Walking from Valbona to Thethi in north-eastern Albania

Posted on 15/11/2012 by Michael

The final challenge to the Qafa e Valbones

Walking from Valbona to Thethi in north-eastern Albania

Two attempts at the walk between Valbona and Thethi in north-eastern Albania and still don’t make it. The reasons why not and perhaps the reasons why the next time.

It’s now official – I’m a failure. In fact, a failure twice over. One of the set plans I had before coming out here was to do a circular route in the mountains of north Albania. This would have involved various forms of getting from A to B, including a boat trip, a couple of furgon (minibus) trips and, crucially, a stretch where I would have to do all the hard work and climb up, and back down, a mountain.

That’s was the part where there was no alternative way other than foot and by failing to achieve that goal was unable to complete the circuit.

This was all intended to take place in the valleys of Valbona and Thethi in the north-east of the country, areas very close to the border with Montenegro. I had been to this area before and knew, more or less, what to expect but the challenge became too great.

The hills and mountains in this area are incredibly beautiful and especially so at this time of year as the shades of green change to shades of red, gold and brown. This area is dominated by beech trees but there are also varieties of pines and conifers as well as many plants new to me. There are supposed to more than 3000 types of plant that grow in Albania, some of them being unique to the country. This is understandable as you travel around and see the changes in the terrain, ranging as it does from Mediterranean beaches to high, stark, snow bound peaks.

It was through the latter I would have to walk in order to get from the small village of Valbona to the even smaller village of Thethi. This would entail a walk of about 14 kilometres, a climb of 815m and a descent of 1000m (starting from a point at just under a 1000m high) so altitude starts to play a part.

My problems started the day I arrived. Incorrect information about furgon departure times meant that I decided to hitch. That has mixed fortunes in Albania which I want to write about later but suffice to say that I ended up getting a lift which I had to pay for, not a lot but thought it better to get to Valbona (thinking I’d missed the minibus) rather than be stranded in Barjam Currie – which is not the most exciting place in the country.

If I had taken the furgon (which left at 16.00 when I was told 14.00) I would have arrived at the literal end of the road and the beginning of the path over the mountains. As it was I was dropped off at a place that was as far as it was possible to be from the trail head. If only I knew then what I know now. There was no problem with the place I stayed in, apart from the fact that after arriving there, a guest house which operates like the British B+B, I was unable to communicate with the old Albanian woman who prepared my meals. So I left the next morning with the intention of going to Thethi not really sure from where I was starting.

This meant a long road walk, which was easy in that the climb was reasonably gentle, and it was cool as even thought the sun was up, and it would get hot later, the high mountains meant that the sun only really shone in the valley from late morning to early afternoon. But it was long, about 8 kilometres. So I ended up walking for the best part of two hours before even starting the off-road trek.

(If anyone reading this considers doing this walk make sure to arrange a lift of some kind to the end of the mettled road if you stay in any of the guest houses that are spread out over a long distance along the valley.)

The next problem was finding the beginning of the route. Now in all the years I’ve been walking one of the matters I’ve never been able to understand is why waymarks are so badly placed at the beginning of a route. I don’t know if this intentional – there’s a growing business in guided walks in the area and I’ve been in some areas where local guides don’t like waymarking as it allows for independent travel – but where it was needed it was lacking. And if you get it wrong at the beginning life becomes difficult.

I asked a local who could speak English and he pointed up the dry river bed and said ‘There’. Where? I thought but didn’t say. The outcome of this was that I spent more time than necessary trying to pick up the marked route as I wasn’t going to start climbing 800m if I wasn’t on the correct path. The result was more time wasted and more energy used up. (I’ll be writing a separate post describing the beginning and what I did of this walk, with the intention of giving a clear indication of what a walker could expect in making this trip.)

And that started to take its toll within an hour or so. I debated aborting until the next day but kept on putting off the decision until I had reached a coll at just over 1400m high. At that point I decided that I just didn’t have the energy necessary to make the final 400m and then get down the other side, on terrain I did not know. So retreated down the track where I did know what to expect and got back to the bar/hotel at the trail head.

Why the first failure? Getting old and not accepting it? A little bit. Not as fit as I thought I was? A contributory factor. But ended up deciding that the reason was the extra, but ultimately pointless, waste of time and energy before I had even started to make the big climb and the fact that the day before a not inconsiderable amount of alcohol had been placed on the table in front of me.

Next day would be different. I knew where the it started and was at the beginning of the real walk. Tomorrow I would get to Thethi.

But I didn’t. I got higher, to just under 1600m, but still about 250m short of the Qafa e Valbones, the highest point on the path. When I saw what that entailed I just lost heart and it wasn’t long before I was again in retreat.

I wasn’t going to try a third time this year as I sensed that the weather was starting to change at the top and although I had two almost perfect days for walking I thought I might be pushing it to expect the same on the third day.

I also thought I knew why I had failed twice. Some of the earlier reasons still had some resonance but now added another, my bag was too heavy. Looking up at the cliff face I had to climb (the photo at the top of the post shows the coll towards the right of the picture) I was sure that I could have got up it, but not with the weight I was carrying.

The trouble was technology. I had pared things down to a minimum with what I thought I would need in the event of the weather turning quickly against me but my camera and computer were just too much. A computer? Yes, a small laptop. So why was I climbing up a mountain with a computer. I could give reasons but they would only sound like lame excuses. Surely only an idiot goes up a mountain carrying a computer. So probably the real reason I didn’t make the round trip to Thethi was idiocy.

Did I bottle out too soon? Probably – I could have just tried to take it very, very steady. Could I have made it with a little bit more will power? Possibly. Do I regret not making it? No, not at all. Don’t need to prove anything to myself or anyone else and saw no reason to do something that was ceasing to be a pleasure and becoming a chore.

Knowing what I know now I’ll do it next year. (But it didn’t happen. Never got around to doing the walk, although I was in Albania on a number of occasions subsequently.)

Visiting Enver Hoxha’s grave in Tirana

Posted on 14/11/2012 by Michael

Enver Hoxha’s grave

Visiting Enver Hoxha’s grave in Tirana

After his death on 11th April 1985 Enver Hoxha was buried next to the Mother Albania statue in the Martyr’s Cemetery overlooking Tirana. However, the counter-revolution that took place in 1990 allowed his political enemies to take their revenge by denying him a place of honour in the country’s history and he was reburied in the main public cemetery of the city.

To get there take the bus to Kombinat, an orange and always crowded bus, from the top end of Rruga Kavajes, the road that leads away from Skënderbeu Square in a westerly direction. Cost of the fare is 40 leke.

Stay on the bus until it arrives at the terminus. This is the main square of Kombinat. During Socialism, in this square, standing atop a large plinth, was the statue of Joseph Stalin – which now stands in less grandeur behind the National Art Gallery in Tirana. Across the square from where the bus drops you is the entrance of the now abandoned and partially destroyed textile factory, which bore Stalin’s name and provided not only work for the vast majority of the population of Kombinat but also its name – kombinat means factory in Albanian.

Go back to the main road and follow the direction the bus had brought you, i.e., with Tirana at your back, and walk for about ten minutes to arrive at a narrow road that leads off the main road, slightly uphill, to the left. This junction is opposite a petrol station and there are flower shops as well as stone engravers workshops plainly visible. Continue along this road for a few minutes until it turns to the right and in less than 50 metres go through the gate on the left. There are always flower sellers on either side of this gate.

Once through the gates take the path to the left and then the first path, heading up hill, to the right. When you see a sign with ‘Parcela 6’ on your right you know you are getting close. Look for the back of the doubled-headed eagle symbol, ubiquitous throughout Albania, and that’s where Enver‘s remains currently reside. If you arrive at the same level as a second caged grave (presumably the relatives were afraid s/he would escape otherwise) you have gone too far.

It’s a modest grave, two in from the path, of red marble and the only inscription being his name and dates (1908-1985), surmounted by a small star. At the head there are two pillars which support a black metal, double-headed eagle. There are always flowers on the stone, a mixture of real and artificial.

Enver‘s remains were moved to the public cemetery in Kombinat in April 1992 from its location in the Martyrs’ Cemetery that looks down on the city of Tirana, in the north-west of the city, beside the road to Elbasin.

Even in its original setting the grave wasn’t ostentatious. It was a bigger piece of marble but the inscription was no different. What made it special was its location, the Martyr’s Cemetery being the place of honour for those who died in the fight against fascism during the Second World War. This was just a spiteful, political move by those opposed to Socialism as has been demonstrated by the installation of a pro-fascist monument to the right of the Mother Albania statue.

The original tomb stone was later used as the principle monument to the English military who died fighting in Albania during the Second World War. The English Cemetery is in Tirana Park just behind the main Tirana University Building.

Because the British had supplied the Communist Partisans with weapons after the victory over Nazism they thought they had the right to determine what should happen in Albania after liberation. British activities in the aftermath of the war continued until the fall of the Socialist system in 1990, beginning with the infamous ‘Corfu Incident’.

To read Enver Hoxha’s son’s (Ilir) account of the exhumation click here.

Or to read that account as a Word document Lilo Hoxha on his father’s, Enver Hoxha, exhumation.

Enver Hoxha’s Grave October 2014

The above picture was taken a few days after the celebration of Enver Hoxha’s birth, which falls on October 16th.

Syri i Kalter, the Blue Eye

Posted on 07/11/2012 by Michael

Syri i Kalter, the Blue Eye

Syri I Kaltër, the Blue Eye is one of the natural attractions in the Saranda area in southern Albania, especially if you are not interested in the beach or are looking for a change. A visit here can also be put together with a day trip to Gjirokastra from Saranda.

If you look at the pictures and read some of the descriptions the Blue Eye seems to be quite impressive indeed. It’s one of the sources of the river which supplies the water to operate the two hydroelectric plants at Bistricë, in the direction of Saranda (one of these had a visit from Sali Berisha, the Albanian Prime Minister, at the beginning of November 2012 to open a new electricity generating project).

But the problem is that, as it’s a karst spring that has worked its way through the limestone over millions of years. The water will be that which has worked its way into Mount Mali Gjerë and then found its escape route. Perhaps the spectacle is more impressive just after a wet winter where the force of water may be greater. Visiting in the autumn the force was not as great as would give rise to the naming of the spring in the first place.

According to the information board the force of the water was 8.8 cubic metres a second in 1980, but continually fluctuates. If there has been a series of dry years I assume the force reduces and it would take a series of wet years to really understand why it received its name.

As it is you are aware that the water is coming up with some force, but that force has not been strong enough to prevent the growth of underwater vegetation which means that the circular shape of the hole is somewhat disguised.

But it’s a pleasant few hours out in the countryside, especially if weather is good, and you never know when these natural phenomenon decide to put on their best show. After all, it took a minor earthquake to wake up Geysir in Iceland.

Practical Information:

Transport:

Any bus or furgon that travels the route from Saranda to Gjirokastra passes by the side road going to the Blue Eye. From Saranda it takes around 40 minutes and costs between 100 and 200 leke (I was charged the two extremes on a return trip – don’t know if ‘tourist prices’ are starting to become more common now). The bus will normally drop you off at the side road from where you have to walk. There are more buses in the morning, existing in the afternoon but with reduced frequency.

Taking the side road, that leaves northwards off the main road, you walk for about 5 minutes to reach a dam and a control point. There’s a sign which indicates that entrance is 50 leke for visitors arriving on foot but I wasn’t asked for anything. Continue along the dam, with the lake on your right and then just follow this road as it climbs slightly around the edge of the lake. After about 20 minutes you’ll hear the sound of running water and a few minutes later arrive at the end of the road, with the bars/restaurants. Cross the narrow foot bridge, take the path to the left which arrives at the Blue Eye in about 50m. There’s a viewing platform where you get the opportunity to look down into the ‘Eye’ and an information board giving you an idea of what is happening under your feet.

Accommodation

There are a couple of bar/restaurants in the vicinity of the Blue Eye, although only one of them is open all year round – and even that offers a limited service outside the weekend. However the Syri i Kaltër Komplexs Turistik, which is at the fall end of the valley, away from the entrance road, does offer some very basic, but consequently very cheap, accommodation. They have 5 cabins which will each sleep four (one double bed and two singles) and cost €20 per night.

They smelt musty when I was there but that was at the end of the season and it was starting to get a bit damp. In the height of the summer they get booked up some time in advance but outside of that short couple of months chances are that they would be available. There’s no website but they can be contacted by phone on +355 69 24 38 201.

There is a large restaurant connected to the complex but this will not be guaranteed operating in the off-season. It’s location would be perfect on a hot summer’s day as the veranda is built so that it extends over another stream that has come down from the hills above.

If you like isolation and going to sleep to the sound of running water this might be a place to stop if you’re travelling in a group. Bring your own food just in case but if you don’t there are a couple of bar/restaurants just up from the side road that takes you to site, in the direction of Gjirokastra, by the petrol station. A speciality here is the fresh water fish.