Corfu to Sarande, Albania

Sailing from Le Castella, you might remember that we were still deciding on our destination. With very variable winds throughout the night, which meant that we were always putting up or taking down sails, motoring then back to sailing, we didn’t have the stamina for the full distance to Sarande in Albania. And some lovely Greek islands were right there in the way, so why pass them by? Our first night in Greece was spent anchored in a pretty bay at Erikoussa, just north of Corfu, where we learned that no island in Greece is so small that it doesn’t have a taverna.

 

Next day we followed Guy and Seed in Skaf over to the small harbour of Kassiopi in Corfu. The best known island in the Ionian, Corfu is a beautiful island of forests and green hills, along with the blue water beaches we had been expecting. At this time of the year, the whole island seems to be covered in flowers and ripening fruit on the trees – it really is gorgeous and you can see why the rich and famous have long been purchasing villas here. Some of the locals are understandably resentful, however, and you can see why as soon as you try to walk anywhere. Private villas mean that access to the best places is impossible, and many (most?) of the beaches are not available to the public. We anchored in a lovely bay around from the harbour and used the dinghy to get into town – beach access is obviously not a problem if you can swim off the back of your boat – but I am glad we’ve managed to keep our beaches public in Australia. I would hate to have to watch through the fence as rich foreigners played on my local beach.

 

We were due to leave with Skaf for Sarande after two days in Corfu, but sadly Seed’s father passed away and they had to return to France. So we journeyed on alone, making the crossing of just six nautical miles between Greece and Albania at this point, and docking comfortably alongside the Catamaran Ooro, out of Fremantle in Western Australia. Unbelievably, another Freo boat, Saving Grace, came in the same day, making three of the four yachts in Sarande Harbour all registered in Fremantle! We were welcomed in by Agim and Leela, who helped us dock and then processed all our paperwork. They have been endlessly helpful, and if there is ever any sort of problem on the dock, one of them will magically appear to sort things out. When the crew of Ooroo had some difficulties with an official in a neighbouring bay – he threatened them and made them leave without even letting them retrieve their line – the line appeared on the dock next to their boat the following morning, and Agim informed them that the fellow had been dealt with, that unfortunately there are still some people who are living in the past.

Three Fremantle yachts in Sarande harbour

Ray and Annette, from Saving Grace, have just wound up a chartering business they’ve been running in the Ionian for the last seven years and they are now doing some cruising for their own pleasure. We went with them on a day trip to one of Sarande’s famous attractions, the Blue Eye Spring, where clear fresh water of just 10 degrees C gushes from the earth creating a powerful stream of the most refreshing water you can imagine. The place is in deep woods, where apparently lynx and bears still abound. There are certainly plenty of butterflies, electric blue and gold dragonflies and bright green frogs. Kind of like fairyland, really. It has a couple of simple restaurants and a few basic cabins, and the absence of tourist “attractions” is part of its appeal.

 

 

The other must-see near Sarande is the archaeological park at Butrint, a forested peninsula that has been described as a “microcosm of Mediterranean history”. One of its earliest incarnations was Greek, where there was a sanctuary of healing dedicated to the god Asclepius. A substantial Roman settlement succeeded that, and there are fascinating remains of the theatre, villas, temples, baths, fountains and the aqueduct. In the Christian era Butrint was the bishop’s seat and there are extraordinary remains of a 5^th Century basilica and a baptistery with a lovely mosaic floor, still largely intact. Then there is the Norman castle and the fortifications of the Venetian period. Finally, Ali Pasha built a castle in the late 18^th Century, where he entertained celebrity guests such as Lord Byron. Interestingly, the excavation of Butrint was undertaken by an Italian team beginning in 1928, part of Mussolini’s drive to recreate the glories of the Roman Empire.  You experience Butrint as a walk through the woods, suddenly happening upon an ancient well, or a section of a massive wall, a villa with fine brickwork in stone and terracotta or the remains of a temple overlooking the shimmering estuary. Once again, there is just enough infrastructure to make it enjoyable – explanatory plaques, drink vendors, a small local handcrafts stall, maps, toilets – but no touts or hawkers, and you can actually get in close to look at things. The only restricted areas are the actual digs where work is in progress. It is quite wonderful.

 

 

Food, both the fresh produce in the market and meals in restaurants, is excellent and very cheap. I’m told that all the fruit and vegetables are organic as the farmers cannot afford chemical fertilizers or pest control. They are certainly delicious – and it’s cherry season! Our favourite restaurant was Fredi’s Taverna, just a street back from the harbour on an upstairs veranda. We tended to eat a range of small dishes, like Greek meze or Spanish tapas, where you can taste a variety of the local specialties: meatballs, crunchy rice croquettes, stuffed peppers, squid, fried zucchini etc. This, plus bread, beer and fruit, typically set us back about three euros per person.

Perhaps Albania’s long stretch under the dark cloud of the dictator Hoxha has had this one silver lining: that it has not (yet?) suffered the overdevelopment that blights the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Tunisia and probably other places we haven’t yet seen. The hotels and apartments being built here seem to be on a human scale, and the waterfront is lively and attractive. We’ve found the people friendly and welcoming without any pressure to buy stuff. The young people often speak excellent English and are keen to try out their skills. You can see evidence of the privations of the past in the remnants of brutal Stalinist architecture and in the small stature of the older people. Often the older folk seem stony-faced and suspicious, which is hardly surprising given what most of them have lived through, but a smile and a greeting typically transform the encounter; they beam in return and assure you that you are very welcome in Albania.   

 

Many thanks to Linda and Hugh Moore of Wild Goose, on whose recommendation we came here; we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our stay and we would definitely pass on the recommendation to other cruisers.