Onwards through Albania
I never expected to be able to visit Albania. It was a tightly closed communist country for decades, shunning even
Montenegro
Albania has many advantages for someone coming by yacht. You enlist a shipping agent to prepare and address all administrative formalities so you don’t have to go through customs, port police, etc. They’ve developed a pretty efficient network and we dealt with one person for all these administrative things, rental car, directions in the city, recommendations for restaurants, and he even took the garbage away from the boat for us! There aren’t many comfortable berths anywhere and only one marina for the whole coast line so you are docking with ferries and cruise ships but we managed.
Arriving relatively early we were able to get docked, relax, and then go for an early dinner. The restaurant owner showed us the fish available and we picked what we wanted. Prices were fabulous (having been through some of the more expensive areas of Greece and Cyprus) so we dined well.
We stayed through the day in Sarande so we could visit Burit (an ancient city) as well as the “Blue Eye”, a natural headwater that pumps out water at 7.3m cubed per second, and visit a mountain town. With a car rental arranged
we were able to get to all the sites in one reasonable day.
We met Billy, a Canadian from the west coast, who was single sailing his yacht and he joined us for our day of touring. It was great to learn about his life in the fishery and gather some sailing wisdom. I think we’ve convinced ourselves we aren’t yet ready for the Atlantic but we (I at least) am eager to cross it at some point. Certainly the boat requires some additional work before we can cross.
Billy and Theo became fast friends discussing ancient cultures, tortoises, star wars, and the like. It was great to see Theo get into one of his talkative states where he shares all the facts he has amassed about a variety of topics. It never ceases to amaze me how much he learns through his quiet observation, youtube videos, and books. He was making observations on Alexander the great and corrected me on some facts related to Egypt and India. We read more about it the next day so he could show me what he had learned.
The car we rented was not what was expected. We had a Mercedes about 15 years old with balding tires,
squeaking brakes, and air conditioning that had a special button to press or it wouldn’t work. The windows sometimes worked and as the driver I had to ignore several dashboard warnings about signal lights, brake lights and general advice that I should get the car in for service. Nevertheless we were able to tour around the island quite effectively and it was nice to have a slightly roomier vehicle.
I can highly recommend Sarande and the surrounding area for visitors. The people were very friendly and helpful. In the mountain town we saw a lot of revitalization. Hotels, restaurants, cafes are starting to open and we met a man who proudly showed us his family home which he was renovating into a restaurant and maybe hotel one day. The stonework he was undertaking was beautiful and we promised to come by again and dine there.
While Albania is delightful, we had a schedule and were picking up our friends Ian and Francis in Split, Croatia in a week. We went through passage planning and realized that we’d have to sail several hours each day to get there so it would be best to get started. Albania doesn’t have too many ports or anchorages so we did big passages here to get to each spot. We just made it to the only marina in Albania before dusk, had a shower, and went to a nearby restaurant where we had another amazing meal. As I write this we are heading to Durres which is another long sail. The pilot guide makes it sound a bit dusty and uncomfortable but we need somewhere to put up for the night. After that we’ll either do one more stop or head directly on to Montenegro. That will make three long sail days in a row and I’m sure we’ll want a bit of a rest.
Durres was just as advertised! We were on a commercial dock between two freighters. A very large yacht pulled in just ahead of us so we were about halfway down the length of the docks nearby the loading cranes. The docks were fully operational until around 10pm or so. There were large trucks, forklifts, and loads of materials moving about in earnest. We had to weave our way through the busy workmen and moving machines to get to the main city, about a 15 min walk away. I couldn’t help thinking, as a father, that the men were enjoying Margaret walk though the mileua.
It took two trips through the port – the first for provisioning, the second for dinner. We had dinner at a nice upper level restaurant which was likely one of the nicer ones in the area. Albania was relatively inexpensive so we didn’t have to worry about it. We did our check out in Durres which meant we could sail on to Montenegro. The shipping agent was very thorough for his 70 Euro fee. I would have liked to spend a bit more time in Albania but not in Durres port. You can’t really stay there for long as it is likely you’d have to move the boat out of the way for commercial ships.
On the docks we saw Illusion, the mega yacht filling with 4 tankers of diesel. We ran into Illusion in Split again and were speaking with one of the crew. They had gone there specifically to fill with fuel since the price is
substantially lower.
It is hard to describe the frustration of port authorities, customs, and agents. It is likely best to sail long distances, get poor sleep, navigate unknown waters, and then worse, navigate unknown ports with no signage where you are trying to find something different each place. And…we aren’t done yet. We have to check in to Montenegro, check out, and then check in to Croatia (which has a reputation for being administratively focused). Each time we do this process it is about 2-3 hours, part of which will be travel time to find all the different offices you must visit.
Bar in Montenegro was a good example of this experience – first you must visit the customs dock, not the marina, and complete the check in. First things first, it was really hot – like 2pm sun beating down, no relief +30C kind of hot. Canadians and crayons melt. You take your paperwork – crew list, passports, registration, insurance are typical but there may be other things. You wait where there are no visible officers wondering if you are in the right place and if they’ll ever appear. You meet the first person who gives you instructions on who you must see and where (the physical geography of which is never close) and start the adventure. In Montenegro I had to find the harbourmaster (who I was told was the cargo master, incorrectly) and I was assured it was in the next building.
There really was no next building close. My first stop in the next building I came to ended up being the marines. They were not happy I went there and sent me back. In the first building I was told it is in town first left. Have I mentioned it was hot? Entering the town I found a tourist agency. They suggested it is in the grey building just beyond them. I walked past an apartment building to a commercial complex. I walked around the commercial complex finding nothing. I went to a café where I saw “officer”looking people and they pointed me to the grey apartment building, which was in fact an office. It was really hot. Walking around the circumference of the building I found a 1x2 meter sign which did in fact list the harbourmaster. It did not face any streets but in fact faced the building beside it so only by walking between two buildings would you have any indication it is there – no flags, no nothing. Walking inside, I went up the stairs to find a series of doors, closed, with no windows and no signs. There was no directory. I looked downstairs since doors were open there. Nothing. Just rooms with chairs and tables. I walked back up and went to the next floor. It was hot. There was a hallway and closed doors. I went up. It was really hot. I explored each floor and went back to the first one and knocked on a wooden door. A man opened the door and directed me to the next closed door. I knocked on that one and inside was a counter and the harbourmaster administrator. Apparently I had knocked on the bosses door first.
He politely processed the paperwork which took approximately 30 min…please don’t get me started with paper efficiency, data keystrokc entry, scanning, photocopying…these offices would drive a lean six practictioner into nirvana or complete shock depending upon their intestinal fortitude. As it is I just close my eyes and wait for the process to be complete. We joked about his aged photocopier and he worked his administrative magic, processing and stamping.
I was then back to port police and customs and more waiting. The port police asked lots of questions and sent me on to customs. Waiting outside the customs office for an agent I scanned the horizon, made a note to not go through so many countries in a short period during a hot season, and generally organized my thoughts for travel ahead. The customs officer arrived, saw I had passports and waved me onwards. Back to the port police I verified all was done and returned to the boat of tired impatient crew feeling more than a little exhausted and terribly thirsty.
Once finished with clearing, we proceeded to the marina to get some fuel and then place the boat.
The Bar Marina is a bit confusing. We had made a reservation however there was no one in the office. We ended up going to a “pier” which seems to be privately held although it shares the facilities of Bar Marina. We were concerned we were getting cheated but overall we paid the same price or slightly less than Bar Marina as it turns out. The facilities were generally poor so we didn’t use them. The docks were in rough repair. The town by contrast was quite nice. There were many restaurants nearby and we were able to provision about 20 min away at a large grocery store.
In Bar we had a relaxing evening first having dinner then going for coffee – we saw a very interesting concert advertised and fully intended to go but with the day’s exertions, fell asleep before it started. Ah well, next time.
From Bar we went on to Budva. We stopped at a picturesque bay near Budva called Sveli Stefan which is beside an island town. In that bay we had a nice relaxing swim and struck up conversations with some Canadian women who were vacationing nearby. They saw the flag and waved and cheered with all the enthusiasm you can get from university students. A Russian man also was interested (perhaps because of the Canadian university students?) in speaking with us so swam by the boat and hung out for a while. One adventurous woman jumped off the boat using our favourite halyard swing.
We went on to the Marina in Budva so we could do customs directly the next morning. Montenegro certainly is a place to explore further. The marina was beside the old town and there was a massive concert stage nearby. We had a marginal dinner (always give yourself time to find the nice restaurants which are rarely ever in plain sight) and with Margaret and Theo returning to the boat, Sheila and I wandered around the town, took in part of the concert, and then went on to a nearby bar for a drink. It felt like a date! Friendly people, great surroundings, and a romantic setting I think we enjoyed Budva.
Early the next morning I wandered to customs to check out and found out they wanted the boat to come to the customs area. I wandered back to the boat and we set off to the customs dock. Less than an hour later, we were on our way. There was much confusion in the office about something but language barriers prevented me from appreciating the situation. I was quite concerned that we weren’t getting a document signed which showed our departure date. The port authority didn’t care but I figured Croatia would since I’d heard so much about fines/fees, etc if you don’t have things “ship shape”. They agreed that the customs officer could sign since the Harbourmaster was not in the office that day.
From Budva we went on to Dubrovnick. We booked into a marina but had to go the customs dock first. Yay! Have I mentioned how much I enjoy clearing into a country? Let’s just summarize this one…It was 1 hour, 15 minutes. I could find the offices easily however you must pay several hundred dollars in fees in local currency – thus I had to find a bank machine. Most of the time was me wandering the streets trying to find a working ATM. 3rd time lucky I was able to withdraw cash, return to the office and pay the fees, and finalize customs clearance.
We arrived fairly late at the marina but wanted to see Dubrovnik. Margaret was particularly keen since we may not be back there (I love this attitude and approach to seizing the moment). We hired a taxi and went to the old city. Searching for restaurants, we quickly realized the town was extraordinarily expensive. We were tired, hungry, and wanting to see the town rather than sit in a restaurant so opted for fast food which we ate on the steps of a nearby church. Once everyone was no longer “hangry” we explored the city, wandering the walkways around the town.
Dubrovnik is a living old town and there are many residences in the walled city. Wandering the streets you see people in courtyards, on their steps, laundry hanging over the alley, and chatter of neighbours. It was special to see and amazing to think about what it must be like to live in such a place. The streets are steep and pedestrian. You’d sacrifice some conveniences to live there but it seemed so special it must be worth it.
We had been assured in Greece our SIM would work in Croatia however this turned out not to be the case. We managed to get a phone call in before the money ran out so we could call the cab to return us to the marina. I was so glad we went to the city rather than crash for the night nearby.
Kevin
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