Inspired by the journeys of three valiant Britons – Lord Byron, the honorable Aubrey Henry Molyneux Herbert (half-brother of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who helped discover Tutankhamun’s tomb) and the spirited adventurer Edith Durham, we set out to explore Albania, with three landscapes to conquer – river, mountain and sea.
There were four of us; my husband, me and our daughters in their twenties.
I’ve been bringing them here for 15 years, but now travel to Albania is booming. After 50 years of isolation under communist rule – with dictator Enver Hoxha in power from 1944 to 1985 and only fully independent since 1992 – Albania welcomes the world with open arms.
The Albanians have a beautiful age-old phrase: “blessed be your feet for bringing you here”. So, arrive quickly in Albania while the welcome is warm and genuine, and a feast for four costs little more than a trip to a British pub.
CAKE…AT 3,000 FEET
Kruje Castle, pictured, is 40 minutes from the capital, Tirana.
I admire the Albanian attitude towards cake. They are excellent early morning cake eaters, often freshly baked with oranges or kumquats and crunchy with pumpkin seeds.
Fortunately, there are mountain hikes to deal with the inevitable consequences.
Above Kruje Castle, 40 minutes from the capital Tirana, sits a rock-hewn shrine belonging to the Bektashi sect (a combination of Muslim, Christian and ancient beliefs) which is crumbling over time.
At around 1,000 meters above sea level, lit by candles, pilgrims come here to make offerings: meat and scented oil.
A Bektashi baba – with a long white beard that Noah would have envied – told me that the only thing Bektashi abhors is bare knees and rabbits.
It’s tricky in Albania, as rabbits, plump ducks and donkeys share many of the mountain roads.
Bettany, pictured above, has been bringing his family to Albania for 15 years.
An elderly woman sold me freshly picked coltsfoot flowers for tea and rose oil for my hair. It’s easy to imagine why Byron loved this place so much.
It reminded him of the remote Highlands of Scotland. Moving south from Tirana to the mountain-view town of Berat, with the sacred Mount Tomorr lighting up flaming red in the morning, its slopes home to bears, booted eagles and black vultures, this city “of a thousand windows” was a trading stop on the ancient silk routes.
We stayed at the Vila Aleksander Hotel and woke up to the sound of laying hens. Albania has a fierce code of hospitality – Besa – which means people will drop everything to protect their respected guests.
It became one of the few places where the Jewish population, mainly refugees fleeing the Nazis, was larger after World War II than before.
COASTAL RENOVATION
Bettany reveals that at Grama Bay, pictured, there are still ancient inscriptions, 23 centuries old, dotting the cliffs.
With the island of Corfu visible on a clear day and Italy just a four-hour ferry ride away, the Albanian Riviera is starting to come into its own.
My favorite Albanian nautical captain, on the Ionian coast around the town of Vlore, is called Baci, who organizes tailor-made excursions to the uninhabited nature reserve of Karaburuni, where in the bay of Grama there are still ancient inscriptions, old of 23 centuries, dotting the cliffs. .
There are heartfelt prayers to Helen of Troy’s mythical seafaring brothers, Castor and Pollux.
Butrint is a site where ancient Greek remains are visible through Roman arches, Byzantine mosaics and remains of Venetian lagoons, Bettany explains. In the photo: the remains of the Butrint theater
After an exploration of the haunting, Homer-like sea caves, Captain Baci’s dockside tables offered fresh fish, caught and fried while we waited, golden chips, and a tricolori salad better than any I ate in Italy.
Further south, about a three-hour drive, Butrint – believed to have been founded by Trojan War hero Aeneas – is a site where ancient Greek remains are visible through Roman arches, Byzantine mosaics and ruins. Venetian lagoons.
We passed by without spending the night, but Dua Lipa and other stars of the Kosovar-Albanian firmament rent villas in nearby Kep Merli.
GO WITH THE FLOW
Bettany says visitors can go whitewater rafting on the Vjosa River, above
Albania’s rivers carry a liquid history. The wild Vjosa waterway has been transformed into a national park, flowing into the Adriatic from Greece’s Pindos mountains.
Chamomile tea comes from the meadows, cherry jam from shaded wild cherries. Around the walled town of Tepelene, the Vjosa swells to offer whitewater rafting.
It’s also worth following the Osum River and its tributaries, flanked between the town of Berat and the small village of Roshnik with stalls selling fresh olives and apricots.
Our daughters Sorrel and May insisted that they treat us to a thank you meal. The locals told us to find a place called Alpeta. Our table quickly filled with spicy goat cheese, pitchers of red and white wine, cornbread, zucchini pies.
We ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. I could see the girls nervously checking their Monzo accounts. The cost? £36 for four.