Underwater in the Mountains

Berat, Albania
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Yesterday I wondered around the small community of Berat. It is a beautiful, quiet place with houses built on top of one another into the mountainside. After drab Durres, I was surprised at how picturesque this place is. I climbed to the top of Berat and visited the maze of the citadel still surrounded by ancient walls. According to Wikipedia, 'After being burned down by the Romans in 200 B.C. the walls were strengthened in the fifth century under Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, and were rebuilt during the 6th century under the Emperor Justinian and again in the 13th century under the Despot of Epirus, Michael Angelus Comnenus, cousin of the Byzantine Emperor'. The fortress has suffered considerable damage; but it is unique, because it is still inhabitated. Usually when you visit a fortress, you find remnants of structures inside, and it is difficult to imagine what life was like. Not so here. Cobblestone alleyways are bursting with blooming flowers and aromas from Albanian kitchens fill the air. I could live here.

Flooded Gjirokaster
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I took the 7am bus this morning and arrived in Gjirokastar in the afternoon. I read that this is the creepy hometown of Dictator Hoxha. The atmosphere was made more ominous by the bus ride where tombstones are found at every railguard-less bend in the road winding through preciptious mountain gorges during torrential rains. I arrived to a flooded city. The dirt drag turned to mud and knee-deep swimming holes. I waded to the nearest hotel and locked myself in my room.