Albania

Albania August 24th

After a short trip from Corfu we arrived in the coastal city of Saranda, Albania. This country remained isolated from most of the world after WWII under the rule of a communist regime. The government was so paranoid of potential attacks from other countries that it built 300 thousand bunkers to repel invaders. We visited some of these small igloo shaped structures. The communist lost a major election to the Democratic Party in 1991 and the new progressive government made major reforms bringing about capitalism and enabling the economy to expand. Saranda is a rapidly growing tourist spot with many resorts, too many. When the old communist system feel the people thought they were free to do anything and started building homes without permits. The government however responded by demolishing hundreds of these and the wreckage remains next to other completed units. After passing through the city we drove on to the large excavation site of a former Greek colony and later a Roman city constructed in the 3rd Century BC. The ruins initially excavated by Mussolini prior to WWII is one of the finest sites found to date with magnificent city walls, theater, temple and forum. We were surprised to learn that the head of Albania was also visiting the site and we had the opportunity to shake hands with President Topi.

Back to our ship we had time to go swimming in the crystal clear waters on a rocky shoreline. Following dinner our group watched the movie “No Man’s Land” depicting the absurdity of the war between Bosnia and Serbia. Our guide, Vasea, from Croatia had suffered during the conflict with multiple shelling of her family’s home by the Serbian army.