[I’m fast-forwarding ahead in our trip, will return to earlier episodes in future posts.]
We’d read about the mountains in northeast Albania, and they sounded great. But I was prepared for the remoteness and majesty, much like the Annapurna range of Nepal where I trekked in 1981. We had arranged a guided tour with Choose Balkans, and it was a great choice. Our guide and driver, Armando, was excellent; he studied and worked in tourism in Greece for about 20 years before coming home to Albania. He picked us up in Tirana, from where we drove north and east into the mountains.
We’d read about the mountains in northeast Albania, and they sounded great. But I was prepared for the remoteness and majesty, much like the Annapurna range of Nepal where I trekked in 1981. We had arranged a guided tour with Choose Balkans, and it was a great choice. Our guide and driver, Armando, was excellent; he studied and worked in tourism in Greece for about 20 years before coming home to Albania. He picked us up in Tirana, from where we drove north and east into the mountains.
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| You can see the windy road we came up in this panorama ... and this was the good part of the road! |
Armando at the wheel
After the top of the paved road, things turned rocky!
But the discomfort of the drive was rewarded when we arrived in Theth, a stunning hamlet in a stunning valley. Old wooden-plank roofed houses and churches as well as new construction to take advantage of the growing tourism trade. Most families here run guest houses.
Our guest house.
Dinner on our first of two nights.
Our trek to “Blue Eyes” in the next post.
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