Underwater bunker

Afternoon Reflections

Waiting for the master to return

Fenced

Crashing weaves

[caption id="attachment_2649" align="alignnone" width="660"] Crashing weaves[/caption]

Dreaming big

[caption id="attachment_2646" align="alignnone" width="660"] Dreaming big[/caption]

Storm approaching

[caption id="attachment_2643" align="alignnone" width="660"] Storm approaching[/caption]

View from balcony

The view from our summer apartment. Shamelessly I'll promote it here as well, in case anyone is visiting Albania this year. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5509812

Erosion

This is the view from Durres, Illyria Sector/Beach. The weaves bring a lot of seaweed and no one cleans it before the summer season. The winter has its own magic too. Long walks undisturbed, waves, wind, jogging for kilometers if you like. In case anyone is interested, I rent a small apartment there. I'll do an unbeatable price for people coming from my blog. :)

Storm

[caption id="attachment_2451" align="alignnone" width="660"] Storm[/caption]

Seagulls

Funfact: Seagulls in Albanian are called White Chickens.

Bay of Vlore

[caption id="attachment_2275" align="alignnone" width="660"] Bay of Vlore[/caption]

After Dukat, the descent continues to Dukat i Ri (New Dukat), built after World War II and then to Orikum city. In front of us lies the bay of Vlore and down left is the Pasha Liman Naval Base which cannot be seen in this photo. There are some old submarines built with the help of the Russians. It was actually the only Soviet base in the Mediterranean in the 50's.Following the collapse of the Communist regime, the base was rebuilt by Turkey and under a bilateral agreement the Turkish Navy has the right to use it.

The first mountain on the left is the Karaburun peninusla. The farther mountain is Sazan Island, the largest island of Albania, albeit uninhabited. A joint naval force between Italy and Albania stay there, mostly to prevent contraband or immigration (now there is no immigration via boats, since Albania joined Schengen Area).

Dhermi Village

The village of Dhermi, on the side of a mountain overlooking the Ionian sea. The beach at the feet of the mountain is one of the best in Albania. Beware of the prices though, very expensive for Albanian standards. The last years it hasn't been that clean as well. Garbage all around and trash bins full, if you managed to find any. Let's hope it will be better next year. The government is spending a lot to improve Albania's image and tourism income.

Gjipe Canyon

[caption id="attachment_2264" align="alignnone" width="660"] Gjipe[/caption]

I couldn't climb down the canyon for better photos but I will definitely do it sometime in the near future. The canyon leads to one of the most beautiful beaches of the Albanian coast. You can't drive down to the beach but there is a walking path which takes some 30 minutes from the parking place. The island seen in the background is the Greek island of Othonoi.

Guiding Light

[caption id="attachment_2254" align="alignnone" width="660"] Guiding Light[/caption]

My name is Bond, James Bond

[caption id="attachment_2220" align="alignnone" width="660"] My name is Bond, James Bond[/caption]

Oh hai

[caption id="attachment_2214" align="alignnone" width="660"] Oh Hai[/caption]

This photo is from the summer days. I have been absent due to a trip that I had. Photos of that trip coming very soon :)

Saranda By Night

[caption id="attachment_2208" align="alignnone" width="660"] Saranda By Night[/caption]

Saranda is located inside a bay, hence the beautiful view of the lights from the promenade. The lights on the far left are from Hotel Butrinti, the first 5* hotel in Albania. Don't count too much on the stars since the classification is made by the Ministry of Tourism of Albania. As you may know, in countries like ours, the stars show how rich is the owner of the hotel, not how good the hotel itself is. Nevertheless it has a quite good reputation regarding quality. I can't say the same regarding price unfortunately, it is one of the most expensive in Albania. We stayed on the far right, opposite Grand Hotel, at a new apartment with a private beach. We paid like 25$ per night for quite a large apartment, with all the necessities and free parking. If you need any phone numbers, let me know :) The best thing was the view from the balcony, it felt like being on an airplane.

Lonely Tree (sort of)

[caption id="attachment_2139" align="alignnone" width="660"] Lonely Tree[/caption]

This tree is found on one of the three islands of Ksamil. The island is quite small and covered in bushes but this tree sort of tried to get away. To reach the island you can swim, it's like 50m from the shore. There used to be a bar there but the local government demolished it (and it was a great decision).