Serenity in Sarandé

After a wonderful Easter in Corfu, we decided to have one last look around the island, and rented a car for a day's exploring. We hauled Anne and Gordon around with us for our last island circumnavigation. We clambered up the tallest peak in Corfu, visited several mountain villages and stopped in a few ports to check out anchorages.

Megan and Anne literally on top of Corfu

Venetian boat yard north of Gouvia 

Mountainous village in northern Corfu

Village town

View from the highest point on Corfu

Top of Corfu, not a scenic sight!

Several of the anchorages looked fine. We liked Agios Stefanos and would use this as a jumping off point to leave Greece. We also visited the house of Gerald and Lawrence Durrell, both famous writers  who wrote extensively of their life in Corfu, particularly 'My family and other animals'. We also looked outside the palace of the Princess of Austria, but sent Anne and Gordon as our envoys to do the reconnoitering. (We wimped out!).

Agios Kassiopi

Agios Stefanos

The Durrell residence on Corfu

The Apollonian palace of the Princess of Austria.

Couple of spooks.

Sunset in Mandraki

We finally escaped from Greece's gravitational pull (all those free ports and sheltered harbours) and achieved escape velocity. We departed from the lovely anchorages in Agios Stefanos. Gordon and Anne jumped from there over to Italy, while we headed for Sarande in Albania. We had to employ an agent, and Agim was very obliging, meeting us at the dock and handling all our formalities. There are no facilities in Albania for pleasure yachts, so we were docked in the commercial port, with all the customs security that that entails.

Pavlov on the dock at Sarande

View of the bay at Sarande

The admiral pole holding

Pavlov looking a bit lonely and isolated in the commercial port

After 2 years in Greece, we were both feeling like a change of culture, even if it only meant a change in cuisine. Albania did not disappoint, as it has a distinctly different vibe, along with lots of communist concrete ugliness. The culture seemed to combine eastern Ottoman elements with western sensibilities, mixed up with crazy dictator fetishes. The armed pillboxes and agrave thorn bushes planted to dissuade invaders sure indicated just how extreme the Hoxha dictatorship was.

Old city ruins and wall inside modern Sarande. 

Fresh mussels for sale

Couldn't help kibitzing this one

Downtown Sarande

We learned of an old city, predating Roman imperialism, south of Sarande called Butrint. It was a short bus trip down and we were able to explore a fascinating and beautiful historical site located on the edge of a large lagoon. Butrint was interesting because it had been settled and showed the influence of multiple civilization, from the Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Orthodox Christians, Ottomans, Ali Pasha and other groups; each leaving their imprint in the stones.

An Albanian punt, couple of planks on some steel drums.

Triangular fort, holding the last garrison from Butrint

Greek columns and Venetian sentry tower

Roman theatre

Roman amphitheatre

Roman forum 

Mosaic buried under gravel for conservation

Christian Basilica

Carved gateway: Lion devouring a Bull

Fortified walls of Butrint

Outlook from Butrint hill

Wall fortifications and chapel

We're enjoying being in a culture that's off the beaten track. There are few tourists to Albania, and almost none this early in the season. Makes a great change from the throngs in Corfu. We will head up the Albanian coast in the days ahead. Ciao.