Day 8

We left in the morning and drove to Himare. Then to old Himare up a steep hill. We walked up to th ruins of the castle and church, and great views of the coast. Then back on the coastal road going north with more up and down serpentines and spectacular views. Julian suggested we take short detour to a monastery with fantastic views so we drove a one-lane road to a small parking area with a bunch of cars, We thought they were there for the monastery, but a parking woman said they were there for a great beach down below. We then walked for about 15 min in hot sun to a very picturesque monastery, but it was closed and the whole area was locked so we couldn’t even see the view. Then we continued on the same picturesque road to Dhermi beach where we stopped right by the beach for a short coffee break. Dhermi is a lovely village spread over a hillside with the old historic part at the top and the new, beachy part at the bottom. It’s past the beach season so most of the restaurants and cafes are closed and the beach gear is stowed away. All the beach resorts feel empty and very quiet. From Dhermi we started our ascend to the highest point along the coast, the Llogara pass – about 4500 feet above the sea level. Starting from the sea level it’s a big climb. The road kept going up and up and up in zig-zags, The views were amazing, This must be one of the most beautiful drives in Europe. No pictures can give justice to these views. There was a view point close to the top, but a concrete barrier full of graffiti ruined the pictures. At several points on the mountain road we had to avoid animals – goats, wild horses, cows. On the way down we stopped for sheep yogurt with honey and nuts. Delicious. We got Vlora and checked in to our hotel in Vlora beach (New York). Then we walked along the beach promenade lined with very pretty hotel and apartment buildings, some totally empty and unfinished, The whole area is very pretty, but like everywhere else in Albania, there is so little care for the environment – there is garbage on the ground and full garbage cans that may be are never emptied, nothing seems to be completely done – beaches, parks, roads, sidewalks, buildings… If you overlook these details, the coastal promenade in Vlora looks really impressive.

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