instead I spent my hours December through March on the Adriatic and Ionian coasts, soaking in the rays, the surf and the sunsets. Easter Sunday was even spent picnicking on the beach, while home in Cleveland they woke up to another 6 inches of fresh snow. And then I thought...hmmm...

...perhaps a girl could get used to this!! :-)

Sunny days in Montenegro

My first foray outside of Albania occurred back in October. I went with a local group called "HASH" to Montenegro for the weekend. I'll spend another blog on the "HASHers", but for now, it will suffice to say that this is a very varied group of individuals who get together every weekend to go running in the countryside, followed by an evening of gorging themselves on chicken wings and beer. I'm told every country has a group, and quite frankly, I'm not surprised. :-) Anyways, they sponsored a trip to Budva, Montenegro and I was lucky enough to be able to participate.

Budva is Montenegro's jewel on the coast. A wonderfully preserved walled city, with a strong tourist economy and enough variation for all income levels. The best thing about this trip was that I met one of my best friends, Karolina, on this trip. Karolina has since unfortunately departed back to Sweden, where I plan to visit and cause some mayhem around June 21st. So stay tuned for more on that front...

We happened to be there the last weekend of the tourist season, and a large festival was being held for the Budva community, to celebrate another successful tourist season. There was fresh fish, free wine and live entertainment. A fantastic way to celebrate, if you ask me!

Here is the local grillmaster, hard at work!

And the yummy grillins!

And here is our little group, from left to right, Christina, Ingrid, Karolina, and Johan, patiently waiting in line for our free fish. :-)

Visiting other towns in Montenegro, such as Kotor...

...and Herceg Novi. Dougie likes Herceg Novi! :-)

Another adventure belatedly told...Bosnia-Hercegovina

Back in October, I had the good fortune to visit my girlfriend, Jacki, and her husband, who were then living in Sarajevo, BiH. Sarajevo is a fascinating place, and I would very much like to try living/working there next, should the opportunity arise. The city itself is comfortably nestled in a small valley in the Dinaric Alps, with the Miljacka River smoothly running its course around the city center. The historic center has a lot of character, with a bazaar, local eateries/bakeries, and a dozen mosques or so, with their white minarets poking above the tiled rooftops.

There were a lot of interesting shops, including this Shakira knock-off -- even the saleswomen dressed like the Shakira mannequins!

Jacki showed me a wonderful time in Sarajevo -- including that wonderful tasty treat of cevapi -- please see her blog (theneurotictraveller.blogspot.com) for her recipe on how to make!

As to be expected, adventure was not far behind us. We took a day to drive into the surrounding hillsides in the Republic of Serbska, to check out a local monastery and the abandoned ski resorts, still bombed out from the war. A fascinating place -- one of the buildings had a bright blue "UN" painted on it from when it served as a temporary field office for the UN. It didn't survive the wreckage, though.

After a wonderfully hot meal at one of the still operating resorts (even though there was no snow), we decided to head further up the dirt road to discover whatever was waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, as we drove further up the mountainside, the fog swirled in, making it seem as if we were in a parallel universe, and could only imagine just how close the car really was to the side of those perilous cliffs to the left and right. Just as we thought we saw a beacon of light in the distance (it was only a brief parting of the fog as the sun set), we got stuck. Yep, and stuck we were. The car would not go forward. Would not go backwards. One very incredibly large rock had somehow managed to lodge itself firmly on the axles. (Note that I was not the one driving...) Only after some serious innovative, yet primitive, techniques were employed, were we finally able to dislodge both rock and car from each other. As one near-death experience shrouded in fog and darkness was enough, we thankfully managed to turn the car around on one of those 18-point turns on a narrow dirt road in the mountains and mud, and made our way safely, though slightly buzzed from our proximity to death, back to civilization.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip and good quality girl time spent with Jacki, which we both needed. Alas, Jacki and her hubby have relocated themselves to somewhere in East Anglia, to where I hope to visit sometime in the near future...

Macedonia - the land of...?

November 28 and 29 are Albania's National Days. While the true meaning of these holidays eludes us foreigners, we still appreciate the fact that we get two days off in the middle of the week. So, true to form, I set off on another adventure. My friend Ingrid and myself set off in a rental car to Macedonia for the day. Our overall impressions were that while beautiful, Macedonia was basically Albania, just 5 years from now. Roads were in good condition, the service industries developed, and regular people had a improved grasp of English.

First, though, we had to drive through Albania to get there. We were awed by the sheer vastness of the scenery, scenery that we had no idea existed in Albania. (Just pretend you can't see the telephone lines.)


We set off for the town of Ohrid, just over the border on Ohrid Lake. The town itself is lovely, wandering up the hillside, dotted with an impressive lot of well-preserved Byzantine churches. Here is a view of the lake with the hazy mountains that surround it in the distance:



And, of course, the numerous churches that abound in this region...



We also had the good fortune to visit with some of the town's craftsmen. This gentleman makes his own paper, and print basically whatever you would like on it using a Gutenberg press, which he claims is only one of two exact replicas ever made and functioning.

pretty pictures from around the country

Here are just some more pretty pictures of Albania I thought I'd share. Enjoy. :-)

The lovely Southern Ionian Coastline.

The castle in Gjirokaster, one of the towns I am focusing in. The old part of the town is a UNESCO World Heritage City.

The Ethnographic Museum in Berat, the other town that I am focusing on. Berat should also become a UNESCO World Heritage City next summer.

My favorite picture to date. Farmhouses near Thethi, in the northern Albanian Alps.

Mt. Korabi, the highest point in Albania, on the Albanian-Macedonian border. It is over 2750m high, seen from approx. 70 km away.

Top Ten Things to Know About Life in Albania

10. It takes fifteen hours to cross a country the size of the state of Maryland.
9. Streets have no names or numbers. Only in October 2006 did they announce we will be getting a postal code system for the first time.
8. Albanians shake their heads side to side to mean “yes”, and nod up and down to mean “no”.
7. I’ve drank the freshest water I’ve ever drank from a mountain stream just 100 km away from the dirtiest smog I’ve ever inhaled.
6. There really are potholes the size of Volkswagons, and just as deep, too.
5. We have a pyramid in the middle of Tirana, built, yes, actually, for the purpose of a mausoleum. There is a bar there now called “Mummy.”
4. Lamb brain isn’t entirely undigestible.
3. Blood feuds still exist – a whole new meaning to the “family feud.”
2. Crossing the street is akin to “Frogger” – a little bit forward, backward, to the side, and eventually, you’ll make it across. Or you'll go splat!
1. Orange modular furniture and pea green walls are really, really in.