Sarandë, Albania
On our second and final full day in Albania, we awoke in the Ionian Sea, having left the Adriatic. We were in the far south of the country, not far from the border with Greece, and in fact could see the Greek island of Corfu a scant six miles away. Our destination this morning was the remarkable site of Butrint — ancient Buthrotum — begun by the 6th century BC and inhabited for many centuries thereafter.
We docked in the town of Sarandë, a seaside resort popular with Albanians, Kosovars and Macedonians. Like many places in Albania, it has a surfeit of unfinished buildings. After the Albanian economy collapsed in the pyramid schemes of the mid-90s, Albanians decided that land and buildings were better stores of wealth than other investments. So those who can afford to do so begin constructing buildings, adding to them as they have the funds.
We took a narrow, winding road high above the valley, and negotiating our way took all the impressive skills of our coach drivers. Our guides Shpresa and Julia took us through Butrint, which has impressive remains spanning over a thousand years. It was magical to have so beautiful a place — and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — virtually to ourselves.
Butrint lies along what was a strategic spot on the land route between Italy and Greece. We toured its various precincts, seeing the Sanctuary of Asclepius and then the largely intact 3rd-century BC Hellenic theater. The theater may have been built under King Pyrrhus, whose name is familiar to us from the term “Pyrrhic victory.” There was lots more to see: the public baths, the 6th-century AD baptistery, the gymnasium, the lion gate (with a stone carving of a lion devouring the head of a bull), and the remarkable Greek walls, built from massive fitted blocks of stone, contrasted with the poorer-quality Roman walls from later on. A walk to the Venetian castle atop the acropolis gave us fine views of the countryside.
It was finally time to leave, but another treat awaited many of us before lunch: a visit to Lekursit Castle, once an Ottoman fortress and now rebuilt as a restaurant and café. Its position high above the Ionian was wonderful, and snacks and drinks awaited us in this great setting.
Just below the castle was one of the 700,000 bunkers built by Albania’s paranoid dictator Enver Hoxha, to defend against an imagined attack against his communist regime that never came or was even contemplated. Most Albanians don’t look back on that era with any nostalgia whatsoever.
Continuing our very fulfilling day, we sailed to a small cove called Porto Palermo, where some of our number swam in the Ionian Sea and others stretched their muscles kayaking. A final treat awaited us just before sunset: at the nearby ruined Ali Pasha’s Castle, a performance just for us of Albanian traditional music, done by three truly wonderful musicians: Katerina, Ludmilla and Vendim. Hearing the haunting flute music and the exquisite singing as the sun set made for a memorable end to a memorable day.
