Day 7

After breakfast at our hotel, which consisted of a large bowl of delicious yogurt, bread, butter and homemade jam, and the best coffee we’ve had in Albania so far, we embarked on the way to visit Butrind, about 15 minutes south of Ksamil. Butrind is a very interesting archaeological site dating back to the 4th century BC when it was established as an important port and town. It thrived during the Greek and Roman times, the medieval times and then it became abandoned and forgotten. It was rediscovered in the 1920s, then forgotten again, and finally an Albanian archaeologist started excavations in 1956. Right now about 30% is uncovered, including some very interesting and well preserved structures like the Greek amphitheater, the agora, the temple, etc. We joined a group with an English speaking guide so we got a very good tour. From Butrind we drove to Qeparo, our next destination. The drive is spectacular – a very winding serpentine road up and down the mountains with the Ionian see on our left. The views are breathtaking. Before checking into our hotel, we went to Porto Palermo for lunch in a restaurant opposite the castle/fortress of Ali Pasha built in 1805 with the help of French engineers. Lord Byron was a friend of Ali Pasha and visited this castle and his other castles as well. Another Brit – Edward Lear, the poet and artist, also visited and loved Albania, including Butrind. Our hotel in Qeparo (Riviera) is right on the beach in the new village. There is an old abandoned village very high up on a hill/mountain above it. After a short stay on the beach and stepping in the Ionia sea we started a ride to upper Qeparo. This ride up and up and up a narrow one lane very steep and sometimes unpaved road scared Bo –less. Finally reaching the top, about 1500 feet ASL we parked and walked up through the streets of this semi-abandoned old stone village to a peak where a viwing terrace was supposed to be so we could watch the sunset from there. Unfortunately, the gate to the place was padlocked so Julian knocked on the door. A nice men and 3 women invited us into their house. We climbed to an observation balcony with spectacular views of the valley and coast. The host offered us home made raki and asked if we were interested in buying a house in the village. He had a 300 sq meter house for sale for about 60K, not renovated. The village is amazing and if renovated, it could be a real gem. After descending, we went to a nearby town of Himarȅ for dinner.