Return to Përmet

I got up early to enjoy some coffee by myself as I needed a short break from constant socializing. We would leave Sarandë around noon to return to Përmet. The plan from there was basically non-existant. This entire trip was more of a go with the flow kinda thing. We stopped for some breakfast Byrek before starting our journey back, this time accompanied by bangers from the 80s instead of Albanian music. We made a quick stop to buy some fresh figs before continuing back to Përmet. Once we arrived and put our stuff back, we went to a café and decided to have a calm day today and just walk around town a bit once the worst of the heat had vanished. I spent the time organizing all of the music I had found so far along my trip and try to plan what we'd do the upcoming days. Tomorrow, we would make our way a bit further up North to Berat. John wanted to stay inside for quite some time so I decided to walk along the Vjosa river by myself, until I stumbled into his cousin at his shop again. I hung out there with him a bit until John finally awoke from his afternoon nap to join us. We made conversation with the Albanian dudes on the table next to us and by now I was starting to get used to strangers being open and curious. I'd miss this once I returned to the society in Vienna. I also started sketching a small Albania themed tattoo that I wanted to get in Tiranë once we'd arrive there if I happened to find any tattoo shops that'd have time for a walk-in. Spiro, John and me decided to drive all the way over to Gjirokaster for coffee and cigarettes. According to John, it was quite normal to drive for an hour to have a better scenery while enjoying your coffee over here, so I wasn't going to challenge it. We went back to John's aunt and uncle for some snacks while waiting for Spiro to get ready to pick us up. His car did not have seat belts and by this point I was not even surprised. We blasted the Albanian music I had shazamed so far on full volume on our way and were already having a great party within the car while going through the mountains at night. Both John and me said that neither of us was feeling like going back home. We knew we had to, but the thought of simply vanishing to Albania sounded more and more appealing by the minute. We also got to watch one of Albania's infamous forest fires from the window, and as twisted as this might sound and be, it was a beautiful sight. The car smelled like a barbeque even with that much distance between us and the raging flames. Since Albania is quite rural, we were able to see a sky filled with stars from the open window too. We got to experience a busy night life filled with casual bars in Gijrokaster and more Balkan music playing from each spot. We hung out for some time until all of us were close to falling asleep on the car ride back home. I went to get some more soufflaqe, which by now I was majorly addicted to, and befriended a stray dog on the way back to our place.En savoir plus