[2/2] Returning to the van we met Eresus walckenaeri, a relatively rare species of ladybird spider from the eastern Mediterranean (1). Continuing Sth along the Albanian Riviera we stopped at Qeparo, somewhere between derelict & not-yet-built for mass tourism (2); admittedly, fairly quiet this early in the season. From SH8 nr. Nivicë looked out across the Delvinë Basin & to Mali i Gjerë Massif bordering it (3). Drove into Sarandë, the largest city on the Riviera & a tourist hub; drove out having not found parking or anything appealing (& skipped Lekurësi Castle). We found it all a bit, well, desperate. The “Riviera” seems more of an ambition, but reality hasn’t caught up yet. Sunset from our pitch on a sheep & goat farm in the basin, adjacent to one of the ~170k “bunkers of Enver Hoxha” intended to repel a foreign invasion (4).

#Albania #campervan #travel

[1/2] The “Albanian Riviera” stretches roughly from Llogara Pass in Nth to Ksamil in Sth nr. the border w/ Greece. Llogara Pass is a scenic mountain drive, passing through forested national park & offering panoramic views of the Ionian Sea; there are several visible offshore Greek islands, the largest of which is Corfu (1). Plazhi i Gjipesë | Gjipe Beach, btw Dhërmi & Vuno, is said to be one of southern Albania’s most beautiful (2); it’s no longer secluded, thanks to Insta & is reached via 4x4 road form €. Behind it is the karst Kanioni i Gjipesë | Gjipe Canyon (3), where climbers did their thing on 70m cliffs. We were content w/ a little wading in the Ionian Sea (4).

#Albania #campervan #travel

schlafen mit Froschkonzert

#AnnasTochterUnterwegs im #Campervan

[1/2] From Berat it’s ~1h to Ujëvara e Bogovës | Bogova Waterfall in Parku Kombëtar Mali i Tomorrit | Tomorr Mountain National Park, reached via easy 3.2km rtn walk on gravel road from opposite water bottling facility & nothing special—unless the cold pool at its bottom beckons (1). The park’s principal attraction is Kanioni i Osumit | Osumi Gorge, which begins beyond town of Çorovodë. There are a couple of elevated viewpoints (2&3) until, after 13km, there’s easy access to the riverbed (4). We found it underwhelming, but have seen awesome canyons recently. The road to Çorovodë was worse than next 13km within the gorge itself; onwards to Përmet said to be 4x4 territory.

#Albania #campervan #travel

How we do astrophotography with an old phone?

https://videos.trom.tf/w/rYkMsXVAUxCXduphCLTgFF

Stopped at Lake Skadar/ Shkodër & saw fishermen using a traditional net-on-pole technique to catch fish (1). Drove on to Krujë, centre of Skanderbeg's Christian rebellion against the Ottomans in 1443-68 CE. Little remains of Fortesa e Kalase | the Fortress of the Castle; a 12th C. watchtower became a clock tower after an earthquake in 1617 CE, but is barely standing (2). The hill is mostly restaurants & museums. Took tickets for the well-executed Ethnographic Museum, a former house of the Toptani family built in 1764; this is the “Men’s Room” (3). Exhibts covered traditional practices, such as metalworking, pottery, woodworking, raki production, felt making, olive oil pressing & milling (4). Decided to forego climbing Mali i Gamtit | Gamtit Mountain & seeing Liqeni Bovillës | Lake Bovilla (reports of bad road/ no camping options). Instead drove to coast S of Durrës; backed onto beach at end of ugly resort, but have lapping of waves.

#Albania #campervan #travel

[2/2] Theth–Valbone Trail cont.

Smalls! Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid is native to much of Europe; it flowers in spring & summer, in various colors from purple (1) to yellow (2). Globularia cordifolia | matted globularia is native to mountains of central & southern Europe—also western Türkiye (3). Morimus funereus is a threatened longhorn beetle; its larvae develop inside dead or dying hardwoods, helping to break down wood & recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem (4).

#Albania #campervan #travel #hiking

[1/2] The 15km/ 7h Shtegu Theth–Valbonë | Theth–Valbone Trail is ordinarily a through hike, typically from the Valbonë side, & is all about panoramic views of the Albanian Alps (ominously a.k.a. Prokletije | Accursed Mountains). There was a procession up the mountain, even this early in the season; here’s where we stopped for lunch (1). We reached Qafa e Valbonës | Valbone Col at 1,795m elevation (Theth is at 850–900m), from where we had sight of Lugina e Valbonës | the Valbone Valley (2). Others were arriving from said valley, or beginning their descent into it (3). We joined in w/ the obligatory self-congratulation (4) & began our descent back to Theth. The 17km out-&-back hike from camp took us 7h, including lunch break; total ascent 1,268 +/- 120m.

#Albania #campervan #travel #hiking

Arrived in Theth, an alpine village within Parku Kombëtar “Alpet e Shqipërisë” | “Alps of Albania” National Park. The camera was out moments after the handbrake engaged; here are two views of the peaks towering above our pitch: wow (1&2)! Walked 2km downhill into the expanding village, which reminded us of NZ’s Queenstown before over-tourism soured its charm (3). This boom town still has an air of quaintness to it, however, with traditional stone houses, evidence of a pastoral lifestyle & a church reflecting Catholic heritage in this majority Muslim country (4).

#Albania #campervan #travel

Muriqan-Sukobin border crossing took ~1h—mostly because of queue-jumpers driving against oncoming traffic to cut into line ahead of us. No stamps, no interest in temporary vehicle import authorization. An increase in potholes & roadside litter. In Shkodër camped below Rruga e Kalasë | Rozafa Castle, seen here at sunset w/ Albanian Alps in background (1). The hill has been fortified since 4th C. BCE when the Illyrians built a citadel, but most of what can be seen today is of Venetian construction. Lake Skadar/ Shkodër is the largest in the Balkans & is visible from the walls (2). A 5–6th C. paleo-Christian church here became a medieval church in 13th C. then a mosque after 15th C. then ammo depot in 19th C. until it blew up in 1910 (3)! Ura e Mesit | Mesi Bridge ~5km NE of Shkodër was built 1768; 13 arches make it the largest bridge remaining from the Ottoman period in Albania (4).

#Albania #campervan #travel

Mostly a wet driving day. Backtracked from Žabljak to Nikšić then R-17 most of way towards Kotor (winding mountain road abruptly transformed into a highway in middle of nowhere). From safe parking on the R-1 in Njeguši we got our first glimpse of fjord-like Boka Kotorska | Bay of Kotor (1) & further along, the city of Kotor w/ visiting cruise ships (2). We drove the Serpentine Road w/ its 25 switchbacks down to the outskirts of the historic city. No photos in the absence of safe stopping & there were some pulse-raising moments when we encountered coaches coming uphill to meet us. Followed the bay to wander the pretty coastal town of Perast (3). We had glimpses of UNESCO-listed Kotor w/ its Old Town Walls & San Giovanni/ St. John’s Fortress (4) from the traffic jam.

#Montenegro #campervan #travel

The best paid parking? And can we get out? - videos.trom.tf/w/vewyoFQd9VmYM…

Fuente Del Arco was a surprisingly good paid parking. Just 6 euros for parking, water, and electricity. But when we tried to get out we realized that the only way out was uphill and near a big hole that was not there when we parked. It was really difficult to get the motorhome out of there... But we really liked that place in terms of motorhome parking.

Tara River looking upstream (1) & downstream (2) as seen from Đurđevića Tara Bridge. The Tara Canyon/ River Gorge is 2nd deepest in Europe & 3rd deepest globally; it reaches 1300m in depth. From the bridge we watched thrill seekers using the zipline to fly past us & rafters navigating the rapids 172m below us (3). The arched Đurđevića Tara Bridge itself is not especially pretty, with crumbling concrete exposing the iron reinforcing (4). It was built in 1937–40, but rebuilt in 1946 having been blown during WWII. The road through the canyon is billed as a scenic drive; it was closed.

#Montenegro #campervan #travel

[3/3] Animal encounters included Rupicapra rupicapra | northern chamois, a species of goat-antelope native to Europe’s mountains (1), the thrush-like Oenanthe oenanthe | northern wheatear, which were chatty but kept their distance (2) & Anthus spinoletta | water pipit. Plant encounters included the succulent Sempervivum marmoreum | hen-and-chicks (3) & Gentiana verna | spring gentian, exhibiting one of the rarest “true blues” in nature (4); also identified crocus, Pinus mugo | mountain pine & Muscari botryoides | common grape hyacinth.

#Montenegro #campervan #travel #hiking

[1/3] Not ideal conditions, but w/ more rain incoming we decided on a stab at reaching the accessible & typically scenic Prutaš summit (2401m) in Durmitor NP. Mountain road from Žabljak to trailhead afforded some early views & had us hopeful weather may hold or even improve (1). Shepherds huts seen from at Dobri Do (2); southern trailhead for longer but less challenging climb. Some sections steep & rocky, others gentler & earthen (3). After having gained the ridge at Skrčko ždrijelo we saw folded strata—but opposite to our direction of travel (4).

#Montenegro #campervan #travel #hiking

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our outbound transit of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2025/05/21/old-stones-of-bosnia-and-herzegovina/

Incredible mountain scenery in the no man’s land btw BiH & MNE Ilino Brdo Border Crossing (1). Overlooking Slano jezero | Slano Lake, 1 of 3 artificial reservoirs near Nikšić, the country’s 2nd largest city w/ popn. ~32k (2). Landscape from the winding drive north on well-maintained road in the Šavnik-Grabovica area (3). View from pitch in the small settlement of Ivan Do, near tourist hub/ town of Žabljak, within Nacionalni park Durmitor | Национални парк Дурмитор | Durmitor National Park (4).

#Montenegro #campervan #travel

The necropolis of stecci (pl. of stećak) at Radimlja nr. Stolac is part of UNESCO-listed collection of characteristic late medieval Christian monuments; ~135 tombstones here. Figure armed w/ bow, sword & shield may represent a warrior (1). There’s a hunting scene (2); some reliefs hard to make out clearly. The 15th C. hilltop ruins of Stari grad Vidoški | Vidoški Old Town in modern Stolac were located on trading routes from Dubrovnik; it’s first mentioned in 1444 CE. It expanded under Ottoman rule, w/ 13 defensive towers by 17th C., to become the largest fortified town in Herzegovina (3&4). Romans had, of course, built here earlier.

#BosniaHerzegovina #campervan #travel