Webs

Waiting for the master to return

Headrest

[caption id="attachment_2611" align="alignnone" width="660"] Headrest[/caption]

Friendship

And so, a new friendship was born...

A new member in our family

[caption id="attachment_2604" align="alignnone" width="660"] A new member in our family[/caption]

My father found this little fella in the garden of the restaurant he works for. I doubt it came from the kitchen, they don't serve rabbit meat and second, it looks like only a couple of weeks old. After a quick search online we concluded that the rabbit makes a good pet actually. It's quite clean and low maintenance. Being so white we decided to find a short name for it, something like snowball or similar. And so we ended up naming him Yuki which means snow in Japanese. How we reach at that name is another story, perhaps I'll share it in another post :)

Rainy Mornings

Rainy days are far from over. Not much to do outside except photographing rain drops. :)

Race To The Top

[caption id="attachment_2484" align="alignnone" width="660"] Race To The Top[/caption]

Seagulls

Funfact: Seagulls in Albanian are called White Chickens.

Sparrow

[caption id="attachment_2435" align="alignnone" width="660"] Sparrow[/caption]

Hope Never Dies

[caption id="attachment_2382" align="alignnone" width="950"] Hope Never Dies[/caption]

Among all the blood, the innards, the smell, the cold air, the altitude (2,416 m), the rocks and the people, there was this little flower too.

Sacrifices

The following images show animal sacrifice therefore consider yourself warned. 

If you can't sacrifice your own sheep or ram, you can buy one up here. Conditions in which the animals are kept, are not that good. Animals are also under constant stress since every minute there are sheep being slaughtered in open areas.

The view behind the hedge reminds the holocaust or the massacres of ISIS. Hundreds of animals get slaughtered each day and all their innards are just thrown down there. It smells like death and God knows what happens after Sunday when people leave the holy shrine for another year. I guess there begins the vultures feast.

The ritual demands blood and that you shall slaughter your own animal. That means no one feels responsible for the mess they leave behind. On the other hand, even if they want to clean up the mess, there are no garbage bins or whatever. Irresponsibility begins from the local government.



An artistic impression of the situation.



Someone slaughtered a lamb at the shrine's inner yard, on the east side. Maybe you must face the rising sun before you do the deed... Maybe, deep inside our subconsciousness, sun is the one true god.

Love Sees No Color

[caption id="attachment_2307" align="alignnone" width="660"] Love Sees No Color[/caption]

Butterfly

[caption id="attachment_2261" align="alignnone" width="660"] Butterfly[/caption]

Dark Horses

[caption id="attachment_2120" align="alignnone" width="950"] Dark Horses[/caption]

When you cross from Gjirokaster to Saranda there is only one way for the moment, the Muzine's neck. There are some hard turns and when you reach the peak, the view is amazing. There are  mountains all around but there is the sea in front of you, albeit far away. It was afternoon and we had the sun in front of us, hence the silhouettes. Those horses are not wild, there are no wild horses in Albania. They run free though, there is nowhere to go and they have plenty of grass where they are. There are no houses near, only a gas station and a bar-restaurant. Great place for a stop, especially for bikers (or photographers).

Lonely Crow

[caption id="attachment_2101" align="alignnone" width="950"] Lonely Crow[/caption]

I took this photo when we stopped at the Tepelena Cold Water, a touristic area full of small springs. The water of this area is one of the most famous in Albania. It is the official water of the Albanian National Football Team.

The road widens here for a bit. When you come from Gjirokastra, on your left there is the mountain where the water flows from and on your right, a 100 m. deep down flows the Vjosa river. It flows from Pindi mountains in Greece down to Adriatic sea in Albania, between Vlora and Fier. It is characteristic for its color and somewhere in Permet it creates amazing canyons. Same as Osumi river in Corovode.

I forgot about the crow. It wasn't lonely actually. There were a dozen of them but this one stood still to pose for me.

Long-jawed orbweaver Tetragnatha

[caption id="attachment_2064" align="alignnone" width="660"] Tetragnatha[/caption]

Nice a**

[caption id="attachment_2061" align="alignnone" width="660"] Nice a**[/caption]

This cat was another inhabitant of the small hotel beside Blue Eye Spring. Gender confirmation needed. I hope it's a she, otherwise I'll have to change the post title :D

Rottweiler

[caption id="attachment_2059" align="alignnone" width="660"] Rottweiler[/caption]

Inside the forest there was this two floor coffee shop. The dog stood chained on top of that bridge and checked us from head to toe. I guess they keep it for the bears, if there are any bears left around that area...