Albanian Alps: from Valbone to Theth / Albania

01.08.2023 - 04.08.2023

MARKUS:

OK, it happened. I have fallen in love with this country and its wonderful people. The Albanian Alps and its lakes and rivers are breathtakingly beautiful, and since the first day in Albania, we have encountered nothing but openness, warmth, and wonderful humor. People stop in the middle of traffic to offer us help when we are briefly lost. We are waved over to help carry a washing machine and thanked with a friendly smile. Even the people in the tourist hotspots show a helpfulness and calmness that we rarely encounter in such quantity. But let's go step by step:

The drive to Valbone is already an experience. Unfortunately, the bus tickets we bought online are not sent to us on time. Tanja quickly pretends that we are another couple who apparently did not show up at 6:00 in the morning. Her spontaneous criminal energy is sometimes admirable and frightening at the same time😂 We drive on serpentine roads, which are usually not really roads but gravel paths, and reach the ferry across Lake Koman, a three-hour journey on a lake that looks more like a river, between steep cliffs. Wonderful.

After a subsequent bus ride, our 18-year-old host Ledjo greets us with cold beer and freshly squeezed orange juice and is incredibly warm-hearted. We talk about football, family, and the mountains and are almost a little sad to set off on the footpath to Theth the next morning.

However, the sadness quickly disappears during the hike, which is also the first stage of the Peaks of the Balkans Route. Around 1000m of ascent and descent, with wooded paths, narrow ridge trails, and rocky gravel paths alternating and constantly offering fantastic views of the valley. The route is perfectly marked, yet we manage to take the wrong turn two kilometers before Theth, which leads us into nowhere. Instead of going back (which would have been sensible), we follow the course of the river and climb down the gorge to the riverbed using roots (dangerous and stupid, but very adventurous). It feels good to arrive in Theth unharmed, only to realize that our stay is another hour upstream from Theth 🙆

We spend the night with Maria, in an empty, white mansion that does not fit into this environment at all and is worryingly reminiscent of Stephen King's 'The Shining'.

We use the third day for a six-hour hike to a beautiful waterfall and the 'Blue Eye', an underground water source famous for its colors. The heat on the way is unbearable and the path almost devoid of shade. When we reach our destination, we happily jump from the bridge into the 14-degree cold water and admire the clarity of the water, but we are somewhat disappointed by the 'Blue Eye'. It wasn't that special... In the evening, we find out that the bridge was the last stop before the Blue Eye, which was only two(!) minutes away 😂

We spend the evening with Ivan from France and his Argentinian companion Maria, and especially Christian and Mariella from Vienna, enjoying Raki.