As many were afraid, we were not fooled by the sausages, and thus we got the opportunity to tour the most famous Albanian mountain village, Theth. In the afternoon we moved back to Shkoder.
Theth
As in Valbone, breakfast is included, consisting of homemade dishes such as jam, honey, vegetables cheese, butter, omelette, pancakes and a jug of milk plus tea. I go to brush my teeth and Janet points out that there is a small scorpion in the bath.
Theth - Good morning
Theth - Breakfast
We pack our stuff, pay for accommodation and go to see the surroundings. We have arranged a ride from the tourist information centre for one, so we don't have much time here. There are two well-known attractions in the area, not counting the Valbón Pass. It's the Grunas waterfall or the Blue Eye lagoon. Both are worth it, but we choose the closer waterfall for time reasons. On the way to it, we'll walk the whole of Theth. We'll visit the local mixed-goods store, which is half empty. Unlike Valbone, here it already looks like a tourist centre and judging by the buildings under construction, it is growing all the time.
Theth
Theth - Tourist Information Centre
Slowly but surely our steps are heading towards the waterfall. There is no marked path on Mapy.cz, but we came across some signposts. Unfortunately, they pointed us to a longer and less used trail. We had a dramatic experience there, when Janet almost stepped on a snake stretched across the narrow trail and I nearly had a heart attack. Since then, I have been constantly looking underfoot. She Balkan Viper is much more venomous than ours and we really don't want to deal with that here in these parts.
Theth - Snake trail
Anyway, we all arrived at the waterfall in good health. It was crowded by the waterfall, but it is a nice waterfall to look at, and if you can get a good position over the people, the photos are nice too.
Theth - Grunas Waterfall
On the way to Theth, we take the right road, which runs along the valley of the Lumi stream. Along the way, we get breathtaking views of Theth and its massifs in the background. The same scenes can be seen in the village itself.
Theth
Slowly but surely we walk to the information centre and despite being here earlier, our ride is waiting for us. Interestingly, there was no tarmac road leading to Theth until now. I know this because it was just being tarmacked when we left on it. We take the road up to an altitude of 1700m and then slowly descend through the Boge valley to Shkoder. As we serpentine down from the summit, we encounter quite a few cairns that still shine with newness, but are already solidly rumpled. I'm guessing that there are probably some pretty big rocks falling here and I certainly wouldn't want to drive by when they are. Otherwise, it's a scenic drive almost all the way to the town of Koplik. Then it's pretty boring until Shkoder.
Boge Valley
The driver drops us off at the mosque in the centre and we go straight to the Kultura hostel where we are staying for the night, as our host's place was booked for the day. We drop our stuff here and go to our previous accommodation to pick up our backpacks. We eventually return with these. We drop them in the room and walk to the centre with the aim of having dinner somewhere. In the end, a restaurant a short walk from the Ebu Beker Mosque wins out. I try Albanian pizza for the first time.
Shkoder - Rruga G'juhadold
Shkoder - Kultura hostel
Shkoder - Late lunch
I usually write that after a hearty lunch we go sightseeing. Not this time. We walk a bit, but sit down for dessert at a cafe on the pedestrianised Rruga Kol Idromeno. There are plenty of barber shops on this street too, so if you want to blend in with the others in terms of appearance, feel free to visit.
When we can't fit any more in, we go back to the hostel. After all, it's nearing 7 pm and since the hostel has a bar, we plan to spend tonight at the bar. We go to bed around midnight. Tomorrow we will move to the sea in Vlore.
Useful links:
Guesthouse "Gjin Thana"
Other accommodation in Theth
Kultura Hostel
Apartment Lika
Other accommodation in Shkoder
