Butrint/Puerto Palermo, Albania
We were all excited about our first day in Albania, which dawned with our clearance out of Greece from the neighboring island of Corfu. Panorama docked in the southern port of Sarande at 0700, which appeared to be a booming bay surrounded by highrises and hotels. A closer look revealed that most of the building were only concrete shells, far from finished and only framing future dreams. This was our introduction to a day of intrigue and paradox.
We departed at 0800 for the drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint. This expansive archaeological site tells the story of Adriatic History in one full walk around the site. Originally Illyrian, then settled by the Hellenic Greeks, it saw its prime as a Roman settlement fed by a 12 kilometer aquifer from the nearby limestone mountains. The Byzantines then built beautiful basilica and baptisteries, later Venetians fortified the peninsula as a trading post, and the Ottoman Turks finally took over for hundreds of years. But perhaps the most striking thing for us in our walk through the history of this narrowest part of the Adriatic Sea and jumping point to Rome and Venice was the dominance of nature on the site. Birds, insects, butterflies, turtles and wildflowers provided an amazing setting for this remarkable site.
But the amazing thing was that the highlight of the day turned out to be an unknown abandoned castle about 18 miles north of Sarande, in a small bay called Puerto Palermo. Built by Ali Pasha under Ottoman rule in the early 19th century, the abandoned castle was the backdrop for an afternoon swim and kayak. We then hiked up the promontory and through the lower chambers, which had been creatively illuminated by our local hosts. A castle courtyard cocktail party by the Panorama staff and haunting music by a local flautist gave us an evening we will never forget on our first day in Albania.
We were all excited about our first day in Albania, which dawned with our clearance out of Greece from the neighboring island of Corfu. Panorama docked in the southern port of Sarande at 0700, which appeared to be a booming bay surrounded by highrises and hotels. A closer look revealed that most of the building were only concrete shells, far from finished and only framing future dreams. This was our introduction to a day of intrigue and paradox.
We departed at 0800 for the drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint. This expansive archaeological site tells the story of Adriatic History in one full walk around the site. Originally Illyrian, then settled by the Hellenic Greeks, it saw its prime as a Roman settlement fed by a 12 kilometer aquifer from the nearby limestone mountains. The Byzantines then built beautiful basilica and baptisteries, later Venetians fortified the peninsula as a trading post, and the Ottoman Turks finally took over for hundreds of years. But perhaps the most striking thing for us in our walk through the history of this narrowest part of the Adriatic Sea and jumping point to Rome and Venice was the dominance of nature on the site. Birds, insects, butterflies, turtles and wildflowers provided an amazing setting for this remarkable site.
But the amazing thing was that the highlight of the day turned out to be an unknown abandoned castle about 18 miles north of Sarande, in a small bay called Puerto Palermo. Built by Ali Pasha under Ottoman rule in the early 19th century, the abandoned castle was the backdrop for an afternoon swim and kayak. We then hiked up the promontory and through the lower chambers, which had been creatively illuminated by our local hosts. A castle courtyard cocktail party by the Panorama staff and haunting music by a local flautist gave us an evening we will never forget on our first day in Albania.
