Permeti – Germenji National Park – Korca

Monday, April 29

Today we spent traveling through some very remote and beautiful areas of Albania.  Traveling out of Gjiokastra through the valley of a glittering river, we soon headed for a mountain pass.  Before leaving the main road, Enea’s attempt to stop for gas was thwarted when  the old attendant decided he didn’t feel like getting up from his seat to accommodate us, so off we went, chuckling at the prevailing (non) work ethic.

Once through the pass, we began to follow the course of the Vjosa River’s blue waters, which cut a gorge through the countryside.  The fields and slopes lining the riverbank gave evidence of a very different work ethic.  Rows of neatly ordered vineyards, shepherds and goatherds tending their flocks, and farmers manually tilling and tending fertile fields between small mountain villages all gave silent but powerful testimony to a rigorous way of life.  The scenery was absolutely spectacular – forested green slopes accented with flowering fruit trees and yellow blossoms, the watery ribbon below and snowy peaks high above; we couldn’t help thinking about how it reminded us of Switzerland or Austria. 
 

We stopped in the pretty town of Permeti(“Albania’s Cleanest City”), which overlooks the river, is planted with many well-tended flower beds, has a large public square with a monument to the Partisan heroes of the resistance, and whose local landmark is the Rock of the City, a huge bolder that broke off from the mountains that form the city’s backdrop and landed at the river’s edge.  We could see people who are heartier than we are taking in the view from the top of the rock.

Then we were back on the less-than-wonderful road through more stunning scenery along the river, which eventually became the border with Greece.  We could have thrown a stone on and launched it on an international journey, but resisted that temptation.  Enea said that he is often stopped in the area by border police checking passports and searching for people entering the country illegally.  Our ride continued through Germenji National Park, a pine-forested, mountainous area, where we stopped along the way to enjoy the spinach and leek pies that Enea and picked up in Permeti.

In the town of Erseke, we stopped for a look at the recently re-designed central square, which contains several examples of public spending that particularly irk Enea.  It lacks any cohesive elements, any architecture that reflects of a sense of purpose, or any characteristics that tie it to the local culture.  Here, at Permeti, and other places we’ve visited, Enea sees lots of money spent on superficial appearances that do nothing to improve the lives of the citizens whose taxes paid for them.  Similarly, in many Albanian towns and along country roads, we’ve seen monuments commemorating the anti-fascist efforts of the Communists, while nearby buildings and roads crumble and unemployment rates are sky high. 

We continued our switchback route uphill to today’s ultimate destination, Korca.  We checked into our hotel in the Old Town, then walked around the pedestrian promenade of the city center and the lanes of the old bazaar before having dinner with Enea in a lovely restaurant facing the quiet courtyard of a traditional inn.  We’ll see a few more of the town’s sites tomorrow morning.

Albania has struggled to rebound after the years of dictatorship and has remained a very poor country, largely unknown to the outside world.  During our time here, we’ve been struck by the potential for the development of a healthy tourism industry; with its beautiful coastline, extensive archeological treasures, mountain trails, and possibility of winter sports centers, Albania has some important natural advantages in place.  Of course, there are enormous obstacles to growth – the infrastructure is weak, there seems to be an entrenched system of political corruption and insider dealing, as well as a severe lack of development funds or internal investors.  So, no pie in the sky or magic wand to wave here, but still…  Enea has already written a textbook for tourism faculty, and we’d previously told him about the difficulty we’d had finding English-language guide books for visitors Albania, suggesting that he write one.  Today, we were telling him about the travel empire Rick Steves has developed and his huge following among American travelers to Europe; we think Rick should check out Albania – and Enea!