Bulletin Novembre 2009.

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This translation is done with the help of Google. Excuse the imperfect interpretations !

Martine and Gerard Tatangelo visit Albania.

Martine Tatengelo. Gérard Tatengelo. Frontier Gjirokaster
We crossed the border at 18 H 30 smoothly and quickly. The ships have nice customs formalities. They were delighted to see French tourists. Then we wanted to do changes, but the three ATMs, we have have and with great difficulty that 10,000 Leks, is about 75 euros.

Before refueling, because we expected to be in Albania knowing less, we will not go away ...

Until Gerard is grappling with ATMs, my first impressions of Albania are rather mixed.

A border like a dump (and the word is weak), the beggars, all this does not really give a very flattering image. From the border crossing, we see throughout the landscape of large mushrooms: they are bunkers.

First night at about ten kilometers from the border in a field. Then drive to Gjirokastra, the birthplace of Enver Hoxha (the Communist dictator that the Albanians must isolation) but especially a city museum for its beautiful gray stone houses with roofs lauze. The only problem is that lack of money meant that the population prefers to move in the new town than face costly work in old houses.
Since 2005, the city is inscribed on the World Heritage List UNESCO. The old city is on a mountainside, with streets paved and a citadel built against the mountain monitors Valley Drino. The Citadel is still in good condition but it was still used there is little time garrison and prison during the communist period. Currently work is underway and in the main hall there are pieces of artillery (gun) of the Second World War taken from the enemy Italian and German. A small museum is closed in a room.

On the esplanade, three years ago the music festival Gjirokaster.

Stroll the market seems to us very wretched: shoes second hand clothes from another time, the fruit market and vegetables seems to us a little more crowded.

We still have to change money and to refuel. The Gas oil is between 0.80 and 0.85 euro cents per liter and here we are went to Butrint, one of the archaeological treasures of Albania.

The road to Saranda is correct, but entering the city that is in work and work in Sarande, it's everywhere: buildings and hotels under construction.

The only problem is parking. The architects did not thought about the car and in a few years it will not be sad want to park.

From Saranda, the road becomes a "single path" very curvy and not in very good condition and the crosses are not evident from everything, but we arrived safely at Butrint and sleep on the Parking near the site located in a park.

Butrint is a dating site and I of III century BC. JC, well emphasized and pleasant to walk in lush vegetation.

The theater and the temple of Asclepius have their feet in water, the marsh gains on land. The Baptistery is one of the best preserved and the Byzantine church is impressive in its size. She dated Fourth century but there are only walls.
The tour took us the morning between the remains and the panorama is splendid. We took the barge to cross to the other side of the channel to see the national park.
The barge is like all the facilities of the country and from other time and in poor condition. We fell in down in the middle of the channel but hey ... we could pass through.

Then back to Saranda where we enjoyed a as a tourist who has open road and back was done on the hats wheel.

Then drive to the Albanian Riviera ...

From Istanbul

We get the new satellite info on TV5 Monde. Well after almost three months we did not felt that there was a big change in France. But We have remedied this lack of information by reading several books on politics: "Belle-Amie," "Confessions of a banker could, I do not eat more cherries in winter "and ... now in Albania, we receive new public channels French but I assure you that the TV does not really us has not missed at all.

THE ALBANIAN RIVIERA

Good news: the road to the Riviera has been remade at least part Saranda to Himare (we'll post the rest ...). Enlarged, turns mitigated, the coating is of good quality even if it is still as sinuous and we have beautiful scenery the creeks. This is a succession of coves with turquoise waters but often inaccessible mountains. We arrive at Borsh is through a small road in a grove that we can long beach ... pebbles.

But never mind, we we really want us swimming, he hot 32 degrees, then we takes! The only problem : The beach is dirty, Children play among plastics, garbage adjacent to cafes beach but it's like this, see the good side of things. It On sunny days, water is good and beautiful.

On the beach, we find our famous mushroom, also we find scattered everywhere on the beaches in the country.

The next day we leave for Himare, we note that fields are not well educated, there is little market-gardening or cereal, olive groves are poorly maintained and plantations trellises in orange abandoned. This will change the Turkey, which maximizes its agriculture.
The planting trellises are from the communist era. Enver Hoxha was modeled on China and are prisoners and Communist youth who have terraces.

We arrived in Porto Palermo at that time Communist housed a base for submarines Soviet and one sees entering a tunnel dug into the rock. In Opposite, on the peninsula is stands a fortress, is that of Ali Pasha which was built in honor of his wife.

Then Himare and sandy beaches "finally after Petit Futé" because of the sand we did not see. Okay, these are not pebbles either, but rather small gravel. However the beach is beautiful so we decided to stay.

Visit Himare is a small town with its "markets" miserable and poorly stocked. It was very hard to find fruits and still less to find a six volt battery!
Himare has three beaches and we're on the beach more south, also the quietest. Himare has a cyber cafe, you'll therefore have to end our news! It missed, it did not pass.
We met camper French truck drivers : Claude and Michel, we spent two days together and we are left to Dhermi.

Dhermi, the pearl of the coast! And true, two beautiful beaches chipping in for, but unfortunately like all Albanian beaches, soiled detritus. If the beach is beautiful and the water super good, and turquoise crystal. We took the beach all afternoon then we continue our road to Vlora by the National Park and Llogara the climb offers magnificent landscapes. On one side a dry and barren landscape on the other side of the neck in the descent to Vlora, a forest of pines and conifers.

We arrived in Vlora and we enjoy the fountain to the full of water (mineral water spring). Vlora is a city of 70 000 residents and we hope to find a cybercafe for you give our news!

Each new country, new fault and there is a fridge that more gas works, certainly the electronic box for second time!

If all goes well here, time is always so beautiful in the 30 degrees and we had a storm in the night. The sea always as good in the 28-30 °.

Albania is the living museum of the Mercedes! You find all models of this brand, through vans, trucks and buses, from oldest to most gleaming model and the 4 × 4. All taxis are yellow Mercedes and not the most recent.

APOLLINIA

After Vlora, we're off to Apollinia. We have Vlora liked with its beautiful beaches sandy. Vlora was known his dark period after the years When the Communists free movement of persons outward has been authorized. The Albanians have fled to Italy, Brindisi by Vlora, but it developed a black market important that Albanian mafia have tampered with their counterparts Italian.

Apollinia is an archaeological site dating from 640 BC. JC, it remains greatest thing in the theater but bouleuterion is in good condition and the Odeon has been restored with much concrete, but it gives an idea of what it was. By cons in the monastery and church, a small museum was installed and statues discovered during the excavations are exposed.

We made our purchases Fier to close in Apollinia supermarket. Life in Albania is inexpensive. To give an idea, I remind you that 1 euro is equal to 130 leks and we buy a kilo of tomatoes, peppers or cucumber about 40 leks, coffee is 70 leks and a meal in a chic restaurant with about 1,400 leks entry meat or fish, dessert and even wine for 2 people. Ca will be hard, hard the France ...

BERAT

Dubbed the city of a thousand windows, referring to facades houses. Berat is a town in central Albania near the massif Tomor. Visit the old town and the citadel. We visit not the museum and churches were closed. We noticed that in Albania, despite times indicated on the plates, they were very resilient and above very fancy.

During our trip in Berat, we wash the truck and scooter for 500 leks.

The road to come to BERAT is in poor condition but we the resume to go towards lakes.
We sleep in the car park a restaurant that makes us full water.

KORCA

We are deep in Albania. The road is good over a large distance. From Rrogozhina in Elbasan road is winding but paving correct, then it deteriorates. In Albania, it should not resonate in kilometers but in time. We are about the 35/40 km / h medium to reach Korce.

We drive along the beautiful Lake Ohrid and Pogradec reach Korce. Here, we had the chance to visit museum of medieval art a fabulous collection icons. It was process of closing the museum when we arrived, but was reopened for us.
A pure wonder!

Then stroll through the bazaar, visit the cathedral, one of the largest in the Balkans and Albania. And then we who are accustomed to in the Orthodox their dress requirements, it is certainly not the case here. But already, we noticed that the Albanian was very free with their religion whether Muslim or Orthodox.

TIRANA and Shkodra

We had our first rain since ... almost 3 months, or Rather, our first day's gray and rainy. Too bad! We were at Lake Ohrid, a great lake on the border three countries: Albania, Macedonia and Greece.

We took the road Tirana, mountain landscapes superb.
View of the steel city Elbasan, but there are only factories in ruins when he was a major steel center employing seven thousand people.
It was China that had financed the capital Tirana, and the national hero Skanderbeg in the fifteenth century had stood up to that coveted Ottoman the country.

Tirana has a face-lift and buildings been repainted with colors sometimes showy: the yellow ochres, greens are in the spotlight.

Then we move to Durres to embark for Italy.

Change Program we decide not to go through Italy but to go through the Montenegro and Croatia, then we're off by Shkodra and beautiful lake of over 600 km2, and the border of Montenegro

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Martine and Gérard TATANGELO, see french website :

Albania: official name "Shqiperi" in Albanian. Insurance: no problem in Albania is on the green card. All documents: vehicle registration papers, insurance and passport same name, if you need a permission from the owner of the vehicle. Bivouac: no camping, camping along the beaches, the mountains. Bunkers: there are parties everywhere and the landscape. Along roads along the beaches in the country ... Driving in Albania is easy motorists without knowing too the traffic roll cautiously. Map: provide before leaving, there is nothing on site Capital: Tirana. Climate: Mediterranean along the coast and continental inland Change: be careful every vending machines Notes do not necessarily take your Visa or Eurocard but the cities have many banks and we find always one who accepts it. Customs: no particular problems, and reduced red. Visit the camper for the principe. Water supplies in Vlora to the mineral spring to lobby Vlora if not in service stations and restaurants. Always put of Micropur. Environment: Albanians are not yet aware of the problems Environment: garbage in open, litter on beaches. Fruits and Vegetables: roadside, very cheap. Guide: the little smart, only guide on Albania not always updated. Gas oil: in September 2009 (equivalent to € 1) no supply problem. Internet: many small cafes equipment but very often old, little-Fi. Games: Albanians are coffee, park, just outside the house in fact everywhere. Kilometers: Albania is a small country that is barely 340 km from long and between 75 and 150 km wide. Language: Albanian course, a little Italian and English Lek: Albanian currency exchange before leaving the country (Can change in Montenegro): 1 € = 131 leks in September 2009. Mercedes: the largest museum of Mercedes cars, the more old 4x4 to the most recent. Monastery: Ardenica to that of one of the most beautiful monuments Orthodox in Albania. Sea: the sea is beautiful ... Beach lot with gravel and pebbles on top of Vlora, sand. Standard of living: very cheap for a European. Religion: Muslim 80%, but impractical (no women veiled and not of Ramadan), Orthodox and Catholic. No religion official. Restaurant: For a few euros you eat fish or Succulent grilled squid .... Route: more problems for the coastal route which is entirely new. Rest in the country roads with nests hens. When cities, work is underway to develop streets and sidewalks. Safety: No problem and no sense of insecurity. Website: Appollinia and Butrint to visit! Tax: we pay taxes to leave the country: about 120 leks per day Phone: mobile phone goes everywhere. Sites listed in UNESCO: Gjirokastra Bétrat, Butrint and Appollinia 4 sites are protected. Albanian wine: red or white they are good and inexpensive but Beer is very common.