From Permet we followed the Vjosa river through the valley, heading south toward the Greek border, before heading back in-country to the small village of Leskovik.
Apart from a look at life in a very small town we wanted to stay at their boutique hotel which is an a Gin distillery. This is a recent build and was a beautiful place to stay for the night.
The town was an important wine producer and Hoxha took all their production during the dictatorship. The industry declined significantly but there is evidence of growth in the area. Apparently the soils are ideal for wine production.
Beasts of burden were still really important in the town.
Between Leskovik and returning the car to the airport in Tirana we spent quite a lot of time visiting fuel stations, in order to find a compressor to put some air in one tire that was feeling a little soft. Not many stations had that equipment, and Andrew became quite good at asking & miming the question ‘ can we put air in our tire ‘…followed by a psssst sound. It was a tiresome process, but it really showed us was how nice the station people were. All were helpful pointing us to the nearest station 2km down the road or helping to actually repressurize the tire.
Korca, is Albania’s 3rd largest town and has quite a large student population. It was here we went into our only museum in Albanian and it was a museum of religious iconography – not our usual jam! But it was highly recommended and it surprised us just how good it was – it was well worth the admission fee.
Korce had been the most common beer we have drunk throughout the trip so it was somewhat fitting to sit in the garden and partake in beer direct from the source – even if it was a 20 minute walk uphill to get to the Korce beer factory.
The old market had been converted to a square around which there were numerous bars and restaurants. Our guest house was nearby and we thought we would eat there. However they were all outside and the wind was bitingly cold so we wandered around looking for another solution. The solution was finding a “children friendly” restaurant. While the kids played in the playground, and the parent relaxed with a drink, we unintentionally over-ordered by selecting a soup AND a main dish. The excellent soup would have been enough of its own, but we also had to get through a very large main dish. But we were warm, had drinks and were well-fed
One day we walked up to the martyrs cemetery for the views over the city. The day was quite warm and we certainly earned the excellent lunch we had at Vila Cofiel. While everyone else was eating slices of pizza, Andrew devoured an outstanding dish of rabbit stew (as there was only one portion I got some chicken) finishing with a delicious glass of Raki and a little cake.
One interesting “memorial” showed the outline of a church that was destroyed during the communist era. A civic building or library had been built over the space and the city wanted to recognise that which had been lost without demolishing the replacement building.
And I wonder if people driving odd motorbike/car hybrids would also insist on wearing a floppy sunhat perched on a idiotic angle???? Maybe an option for Andrew for the future?