Okay … awake and much better today. I think something I ate just didn’t sit well with me last night. It’s either that or my left ear issue caused some sort of problem. But enough of that.

This morning I was awakened at about 7:30 by the mosque. This is only the second morning this has happened, and if I understood Avni correctly it might not be a call to prayer, but an announcement of a death. Being entirely unfamiliar with the Muslim culture I suppose I need to read more and figure out exactly what it was. Prior to that very loud chanting (I suspect it’s called something else) I heard very faint chanting by someone both yesterday and today … I’m not sure if Dan even heard it (guess I could ask, eh?).

UPDATE: I thought I had posted the video of the person chanting … oops. So instead you saw photos of the animals we passed. So sorry!

But now to yesterday …

We woke and had our very leisurely breakfast again. Kids make things go a bit slower! Eventually we headed out. The plan was for Albania first, so off we went!

As we drove we saw the typical corn fields. We also saw large new homes being built — many partially finished at this point and I’ll write more about that later — and a large number of headstones. Some were in people’s yards. Most have pictures of the person who died on them. I’m guessing many are from the conflict with Serbia. (Something else I need to read about: I did read a little and it sure sounded horrendous.)

When we got to the border it was an easy check both to get out of Kosovo and into Albania. Then we drove what at times was an extremely narrow road, and a bridge we crossed was so narrow we just barely fit between the poles. Sometimes squeezing past an oncoming vehicle was pretty nuts. On occasion we would see bunkers: apparently the Albanians were very concerned about an invasion. Here is what Wikipedia has to say, in part:

The bunkers (Albanian: bunkerët) were built during the Hoxhaist government led by the Leader Enver Hoxha from the 1960s to the 1980s, as the regime fortified Albania by building more than 750,000 bunkers. One of over 750,000 bunkers built in Albania during the rule of Enver Hoxha.

Vanessa was saying people would sit and sit in these. Nothing ever happened. But they are plentiful, although now falling apart.

Oh … and animals. Have I mentioned animals? No, not until now. We might drive around a corner and find some cows in the road. Or horses. And down by the river there were goats. Stray, mangy looking dogs are everywhere, it seems, in Kosovo and Albania.

Photos:

But the mountains! Oh my, they are lovely. We were really astounded.

When we reached the end of the road we found a restaurant and hotel (and a playground for the kids!). It does appear that they are attempting to build more there as well, and it reminds us of Yosemite and the Awhanee. In some ways I’m sorry to see it get built up, as we know how crowded Yosemite gets and I’m thinking this will eventually have the same issue, although there is only one way in and out from what I can tell. (Worrisome when I think about fires!)

After a “light” lunch (HAH! “Light” means too much food for me!) we started to head back down the same road we came up, having no other choice, and again ran into animals. But first we saw an older man (whom we had seen at lunch as well), with an instrument — a one-stringed Balkan instrument (a lute, I believe). Avni pulled over to him and asked if he would play for us so we all got our of the cars and stood or sat in the shade as he played and sang. And yes, we gave him a bit of money for his performance. We were surprised, after we got into the car, that Vanessa came running over to climb into our car: apparently we were now giving the man a bit of a ride down the hill! (I would post the video, but it’s long and I think I need to shorten it a bit!)

After dropping him off we continued our drive and got hit by rain and were grateful we left our lunch spot early enough to miss it up there. We took a few scenic stops and I’ll bet Dan got some terrific photos.

Coming back into Kosovo Greg was told he had to get insurance. We had expected that the first time we entered Kosovo but he was told he didn’t need it. Now he was told he did. Who knows what the real story is, but €15 later he had the insurance and all is well. Then we drove and drove … Avni thought perhaps we could wine taste at a winery but by the time we go there it was closed. We went to a different winery and it, too, was closed. I think that’s it for our wineries in Kosovo!

There are so many empty buildings in Kosovo. Avni thought perhaps some were abandoned by Serbs. Others are just in the process of being built: many Kosovans (is that the word?) live elsewhere and bring their earnings back and gradually build their homes. Where we are staying is, in fact, a case in point: much of the home is finished now, but there are still things to be done. Family is very important, and the house is big enough to house several generations.

We drove to our dinner spot, near a river. I ate far too much food. And, as I wrote, something didn’t sit well with me. This seems to happen once a trip, and it’s really no surprise, I suppose: our bodies aren’t used to certain foods and the water can sometimes cause issues. (We have been drinking bottled water here, though, as was suggested to us.)

I believe today is a slow day, as some will be doing laundry to prepare for tomorrow’s departure, and some of us will just relax. Kosovo and Albania are eye-openers for me, since rarely do we see more current conflict issues so plainly.