Gjirokaster

Today our plan was to explore Gjirokaster together. We started our day at a café and stacking up on water since during the daytime, it will be a burning hell there. Somehow, it ended in a discussion about American politics within John's family, which was not what I expected waking up to. The conversation continued throughout the car ride to Gjirokaster and was interrupted by John's family giving us the entire history of the region, pointing out ruins and other places of interest within the beautiful, mountainous landscape, before they all shouted at each other disagreeing over Albanian communism. I had the good sense to stay out of it, although it was amusing to listen in. We picked up a friend of John's uncle we ran into in Gijrokaster and went to the ruins of the castle together, from which we had an amazing view of the city and its surroundings. John's uncle had to get the car fixed, so we explored the city with his aunt. It would depend on the state of the car on whether we would go directly to the beach town in the evening or return back to Përmet for the night before going there the morning after, so we brought our bags just in case. By the time the heat set in, we had to stop by a café for some time for cold drinks and I poured the remaining water I had over my head. Given how much sweat I was covered in, it didn't make much of a difference. For lunch, we went to eat at a fancy restaurant that was owned by a friend of John's uncle's friend. Somehow, everyone in Albania knows each other. I was very happy that I had John with me throughout the trip. While his family spoke English, no one else did, at least no one who was older than we are, and the Albanian language is beyond me. I cannot decipher a single word, apart from some loanwords. We ate fried feta cheese, beef chops and pork skewers. Afterwards, we decided to make our way to a beach town called Sarandë. By now, I had developed a taste for Albanian music since I was bombarded with it everywhere and I didn't mind at all, it has a very happy vibe that just makes you want to dance. In short, these songs are absolute fucking bangers. John and me are starting dancing repeatedly, even out on the streets in public since neither of us cares too much about the looks we are getting. But for now, the four of us just put the music on full volume and started a little party in the car while driving through the Albanian mountains.Les mer