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Today promises to be the most adventurous day of the holiday so far.  As I mentioned yesterday, we have a tour booked today which will take us into the mountains overlooking Tirana.

When we booked the tour, it was an 8:30am pickup from our apartment, but last night I got a message from the operator to say there had been a slight change in plan and we’d be collected at 7:35am from the Sunset Bar, around a 7 minute walk from our accommodation.  In short that means a 7am wake-up call.

We march down to the sunset bar and arrive at exactly 7:35am.  The bus isn’t there yet, but a few minutes later we see the grey minibus approaching from the other side of the road.  We’re welcomed on board by the tour guide Dion Mitro.  He says “if you forget my name, just remember Celine Dion”. (Or Dion Dublin – my addition, not his!)

The bus picks up several others elsewhere in Durrës, and as we drive out of the city, Dion gives us some intriguing facts about the place.  It was founded in 630BC by the Romans.  At that point, Durrës lied on the main road between Rome and Constantinople – so I’m sure there was plenty of passing trade!

We drive towards Tirana, then swing up into the mountains for the last 30 minutes or so.  This last section of road is unpaved, and nothing more than a gravel track filled with potholes deep enough to take a swim.  I remember back to picking up our hire car, when we were explicitly banned from driving the car from this road.  The bus driver does a remarkable job weaving through the potential pitfalls. 

Albania is around 70% mountainous.  I’m not sure how they measure that per se, but the Albanian Alps are in the north of the country (who knew the Alps made it out this far?) and we saw a lot of mountains in the south of the country driving down to the Blue Eye earlier in the week. With this in mind, 70% mountain cover seems high but not ridiculously so.

We stop at a lay-by somewhere fairly high up a mountain where a ropey looking bridge is precariously balanced over a deep gorge.  At one end of it, a sheet of corrugated metal and a few slats of wood cover some holes.

The bus empties itself for the photo op.  Some aren’t quite brave enough to stand on the bridge, and to be fair, who could blame them!

I notice a lot of debris and rubbish strewn over the side of the road, and in the little stream below.  This is definitely a big downside of tourism – and it looks like no one has made an effort to tidy the place up.  

Once back in the bus, we continue on up the hill past an active quarry and the bright blue hues of Bovilla Lake soon come into view.  Dion advises that we’re going further on up yet.

Bovilla Lake was a man made reservoir conceived by the evil communist dictator Enver Hoxha towards the end of his period of control.  After his (and communism’s) downfall, the whole project was abandoned until the mid 1990s, when it was revived by a few Italians.  In 1998 the completed reservoir opened, and now providesTirana with most of its water supply.  Two huge pipes can be seen carrying this water down the mountain into the city. 

We’re told that today’s activities will include a ‘moderate hike’, and to bring appropriate footwear.  Mum didn’t bring any trainers with her on this holiday, so opted for a pair of sandals instead – brave call.

The group departs the bus, and we start to make our way uphill through the barren landscape.  The gravel soon turns to big stones, and all of a sudden, things become a little more challenging.  Could be worse, at least I wasn’t in sandals!  (Sorry Mum! 😆)

Having successfully navigated the rocky section of terrain, we come to a set of metal steps bolted on to the side of a steep cliff.  At the top is a metal platform hanging over the edge of the mountain, with a spectacular view of Lake Bovilla.  

I find the whole thing slightly reminiscent of the Dachstein mountain in Austria.  There though, the metal platform had 5 different sections, and due to its shape, was known as the 5 fingers. 

A queue quickly forms as our group assembles at the top.  To call the hike moderate is probably an understatement.  I’m not sure what you’d call a step up from moderate and a step down from strenuous?  Answers on a postcard please (or the comments below!)

The views from the top of Gamti Mountain are breathtaking, and the blueness in the water just pops in the flesh.  There isn’t much in the way of protection at the edge – back home there would be catch fencing the whole way around (or more likely the whole place would be out of bounds).

Fortunately it’s only about 11am, so the sun isn’t yet at its strongest intensity, but there’s a good bit of cloud cover anyway.  There’s a nice breeze, but it’s not very windy.  Honestly despite the physical activity, it’s much more pleasant conditions than Berat yesterday.  

Beside the metal viewing platform, Dion gestures over to a rock for the braver climbers.  If you’re not good with heights, then steer well clear of this one!  Again, Dad and I have left mum behind.

It’s tricky getting up the rock, but I quite enjoy the challenge of working out where to put the feel.  The danger isn’t so much getting up, but more falling off the edge when you get to the top.  The highest part is a flat ledge maybe half a metre by half a metre.  Dad and I pose for the obligatory photos, with mum looking on nervously from a distance.

As we’re making our way off the rock, we hear a cry of despair coming from the girl behind us in the queue.  Fortunately no person had fallen off, but she had dropped her phone through a crack in the rock.  It hadn’t fallen all the way down the mountain and into the lake, but was not easily retrievable.  We continue to descend carefully down the side of the rock and this story is to be continued.

We’ve got to meet back at the restaurant at midday, so feel the time is right to set off back down the mountain to give us half an hour or so for drinks.  

On our way back, we’re passed by Dion, who tells us the story of the girl with the lost phone.  He tells us that he managed to hang off the side of the rock to retrieve it like some kind of Albanian superman!  I don’t think he was too happy about putting himself in so much danger.  That’s ok, with the phone now safely in the girls possession once again, he’ll have a big tip coming his way?  Right?  Not at all, she wasn’t part of our tour!  🤦🏻 

Suitably refreshed again, we all board the bus to start our return journey to Durrës.  By this point, it’s now much, much busier, and the narrow winding gravel road which brought us up, has now been taken over by double parked hikers.  In fact, the cars are in  the way of the large turning circle required for the bus to safely navigate the switchbacks.  Super Dion to the rescue again – he hops out of the bus and is now directing traffic!  Soon everything is back in order and we’re sucking diesel!

The bus isn’t able to drop us off at the point where it left us off – something about the police not letting busses down the seafront ‘strip’ in the afternoon.  So we disembark on a car park on the way in.  I spot a restaurant two doors up with pictures of traditional Albanian meals out the front.  Perfect for a spot of lunch!

It’s called Mema House Restorant and we order a Greek Salad (now obligatory), an antipasti sharing platter and chips.  Sensational!

We walk up the 2km or so back to our apartment, then lounge about for a couple of hours.  We’d quite like to catch the sunset down by the seafront, and when we do make it back out, it’s truly delivers.  There’s something special about the sunsets in this part of the world!