On the way to the summit

[caption id="attachment_2354" align="alignnone" width="660"] To the top[/caption]

The driver came on time and we took the road to the summit. The good news is that the car can drive up to the top. The bad news is that the road is not entirely as good as you can see in this photo. It is also very steep sometimes and you have to be extra careful not to slip back. It has happened before and the last case was 2 days ago. The people ended up with major injuries but alive fortunately.

The green structure seen on the top is a small room in round form. It has a round yard and it is the highest peak of mount Tomorr, standing at 2,416 m. In Albanian we call it "Cuka e Partizanit" which means Partisan's Peak.

[caption id="attachment_2353" align="alignnone" width="660"] Vertical Clouds[/caption]

While you drive it feels like flying, except the good shake from the rocky road. On one side you have a clear blue sky and you can even see the Adriatic sea if clear enough. On the other hand there are lower mountains and hills as seen on this photo.

[caption id="attachment_2356" align="alignnone" width="660"] On the edge[/caption]

This part feels like you are on the edge of a boiling pot, some sort of cloud factory.

[caption id="attachment_2355" align="alignnone" width="660"] Cloud Factory[/caption]

Checking around the tent

Those guys down there built a fairly large tent during the evening and next morning they were gone.



See those lines of stones? Too short for walls and too close to be used as borders between parcels. I couldn't ask anyone around. If you have any clue, let me know.



Me, doing the star fish :P





Lots of pines. I  guess goats feed on them and when they poop, the ground becomes fertile and little pine seeds grow in this circular area.

Waiting for the sunrise

[caption id="attachment_2343" align="alignnone" width="660"] Waiting for the sunrise[/caption]

After a long, cold and very windy night, we woke up too early (we barely slept to be sincere).



Now I understand why old Egyptians worshiped the Sun. It warms your body and soul, it warms your heart.

[caption id="attachment_2341" align="alignnone" width="660"] Our Tents[/caption]

We had built two tents, a large one and a smaller one. At the large one we were laying down like sardines. I had brought an air mattress with my but I forgot to bring a pump to fill it up. I tried with my lungs but it was an impossible task. Needless to say, we slept on the ground. It wasn't that cold because we had brought blankets and warm clothes but the main problem was the wind. It wasn't constantly windy, there were moments of absolute silence too. At some point, in the middle of the night, the guy next to me wakes up and says: Nick, Nick, there is someone outside!!! I knew there was no one outside because I wasn't sleeping at all. He heard some noise and mistook it as someone walking by... We didn't get outside to check though, no one was man enough.

Trip to Baba Tomor - Milky Way

[caption id="attachment_2336" align="aligncenter" width="379" class=" "] Trip to Baba Tomor - Milky Way[/caption]

Trip to Baba Tomor - Stary Night

[caption id="attachment_2333" align="alignnone" width="660"] Stary Night[/caption]

Beside a sky free of light pollution, the moon as well, was nowhere to be seen. The landscape looks well lit because of strong lights from the water processing plant a few kilometers away. The photo is a 10 sec. exposure, ISO-800, shot with a SMC Pentax-M 50 mm F1.7 on my K-x.

Trip to Baba Tomor - Part 3

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="alignnone" width="660"] Drinking Water[/caption]

We were there around 11 o'clock if I recall correctly. We passed the holy ground and continued some 3-400 m to find a flat area to raise the tents. We stopped close to this water spring and after setting everything up we came back to fill up some bottles for the night. As you can see, animals get equal respect. The plastic bags at the bottom were full of beers and water melons. The water was so cold that you could use it as a natural refrigerator.

[caption id="attachment_2329" align="alignnone" width="660"] Sacrifice[/caption]

Making a sacrifice is one of the pillars of the pilgrimage. You can bring your ram or lamb or you can buy it up there, alive or cooked. If you are a vegetarian or animal lover, I strongly suggest not to visit this place. Although the animals meet a quick end, the rest is somehow macabre. Piles of intestines, streams of blood and a horrible stench dominates the surrounding area. As I said in my previous post, it feels like a travel back in time.

[caption id="attachment_2330" align="alignnone" width="660"] Public Transport[/caption]

Actually there is no public transport. As with most holy places, the majority of visitors are poor people wishing for better fortune. Hence the amount of people trying to go down to Polican. We were staying under a tent here, a sort of mobile fast-food selling bread with meat balls, feta cheese and french fries. Although 23rd of August, it was perfect weather, some 18 degrees Celsius and a breeze cleaning the air. The wall seen behind the car is the entrance of the holy ground. The man depicted in the picture is Abbas ibn Ali. As you see, alcohol is well blessed around here. The drink of choice is not beer though, it's raki. Every country in the Balkans have some variation of raki  as their traditional alcoholic drink but the Albanian version doesn't have any smell like anis or whatever. It's like burning water, rushing down your throat and turning on your internal engine. :D

Trip to Baba Tomor - Part 2

[caption id="attachment_2322" align="alignnone" width="660"] Tomorr[/caption]

I've been quite a few times in Berat and this time I avoided taking photos, I was again on the wheel. Here is a gigapan photo, the most detailed one you could ever find. After Berat there is Polican, a small city famous for its ammunition factory, hence the nickname Ghost Town. We used to produce there Kalashnikov - Made In Albania... Polican is surrounded by nature, is quite small and very quiet. If you're driving with a small car, you should definitely park here because the road to the top of the mountain is very very very rocky. We managed to rent a Land Rover Defender for some 120$ to take us to the pilgrimage site on Saturday morning and then come back Sunday morning to take us to the top of the mountain (2,416M) and then back to Polican. We found the driver through a common friend so the price may not be the normal rate they charge for the exact service. However, it is impossible to find cheaper than that. They usually charge 90$ only for a round trip to the pilgrimage site (which is midway to the top).