Qarku i Vlorës

There is no shortage of beach places to stay at on the "Albanian Riviera." This stretch of coast on the Ionian Sea is beautiful and rugged. Just look at this one minute video for a glimpse.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eXgLPz5EAdCefXHz8

It took 2 buses and about 8 hours to get here from Berat, with a change of buses in Vlore. We spotted lots of the small bunkers that the former dictator Enver Hoxha (HO jah) had built. There are almost 200,000 of them throughout the country.

Our first bus dropped us off at an intersection somewhere in Vlore. I had to ask about six people how to transfer and one guy even offered to give me a ride to the bus station but we wouldn't fit in his Smart car with our luggage! A taxi driver ended up taking us there through heavy traffic and even had to bypass a funeral procession.

Our bus hugged the coastline and the views were astounding. I had heard that Llogara pass was not to be missed but either fortunately or unfortunately, a tunnel underneath had been completed recently and we took that. It saved almost an hour of time and was much safer than the switchbacks up top.

Fun fact: Julius Caesar landed troops on this route to chase Pompey during a Roman civil war within a year of crossing the Rubicon in Italy in 49 BCE. They then went up and over that Llogara pass.

We chose to stay in Borsh, a small village with a wide beach that's not too busy, especially this time of year. We found a nice apartment a block from the beach and couldn't be happier. The beach is pebbly and the sea is rough but it's a great spot. Some restaurants and venues are closing for the season already! There's some spotty rain this week but we already had one full sunny day of beach lounging. And I swam in the Ionian Sea for the first time.

Yesterday was overcast and a little rainy so we climbed the castle up on the hill. Another one! Berat was much better but it's interesting walking around an abandoned castle in disrepair. We have one more day of beach lounging and then we're heading to Gjirokaster, the city of a thousand steps. They had to come up with a moniker to rival Berat's "City of a Thousand Windows."

More photos and videos are here.
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