Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 
 

From Kotor (Montenegro) to Shëngjin (Albania), including Rozafa Castle & Shkodra
Monday 29th May 2017
 
 
Geoff chose to remain on board the Island Sky today and sail from the Montenegrin port of Kotor to the Albanian port of Shëngjin (St John). Bruce chose to do the full day excursion overland from Montenegro to Albania. This page is mostly about Bruce's little adventure.
 

It became clear that considerable thought had gone into planning and preparation for today's overland route, so that we could just sit back and enjoy all that was on offer.

After leaving Kotor on the coach, we were treated to stunning views of the Montenegrin coastline before turning inland, where we drove past interesting rock formations in the mountainous countryside. Crossing the border into Albania there were more mountain views, plus green, fertile valleys, wide rivers and big lakes. The views from Rozafa Castle were especially beautiful. We visited an interesting exhibition of photographs in the town of Shkodra, before being treated to an astonishingly good "slow food" lunch at an agritourism restaurant near Fishtë. Our adventure ended with a short drive to the port of Shëngjin, where we rejoined the ship.
 
 

We were given a packet of goodies by our Chef as we disembarked the ship at 8:00am, in case we got peckish en-route. Three coaches had set out from Albania very early this morning and were waiting for us. In addition to three Albanian drivers, there were three Albanian guides, who spoke excellent English, an Albanian agent, who also spoke excellent English plus two members of the onboard team. In addition, we were accompanied by a senior member of staff from our tour operator in London, to help ensure the smooth operation of this pioneering trip. We felt very well taken care of!
 

At 8:15 we set off and almost immediately drove through the 1.6km long Vrmac Tunnel, which took us out of Kotor towards the sea. Twenty minutes later we got our first spectacular view of the coastline, as we approached the town of Budva. For well over an hour after that, we were treated to beautiful views, looking down and out over the Adriatic Sea.
 
Sveti Nikola island is located opposite the town of Budva.
 
Budva
 
 
High-rise holiday accommodation and casino complexes seem to dominate this coastline, much of it recently built, with many more apparently under construction.
 
 
 
Sveti Stefan ("Saint Stephen") island (above and below), which hosts a luxury hotel/resort.
 
The little islands of Sveta Nedelja and Katic, opposite the town of Petrovac. The former has a small church of the same name built upon it.
 
Looking back at the two little islands, as we got closer to the town of Bar.
 
We drove through the town of Bar.
 
 
Turning inland after Bar, we passed some interesting looking rock formations.
 
 
Once we entered the municipality of Ulcinj, we noticed that the road signs were in both the Montenegrin and Albanian languages and learned that Albanians are the majority population here. We were clearly getting quite close to the border between the two countries.
 
Shortly afterwards, we arrived at the Lamiga services, where we stopped for 15 minutes.
 
 
Nigel, chatting to Linda, one of our Albanian guides.
 
On the left is the Albanian agent chatting to Saskia and Elaine.
 
No, it's not what you might think...
It means something like "for sale" and we saw lots of similar signs in Albania.
 
On the road again, we saw more and more mosques as we approached the border.
 
Thirty minutes from Lamiga and two and a half hours after leaving Kotor, we arrived at the Sukobin - Muriqan border crossing between Montenegro and Albania.
 
Our guide collected our passports and disappeared into the building. She returned with them less than 30 minutes later and we were waved through the border into Albania.
 
 
Albania looks quite different from Montegro. It is much less developed for one thing, but the landscape is also much more open and agricultural.
 
Half an hour after crossing the border, we arrived at Rozafa Castle, set imposingly on a rocky hill near the city of Shkodra.
 
We could only go part of the way up the hill in the coach. We walked the rest of the way up.
 
The views from the top made the climb worthwhile.
 
 
 
 
 
The hill has been settled since antiquity, due to its strategic location. Before being captured by the Romans in 167BC, it was an Illyrian stronghold. The fortifications, as they have been preserved to date, are mostly Venetian in origin.
 
 
 
Lake Skadar in the background
The castle is surrounded by the Bojana (Buna) and Drin rivers.
 
 
 
Neil made sure that we were all safe. He probably had a few anxious moments, because some of the cobblestones on the way up to the castle were very slippery and a few of my fellow travellers had difficulty walking up and down.
Yes, I was there... this is proof!
 
 
As we walked downhill and back to the coach, we encountered a bride coming up. We all wished her good luck for her future, not too mention her immediate challenge of coping with the slippery cobblestones in that dress!
 
Ok, so now we know the Albanian word for "toilet".
 
Looking back up to the castle as we drove off towards the town of Shkodra.
 
We drove into the centre of Shkodra (also known as Shkodër). The town is changing fast, but there are still lots of quite depressing looking buildings.

 
We were told that Shkodra is one of the oldest and most historic places in the Balkan peninsula, as well as being an important cultural and economic centre.
 
The pedestrianised area of central Shkodra.
 
The Ebu Bekër Mosque
 
Albanian Orthodox Church
 
We visited the National Museum of Photography ("Marubi"), which contained an impressive range of photographs dating back to 1858.
 
 
Well, some brand names don't translate that well, I guess. This one is widespread in Albania.
 
After a forty minute drive through more beautiful countryside...
 
...we finally arrived at our lunch venue at 2:45pm.
(It was just as well we'd had those packed goodies to keep us going!)
 
We were in for a real treat at an amazing agritourism venue called Mrizi i Zanave.
 

We were greeted with local music and pomegranate juice.
 
 
We were a little puzzled by this. A tour of the farm later perhaps?
 
All of the courses looked as beautiful as these desserts.
 
A decorated ball of ice. Inside was a serving of mint ice cream... delicious!
 
 
Could it be, yes, I think it is an old bunker from the former communist era!
We were to see a lot more of these, in different guises, over the next couple of days.
 
 
A flour mill, powered by solar panels.
 
A last look at this remarkable venture before we left.
 
This cow was definitely giving me the evil eye!
 
 
It was only a short drive to the Albanian port of Shëngjin.
 
We were surprised to see a fire engine from Dorset there! (Another one of Neil's pictures)
 
Geoff had arrived in Shëngjin on the ship a couple of hours earlier.
 
 
The First Officer guiding the ship into the dock.
 
The first British cruise ship in the port had attracted the attention of a film crew.
 
Geoff went ashore for a short while...
...passing Shëngjin's busy customs office...
...and the high Street...
...before arriving at the sea front, where he had a stroll with Roger.
 
We sailed from Shëngjin at 7:30 pm.
 
Next stop - Vlorë.
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble