Albania: Saranda

Dhermi, Albania: headed to sarande
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Leaving Dhermi was difficult.  In many ways.  Difficult to leave because it was so beautiful.  Difficult to leave because it was Albania and organized reliable transportation does not exist.  We knew we would have to leave early so we could make the two to three hour drive down to the major port, Saranda, for the daily ferry to the Greek island of Corfu.

To our knowledge there was only ferry to Corfu a day, in the early afternoon.  Therefore, we had to bounce out of Dhermi as early as possible.  We just had no idea how to get there.  The bus seemed out of the question, since no one really knew when it came by Dhermi and, if it did, you would have to wave it down and there was always a chance it would be full.  In which case we wouldn't be leaving Albania.

Farewell Albania - you are strange, but impressive

Dhermi, Albania: a fort south of dhermi
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So we explored our only other option.  A taxi.  Anywhere in Western Europe, a two to three hour long one way taxi ride would probably cost a couple hundred bucks, at least.  We figured it would be significantly cheaper in Dhermi, only there were no taxis.

We spoke to our landlord and he said he could help us find a taxi.  Luckily, another guest at the hotel overheard us and said he would take us to Saranda for fifty Euro total.  This guy was on his vacation!!  We were thrilled and quickly accepted his offer.  To this day I can't believe this guy gave up a day of his hard earned vacation for a five hour round trip, all for fifty Euros.  Brilliant.

Dhermi, Albania: the ionian coast
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When we told our Albanian friends about the deal, they thought we grossly overpaid.  We absolutely didn't agree with them.  This guy had to pay for gas, drive all the way to Saranda and then back.  Did I mention he was on VACATION?  Unbelievable.  So Albanian.

The man was quite nice and actually spoke a decent amount of English.  We dropped our luggage off in the trunk of his old school maroon economy car and I jumped in the front seat.  The hilarious part about the car is that it was automatic.  And the car was old.  Simply unheard of in Europe to have an old school automatic.

Dhermi, Albania: another stunning beach south of dhermi
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I didn't even think they existed, nevermind Albania.  I had read, however, that Albania has an absurd number of stolen cars.  And when we were in Vlora, I did see a car with a New Jersey license plate.  What on earth is a car doing in Vlora, Albania with a New Jersey license plate?  Huh?

Our driver was a typical, crazy Albanian driver.  Lots of passing around blind curves, passing three cars at one time, driving at a high speed in areas you should not be driving at a high speed.  I guess it added to the excitement of the stunning ride.

Dhermi, Albania: another stunning beach south of dhermi
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Stunning because it was the Albanian coast, Europe's hidden gem.  Every mountain we ascended offered sick views of the empty beaches and Mediterranean valleys below.  Similar to the bus ride that came over the Llogara Pass.  We passed through charming villages and numerous livestock.  It really was an amazing ride.

Just under three hours later, we arrived in the bustling port city of Saranda.  After a lengthy bank/ATM stop, we paid our driver his fifty Euro and he was back off to Dhermi.  We went to the modern ferry terminal, dealt with tickets and customs, and then went back into town, as we had some time to kill before we were off to Corfu.

Dhermi, Albania: albanian coast near saranda
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The town was interesting, although we didn't get to see much.  We picked up some last Albanian mementos (I got a sweet Albania passport protector), and walked around past their town beach which is not even close to Drymades Beach and its neighbors.

One of my favorite moments was our five minutes in an Albanian bank trying to change out our remaining dirty Albanian Lek.  The girl changing our money was sitting behind a window, while there were two girls sitting at desks right behind us in the main lobby.

Dhermi, Albania: massive beach near saranda
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Apparently the exchanger was having some problems with the transaction, so she implied that she had to call for help.  We, of course, assumed, she was calling the branch manager or someone in a corporate office.  To our unsurpressed amusement, she was actually calling the girl sitting in the desk directly to the side of us.

It may not seem that funny, but the fact that she had to call a girl sitting about ten feet away (she actually called her twice) struck me as quintessentially Albanian and offered a fitting end to our exhilarating few days in bizarre, yet appealing, Albania.