A short trip to Ninesh, Mallakaster

 

There used to be a famous village, newly rebuilt after the 1971 earthquake. They even had a cinema, a first for small villages. Ninesh became famous around that part of Albania, even Enver Hoxha himself went there to visit the people.

Ninesh is still there but instead of a cultural hub of the area, it has become a quiet place, with old, new and half built houses, gravel roads and a nearby lake full of fish. The villagers go on with their daily lives, work the fields, feed the cattle and sell their produce.

Why am I talking about Ninesh? I happen to have relatives there, they own a piece of land and they’ve built a small villa there, as their summer retreat while they live and work abroad. As you can see on the photos, their villa is surrounded by green hills, the lake is quite close and there are little fish that eat the dead skin out of you. Also figs, delicious figs.

While having a great time chillaxing by the veranda, me and my cousin thought it would be nice to share this experience with other people too. This way, A Piece of Albania was born. First as a Google Locations Guesthouse (without success) and then an instant success through AirBnB. French people started booking and it’s so amazing whenever we hear the notification on our phone. New bookings help other people experience what we wanted to share in the beginning, we treat our self to a nice little extra income and the village benefits too, whenever our guests decide to buy fresh produce or home made raki

Last but no least, you guys can also book and pay in bitcoin if you happen to wander around these parts. Cheers.

 

 

Some more photos from the Riviera

Paragliding is becoming more and more interesting lately. If you fancy flying from Llogara down to Palase, google Alket Islami, the head of the Albanian Aeronautic Association (or smth similar). Otherwise write me here, I have a couple of contacts.

This is the view from the platform they have been recently, down to the military post where Top Gear flew an old Lada down to a ravine. 

Saranda, calm as always, with small and big yachts becoming more and more prevalent in the bay between Albania and Corfu. 

Ksamil and its small dreamy islands… Always a pleasure to come here and lay on the beach, reformatting your hard drive, away from city noise and pollution.

The small island you see in the Porto Palermo bay hosts one of the many fortresses of Ali Pasha of Tepelena (or Ioannina). It isn’t an island actually, there is a small strip connecting it to the mainland. The buildings on the foreground are part of a military complex serving the submarines base at the shore. I’m not sure if the base is still functional but I do know there are no more submarines there.

This place is almost after Himare, before reaching Qeparo or Borsh. The area is full of Aloe Vera and other medicinal herbs.

Guys, I’m seriously thinking of turning my passion for travel to a full time tour guide operation. If you ever consider visiting Albania, let me know

Ngjipe Canyon

For you guys that want to find it online, most people have tagged this place as Gjipe because N & GJ are two letters of the Albanian alphabet that never go together. The street signs of the Ministry of Transport have the correct name on them, Ngjipe.

Here are some photos of the canyon. It was dead dry this summer and the only being I saw were a couple of frogs and a small snake living in a pond. No photos of them though.

Ngjipe – Perhaps the best beach in Albania

This place seemed always so close yet so far. I have been swimming around this part of Albania for as long as I remember but I never took the time to visit this particular beach and its canyon. To begin with, there was no road until recently and the road you see on the photos can be done only with 4×4.

It wasn’t on my plans for the last weekend either but an old Belgian couple I met up in Llogara told me they were amazed and considered this as the most beautiful beach in Albania. I decided on the spot to visit it, although I had my 4 years old son with me.

The place can be found easily if you keep an eye for Ilias village as soon as you cross Dhermi Panorama. After the village there is a right turn that leads to a monastery. The road is narrow but paved with asphalt. Drive until the end and you will see a parking space with amenities for campers. Park your car, pay some 1-2 EUR to the lady that lives there and just start walking toward the only path that leads down the hill toward the beach.

The rest can be seen on the photos. I can only say that the water was crystal clear, the beach was sort of sandy with very small pebble stones. There is also a canteen for beers or water, in case you didn’t bring yours. Expect to pay 80 cents for a small bottle of water or 1.5 EUR for a bottled beer (Korca). As for toilette or shower, this place is semi-famous for travelers with tends or sleeping bags and there are amenities.

Best part, this place is almost empty of people. I’ll post photos of the canyon tomorrow or the day after.