Saranda
The bus left at 8am, but it was not a great journey. We passed an accident on the way, a lorry full of wood had gone off the side of the road, and we got their just in time to see all the blood and gore. The drivers here aren't great - cracked windscreens, no seat belts, speeding and overtaking when they shouldn't. However they do nearly always beep when the take over and they usually don't do it on blind bends unlike some places I've been. it made me laugh that one of the buses had a huge bright red button on the dashboard - it was of course the horn.
I like Saranda the minute i arrive, the weather is great, the sea is blue, what more can i ask for :)
I check into the only hotel mentioned in the guide book - it has a good size room, breakfast and sea views for 20 euros. It's actually more than I'd like to pay, but hey i'm on holiday. It's been a long enough journey (6 hours) so i don't do too much this first day, just explore the town and buy some food for lunch tomorrow. Lunch turns into dinner tonight - it's all the fault of the smallest bottle of wine in the shop...all 1.5 litres of it...I never make it out the hotel that night.
The next day I'm up early however and i catch the bus to Butrint - a fantastic Greek/Roman/ Venetian site. i don't know how to describe it really as it has many influences and ranges from 5 century BC until very recent times. It's a great couple of hours or so - the weather is fantastic, i have (what is left) of my picnic lunch and there is hardly anybody here - i actually don't see anybody to talk to - just people in the distance now and again. I'm in a happy mood, and even the 2 hour wait for the bus back to Saranda doesn't dispel that. In fact i feel soooo good i actually go for a run - much to the stares of the locals. Bugger them - i feel GREAT!
I like this town, but it is largely due to the fact it's by sea and the weather is good. There's an interesting mix of languages here - Albanian, Greek and Italian, all fluently mixed it seems. I speak none of them :) still i know what beer is in Albanian, Greek and Italian :)
