This past week was spent on a bus traveling through the Balkan regions of Albania, Greece, and Macedonia. Our group immediately got a feel for what an adventure our trip would be once we began driving up the abnormally narrow, windy, and incredibly bumpy roads that went up the mountains leading to our destinations. Though our bus driver was clearly a pro (seeing as he was able to drive the bus backwards up a hill through a traffic jam without hitting anyone) I was still convinced we were going to die several times.
Ever since we arrived at our first destination (Krujë, Albania) I was in awe with the beauty of the region. I have never been exposed to such magnificent mountains and crystal blue water before. Heck, I’ve only seen the ocean once in my entire life and let me tell you, it was not nearly as beautiful as any of the water I saw on this trip.
Though every single place we visited was wonderful and gorgeous, Saranda, Albania was by far my favorite. Our hotel was located on an adorable street leading to the downtown area, and overlooked the water, showcasing the regions killer sunsets. We spent most of our time there on private beaches that were only accessible by (a very sketchy) boat, bonding as a group by playing “chicken” or attempting to do cheerleading stunts in the sand. We spent our nights eating dinner quite late (between 9 and 11pm) laughing together and watching futbol games. We were almost always the most obnoxious group in the restaurant, putting together 4 or 5 tables just to seat us all, and taking about 40 minutes to figure out the check.
The food was incredible even though being vegan left me eating salad and grilled vegetables practically every day and night. I once tried to be adventurous and order a cheese-less pizza, however due to the language barrier I ended up with a very cheesy, sauce-less pizza instead. Lets just say I was not “food-adventurous” again.
The entire experience left me wanting more. I felt that a week was nowhere near enough time to really see three countries and learn their stories. I plan on going back for sure and finishing my journey.