Albanian Alps Adventure
Day 2
The one with… wild horses, a ferry through the mountains and Maxine’s AirTag rescue mission.
Summary
Our first full day in Albania was a day of spectacular scenery, questionable AI tourism videos, a stunning ferry journey and an unexpected navigation success courtesy of an AirTag. After travelling through some of the most dramatic landscapes in the Balkans, we arrived in Valbona, settled into our mountain lodge, enjoyed a feast of a dinner and rounded off the day with a sunset geocaching adventure. Not a bad start to the week!
The Long-Winded Version
6.36am The hunt for coffee
Note to self: always bring your travel kettle!
I find a café open and walk inside. It’s full of men, the chatter goes quiet and I feel as though all eyes are on me.
I say to the lady behind the counter, “Coffee?”
She says, “No,” and shoos me away.
I am confused, so I ask again while looking around at all the men drinking coffee.
She then carries on working behind the bar.
Okay, perhaps it’s a men-only café? Do they have those in Albania?
Wow! Am I seeing things?
As I continue my hunt for coffee, I spot horses on the street eating out of the bins. One of them has a bad leg.
This is turning into a very strange morning.
Street dogs are everywhere, but they all look well fed and seem happy enough.
I return to the hotel, where breakfast opened at 7.00am, and finally get my coffee. It’s strong, but it does the trick.
I’m joined by the girls as they appear in dribs and drabs. It sounds as though everyone slept well.
Breakfast is done. After a bit of cat herding, we finally get everyone onto the bus and we’re ready for the next stage of the adventure.
8.38am And we’re off!
OMG. They are playing a tourism video on the bus which appears to have been created entirely by AI.
It features three glamorous women with perfect hair, no shoes and apparently not a care in the world as they frolic through Albania.
Naturally, we spend the next few minutes discussing how we could recreate the video ourselves in the mountains and meadows.
Picture a group of 50-plus-year-olds dramatically swinging our hair in waterfalls while staring thoughtfully into the distance.
The drive continues through twisty mountain roads and then we enter a dark tunnel.
There is literally only room for one vehicle, so I hope nothing comes the other way.
Then everything stops.
A police car appears in front of us, travelling in the opposite direction.
Apparently, this is a thing, and our driver takes it all in his stride.
Eventually, we get moving again.
10.16am We make it to the ferry
11.23am And we’re off!
It’s difficult to describe just how peaceful this journey feels.
Lake Koman isn’t actually a natural lake. It was created in the 1970s when the Drin River was dammed to generate hydroelectric power.
What they accidentally created was one of the most beautiful boat journeys in Europe.
The water snakes through steep limestone mountains that rise almost vertically from the shoreline.
In places, it feels more like travelling through a Norwegian fjord than the Balkans.
The water changes colour constantly, from deep green to turquoise, depending on the depth and the sunlight.
People spread themselves around the ferry. Some chat quietly. Others take photographs every few minutes because the scenery somehow keeps getting better.
There’s a group from Canada onboard who are also heading into the mountains to hike over the next few days.
The ferry moves at a wonderfully slow pace and now I completely understand why it takes three hours to reach our destination.
Nobody seems in any rush.
1.30pm The next mode of transport
Another minibus.
As we wind our way towards Valbona, there is plenty to keep us entertained.
A donkey standing in the road.
A cow randomly standing on the footpath chewing a tree.
Another cow.
And then another cow.
Meanwhile, we follow the Valbona River, which is a stunning shade of aqua blue.
The water is so clear that it almost doesn’t look real.
2.11pm A quick river stop
We stop for a break and watch a group of local boys launching themselves into the river from the rocks.
The water looks freezing, but the boys seem completely unbothered.
Another 45 minutes later and we finally arrive.
Unfortunately, my travel sickness tablets have clearly decided that their shift is over.
The last hour on the bus feels absolutely dreadful.
At one point, I hear somebody shout, “Cute little train!”
I can’t even lift my head to look.
The moment I step off the bus, however, I feel instantly better. Funny how that works.
Welcome to Valbona
We are staying at Kol Gjoni Guesthouse in Valbona, a family-run lodge set right in the heart of the Albanian Alps.
And wow. The scenery is incredible.
Snow-capped mountains rise on every side and the valley feels wonderfully remote.
The Valbona Valley sits within one of Albania’s oldest national parks and forms part of the dramatic mountain region known as the Accursed Mountains.
Thankfully, despite the name, they’re absolutely beautiful.
We scatter to our rooms.
I lie down on my enormous king-sized bed “just to rest my eyes”.
Still, I feel like a new woman. I head downstairs, grab a zero beer and go for a wander.
I spot Max, Hannah, Snay, Ann and Dee standing on the huge stone riverbed that separates the lodge from the road, so I wander over.
They’ve had quite the adventure.
The unexpected expedition
What started as a gentle walk somehow turned into a one-and-a-half-hour expedition involving rivers, streams, wet feet, barbed-wire fences, somebody’s garden and a healthy amount of being lost.
Apparently, Hannah ended up with soggy feet after an unexpected encounter with a stream.
The hero of the story was Maxine.
Using the Find My app on her iPhone, she tracked the AirTag hidden inside her luggage and used it to navigate back towards the guesthouse.
6.30pm Dinner
And what a dinner.
This was one of those meals that just kept arriving.
Bean soup, which needed lots of salt and pepper.
Fresh bread and sour cream.
Salad, lamb and roast potatoes.
A delicious spinach and cheese pastry thing.
Courgettes with cheese and tomatoes.
The food just kept coming out.
Then dessert arrived: sponge pudding with jam.
Ann and Dee said it was just like their mum used to make.
The chatter around the tables is lively and everyone seems relaxed and happy.
A sunset geocaching adventure
With my belly full, I’m keen to stretch my legs.
We’ve spent most of the day sitting down and my body is demanding movement.
I open the Geocaching app and discover there’s a cache about one and a half miles away.
Jennie, Stephanie, Paula, Claire and I head off along the road before crossing the river towards an old mill house.
It’s around 8.00pm by now, so we know we don’t have long before darkness arrives.
We reach the location.
We search.
And search.
And search some more.
By now, it’s getting properly dark, so we admit defeat and start heading back.
Thankfully, the torches on our phones do a decent job of lighting the way.
By the time I finally climb into bed at around 10.00pm, I’m tired but excited.
Tomorrow is hiking day.
And I can’t wait.
