Monthly Archives: April 2012

On the Macedonian side of Lake Ohrid

As we drove around the northern edge of Lake Ohrid from the border crossing we felt less than inspired. It was overcast, threatening to rain, and any campsites we could see not only looked closed but terminally so. As we … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture stuff, By Country - Macedonia, Travel stuff | 4 Comments

An ongoing Balkan border post

As we did for the entry to Tunisia, we’ll be giving a handy how-we-did (promising nothing as generic as a “how-to”) for the borders we encounter. This post will be updated after each one – hopefully, with good news of … Continue reading

Posted in By Country - Albania, By Country - Bosnia, By Country - Croatia, By Country - Macedonia, By Country - Montenegro, Officialdom stuff | 4 Comments

Something fishy

As we entered Korça, our first impressions were less than enthusiastic. It seemed to have very few redeeming features indeed – certainly not the road surface… We found somewhere to park, conveniently right by the (modern but beautiful) Orthodox Cathedral, … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture stuff, By Country - Albania, By Country - Macedonia, Food stuff, Officialdom stuff, Travel stuff, Van stuff, Wildlife stuff | 1 Comment

Into the heart of the land of the two headed eagle – the road to Korça

We left Gjirokaster under leaden skies wondering if we’d ever get to see Albania fully sunny. Our first stop as we drove north was Tepelene, home of Ali Pasha who ruled southern Albania and much of mainland Greece in the … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture stuff, By Country - Albania, Food stuff, Officialdom stuff, Travel stuff, Wildlife stuff | 3 Comments

Gjirokaster

‘It was a steep city, perhaps the steepest in the world, which had broken all the laws of town planning. Because of its steepness, it would come about that at the roof-level of one house you would find the foundations … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture stuff, By Country - Albania, Food stuff, Travel stuff | 4 Comments

Përshëndetje, Shqipëria

In the last post, we mentioned the ticketing for the ferry briefly, but left out one important detail. This was deliberate, because – frankly – we didn’t want to tempt fate. The price we’d been given over the phone was … Continue reading

Posted in By Country - Albania, Travel stuff, Wildlife stuff | 3 Comments

Last few days of Italy

On our return to the campsite after our Fracchie outing, we knew we’d missed the curfew and the gates were closed. We slept outside on the road, waking up briefly to drive into the site when it opened again at … Continue reading

Posted in By Country - Italy, Food stuff, Travel stuff | 2 Comments

The Long Good Friday

San Marco in Lamis, a small town in the hills of Puglia’s Gargano peninsula, is the home of one of Italy’s longstanding Easter traditions. There are three parades through the town on Good Friday – one in the early morning … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Culture stuff, By Country - Italy, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Back to the mainland

Heading back to the Italian mainland from Sicily was never going to be easy, so we found one last distraction to put it off for a day – Taormina. The Greeks had built a theatre here, on top of a … Continue reading

Posted in By Country - Italy, Food stuff, Travel stuff | 1 Comment