The weather in Sarande was fabulously still, clear, warm and sunny. The internet in the hotel still wasn't working and the air conditioner was dripping water all over the floor. Seemed like a good idea to get out of the hotel, find some internet and hope that the air-conditioning was fixed by the time I returned.
Hotel Room View of Sarande
I found a Vodafone shop along the way, and for a very small amount of money, bought an Albanian SIM. I then found a restaurant by the port where I could have some lunch, get connected and research the route ahead, check emails etc and see how a website update might progress (as expected, the previously incomplete upload meant a total re-load was required and it was not possible over lunch).
After lunch I returned to the hotel to allow the air conditioner to drip more water on the carpet (although they were certain it had been fixed…). I organised myself to ride out to the Blue Eye, an amazing natural spring, about 24km's from Sarande.
After the appalling road leaving Sarande (rocks, gravel, rubble, clumps of concrete, mud, puddles, potholes and some bitumen the route passed through very interesting Albanian countryside. There were some gypsies/refugees, small villages, farmland and quite an extensive irrigation network before the road heads up into the valley along the river and higher into the mountains.
After I had paid the entry and ridden the couple of extra km's to the parking/restaurant area I walked down the pathway leading to the spring. The water and vegetation is beautiful and I have never seen dragonflies so vibrantly blue all over. There were many of them on the plants over the water.
Amazingly Blue Dragon Flies
It is hard to describe, and believe, that the Blue Eye creates such a sizeable and strong flowing river immediately from its source. After following the river around a bend I arrived at the Blue Eye, surrounded by vegetation and land, with water surging up and forming the river.
The Blue Eye
I walked around it and marvelled and contemplated going back to my bike to get my swimmers. The information sign suggests it is 10deg.C and it looked so inviting, in the forest, on a hot Albanian afternoon. I decided I would look around some more and get the swimmers on later if needed.
I soon noticed the tell-tale vehicle of serious travellers - a massive, solidly built, 4WD truck with accommodation on the back. I was reminded of Atte and Marijke (www.amworldtour.nl) who I had met at Ada Camping in Turkey. As I looked at their version of an around the world traveller truck it was easy to start up a quick conversation with Tommy.
Tommy and Conny - www.mantoco.com
Tommy and Conny's plans sounded amazing and their timeframe is almost endless. They will head back home for a parent's milestone birthday and continue back on to almost everywhere they can. They had only started a month or so earlier and had spent most of the time in Albania….
They had been swimming in the Blue eye and suggested I should do it, or perhaps regret it later. I would have regretted not getting in….
I returned to the Blue Eye and a family from Kosovo were there taking photos and getting a little bit of cool water at the edge. After I stripped to my boxer shorts I asked if they could help by capturing the moment(s) while I had a brief swim. They agreed and seemed to take pleasure in me staying in longer while more photos were taken……it was very cool.
Around 10deg.C - refreshing.
As noticed earlier, there is quite a strong current, with the information board suggesting somewhere between 1.8 and 5 cubic metres a second flows up from the spring to create the river.
The Blue Eye is of Unknown Depth - Divers have been to around 50m
After the swim and the blood flow returning to my skin and extremities I returned to where my bike was parked near the restaurant. The restaurant is located where the flowing water of the river slows and forms the headwaters of the dam. The water is crystal clear and water plants are abundant.
The Start of the Dam - Crystal Clear.
I chose to head back to the culinary delights of Sarande for dinner despite Lonely Planet indicating that the restaurant beside the river/dam served very good meals.
The irrigation channels were flowing strongly.
The bike, the road, the sun.
After I returned to the hotel in Sarande two motorbikes, which I had seen earlier in front of the hotel, were now parked in the hotel parking. I met Phil and Matt near the hotel pool where they had been for a swim and were now enjoying a beer. I joined them and we spoke briefly before heading off for dinner - we would speak more at breakfast the following day.
On the way to dinner, which was fairly basic fare, I noticed a small coffee and crepe 'stall' along the promenade near the beach. If I recall correctly it was called I Like and served very good espresso and some very tasty crepes. The proprietor had studied in Greece and decided setting up the business in Sarande was more secure than trying to get a job in the dreadful Greek job market.
After sampling their espresso and being given a taste of one of their crepes I headed back towards the hotel. I dropped in to one of the seaside bars for a final beer on the way home….
I asked for a large - I wasn't expecting 1L
I was familiar with 500ml being a large so when the 1000ml arrived I was surprised (it wasn't Oktoberfest). Anyway, I managed to finish it.
Tomorrow would be moving on along the coast….somewhere….