Delights of Durres II

Sometimes, the incongruities of cruising life brings a smile to my face. Here we are, in our self-contained life bubble of Pavlov, going about our daily business. We sleep, eat, watch TV, play guitar and so on... yet we are anchored in the middle of a vast commercial port. We are in Durres, Albania and there are no facilities for 'cruising yachts' and no suitable anchorages. So here we are, cleaning our teeth and cutting our hair, surrounded by monstrous cargo vessels and the bustle of a working port.

The view from our stern

Pavlov dwarfed by the height of the dock... getting off was quite a feat.

Dwarfed by the crane parked next to us.

All of a sudden, we are shaken by heavy wash. Whistles are blowing and there is a steady jabber of Albanian outside the thin walls of our hull. Pavlov has a new friend .... an enormous 150m bulk carrier has just docked in front of us, well almost. They can't quite fit in, and the captain is asking us to move back by a few metres, so they can fit. We are totally dwarfed by this vessel, and so hasten to comply.

Frojdi, Pavlov's new bow buddy.

Pavlov, feeling a little overshadowed by his new friend

We've found the Albanians to be exceptionally friendly and welcoming. Tourists are still a novelty here, so that blasé disregard we met in Greece has not yet had time to ferment. As we left the port gates for the first time, two sailors flagged us down, and forced us to have a drink with them. They were most disappointed that they couldn't buy us alcohol, but we did accept a coffee from them. Coffee in Albania is cheap (50 cents) and very good. This happened a second time, where a cafe owner was impressed by us sailing here, and bought us free coffee's.

Little Georgi, bought us coffee when we first arrived.

Georgie's captain, of a large bulk carrier, also entertained us.

We've enjoyed the sights in Durres, which is a dynamic and bustling cosmopolitan town. Its the largest port in Albania, and sees more visitors than other areas. We visited a few Roman ruins and amphitheatres, marvelled at the Albanian College entrance facade, and strolled the tourist promenades along the sea-side.

Roman ruins

Large elliptical amphitheatre

More Greek / Illyrian ruins

Amazing college facade,.... its huge 

Old Venetian tower against a modern city backdrop.

Tourist attractions on the sea-side

However, as is usual with the Pavlov crew, its the everyday ordinary things that interest us. We found the market, where prices were a fraction of what the (unused) supermarkets charged. We admired the local street art and dallied in the local cafes. We visited the local library and observed the older gentlemen avidly reading the daily broadsheets.

Cafe life in Durres

Man selling his sailing ship models 

Newspaper readers in the local library

Local street art ... who can afford canvas?

Vibrant markets

Local cafes and shop fronts

We noted one remaining signifier of previous Communist regimes. Albanians still have a penchant for monumental patriotic sculptures portraying the glories of partisan revolution and overthrowing of despots. I did enjoy the sculpture of the guitarist however. She's playing an Epiphone, by the way.

Great Albanian heros .... number 4597

And another one bites the dust....

One more to my taste

More street art

We have one more port in Albania. We're heading to Shengjin next, for a few days. Then we're off to Montenegro. Hey Ho.

Delight in Durres

Sometimes, the incongruities of cruising life brings a smile to my face. Here we are, in our self-contained life bubble of Pavlov, going about our daily business. We sleep, eat, watch TV, play guitar and so on... yet we are anchored in the middle of a vast commercial port. We are in Durres, Albania and there are no facilities for 'cruising yachts' and no suitable anchorages. So here we are, cleaning our teeth and cutting our hair, surrounded by monstrous cargo vessels and the bustle of a working port.

The view from our stern

Pavlov dwarfed by the height of the dock... getting off was quite a feat.

Dwarfed by the crane parked next to us.

All of a sudden, we are shaken by heavy wash. Whistles are blowing and there is a steady jabber of Albanian outside the thin walls of our hull. Pavlov has a new friend .... an enormous 150m bulk carrier has just docked in front of us, well almost. They can't quite fit in, and the captain is asking us to move back by a few metres, so they can fit. We are totally dwarfed by this vessel, and so hasten to comply.

Frojdi, Pavlov's new bow buddy.

Pavlov, feeling a little overshadowed by his new friend

We've found the Albanians to be exceptionally friendly and welcoming. Tourists are still a novelty here, so that blasé disregard we met in Greece has not yet had time to ferment. As we left the port gates for the first time, two sailors flagged us down, and forced us to have a drink with them. They were most disappointed that they couldn't buy us alcohol, but we did accept a coffee from them. Coffee in Albania is cheap (50 cents) and very good. This happened a second time, where a cafe owner was impressed by us sailing here, and bought us free coffee's.

Little Georgi, bought us coffee when we first arrived.

Georgie's captain, of a large bulk carrier, also entertained us.

We've enjoyed the sights in Durres, which is a dynamic and bustling cosmopolitan town. Its the largest port in Albania, and sees more visitors than other areas. We visited a few Roman ruins and amphitheatres, marvelled at the Albanian College entrance facade, and strolled the tourist promenades along the sea-side.

Roman ruins

Large elliptical amphitheatre

More Greek / Illyrian ruins

Amazing college facade,.... its huge 

Old Venetian tower against a modern city backdrop.

Tourist attractions on the sea-side

However, as is usual with the Pavlov crew, its the everyday ordinary things that interest us. We found the market, where prices were a fraction of what the (unused) supermarkets charged. We admired the local street art and dallied in the local cafes. We visited the local library and observed the older gentlemen avidly reading the daily broadsheets.

Cafe life in Durres

Man selling his sailing ship models 

Newspaper readers in the local library

Local street art ... who can afford canvas?

Vibrant markets

Local cafes and shop fronts

We noted one remaining signifier of previous Communist regimes. Albanians still have a penchant for monumental patriotic sculptures portraying the glories of partisan revolution and overthrowing of despots. I did enjoy the sculpture of the guitarist however. She's playing an Epiphone, by the way.

Great Albanian heros .... number 4597

And another one bites the dust....

One more to my taste

We have one more port in Albania. We're heading to Shengjin next, for a few days. Then we're off to Montenegro. Hey Ho.

Tyrants of Tirana

Albania has been everybody's bitch. The original inhabitants were the Illyrians, at least thats how the Albanians would like to remember their origins. The Greeks have had a piece of her, as well as the Romans, leaving durable colonies in places like Butrint. The Visigoth and Ostrogoth barbarian tribes battled for control as the Byzantine empire started to crumble and Constantinople lost control of its far flung outskirts in the 7th century. After the Slavic influx, Albania was integrated into Bulgaria. It finally achieved some sort of statehood as the 'Medieval Kingdom of Albania' under Serbian rule. The Ottoman empire ruled for a long period, starting in the 15th century, right up until 1912, when Albania made its first declaration of Independence.

Skanderbeg, an Albanian hero

It then tried to be a monarchy as the Principality of Albania (1914 - 1925), and then an even shorter lived Albanian Republic until 1928. King Zog established the Kingdom of Albania from the republic until 1939. It was then occupied by Fascist Italy just before the outbreak of World War 2. After the collapse of the Axis powers, it became a Communist regime, Socialist People's Republic of Albania ruled by the dictator Enva Hoxa. The Communist regime collapsed in 1990 with the fall of the Eastern Bloc, and the great Albanian diaspora began. It is now run as a democracy, has joined NATO and is seeking membership of the EU.

King Zog

Some of the bitches

We became fascinated by this curious country, struggling to establish itself as an economically and politically independent nation state. So we upped and caught a bus to Tirana, leaving Pavlov down at Orikum marina.

Leafy pleasant streets in Tirana

Bookseller on the bridge

Large central square in Tirana 

Old mosque, one of the few old buildings in Tirana

Tirana feels like a dynamic and progressive city. The people are clearly poor,  reflected in horrendous architecture and street side markets. However, there is a lively forward-looking orientation. Modern cars are the primo status symbol, everyone sports a mobile phone and there is a lively cafe culture. We were right at home.

A spot of parrot-smuggling, anyone?

Even though Albania is officially an atheist state, there is religious freedom and both Muslim and Orthodox beliefs flourish.

Modern Orthodox church

Nave of the church

There are still some curious signs of its Communist past. Hoxa's  pillboxes are everywhere as are the police. There are signs of Nationalistic propaganda in the art and sculptures around the city.  

State building, note the sentry pillbox 

Communist era mural on a state building

Mural showing a victorious Skanderbug

Pretty impressive dude, huh!

Unusual Albanian coat of arms made from rifles.

Partisans against Mussolini's Fascists

Another patriot

Christian decorations

More nationalistic sculpture

Entry and exit formalities are complex, must be done through an agency, and police attend arrivals and departures. I guess it takes time to drop a long standing reliance on authority structures.

The 'river' through the centre of town

Housing structures

Funeral hearse

Common design apartment block

Large civic spaces

We've been fascinated by the Albanian story, and felt very welcomed by its people. It feels like we're witnessing the birth of a dynamic and independent nation, with all its attendant birth-pangs.

Blood feud instruments

Roman mosaic from Butrint

Roman Statue

Greek style helmet

Megan in the markets 

Leafy cafe adorned streets

Well, we're off on the bus back to the boat, its a 3 hour haul. Next stop for Pavlov is the commercial port of Durres on the north coast of Albania.