Sarande, Butrint & Porto Palermo, Albania
After a long and rough night, the Panorama found calm waters and refuge as she entered the fishing port of Sarande. This small port town is located in the southern district of the country of Albania. This marks the second country we are visiting while exploring the Dalmatian Coast and one of particular interest, as Albania has only had open borders since 1991. Fifty years of communist isolation under dictator Enver Hoxha beginning just after the end of WWII has left many permanent marks on a country that is now struggling to enter the twenty first century under its own terms. To understand both the current Albanian people and learn about the previous civilizations, we spent our morning traveling overland to a very important archeological site called Butrint. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is often called a microcosm of Mediterranean history, representing the rise and fall of all the great empires that dominated Albania and the Balkan Peninsula, from the Illyrians and Greeks through the Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottoman Turks.
“According to classical mythology Buthrotum (Butrint) was founded by exiles fleeing the fall of Troy. On arrival, Priam’s son Helenus sacrificed an ox, which struggled ashore wounded and died on the beach. Taking this as a good omen the place was named Buthrotum meaning wounded ox.”
An Italian archaeological mission headed by Luigi Maria Ugolini began excavating the site in the 1920’s. During the next ten years constant work was carried out, uncovering all the major public buildings we saw today. After WWII work continued, but haltingly until the 1990’s when UNESCO made Butrint a National Site, which encompasses 86 km2. Once on site, we divided into two groups and spent just under two hours walking through the theater, baths, baptistery and Byzantine basilica, all part of the lower section of the site. From the basilica we had the choice of returning to our busses or continuing along a trail that lead through the Lion’s Gate and up to the acropolis, which later became a Venetian, and then Turkish fort. Our imagination along with interpretation from our Albanian guides could just reveal what might have once been a substantial settlement of thousands of people. The mild climate may have attracted people to this site originally and now encouraged an interesting and diverse array of plants that shrouded the ruins in trees, shrubs and small late Spring flowers. One could only guess at the many 2,000-year-old secrets still hidden under a massive layer of detritus created by the thick forest native to southern Albania.
All too soon we were guided down a steep set of steps that led around much of Butrint, and back to the entrance of the National Park. Once again we divided into two groups. One bus headed up to the Ottoman Castle of Lekuris for a magnificent view, while the second bus returned to Sarande for a walk through town to a local market and back to the Panorama. Both groups arrived back in time for lunch, while the Panorama made preparations to depart for our afternoon destination of Porto Palermo, an abandoned castle once occupied by Ali Pasha a ruthless but skillful ruler who dominated the area in the 19th century.
As the Panorama approached the port, our Captain signaled the officials on the dock and the response from shore seemed strange. Cell phones were pulled out, calls were made and it turned out that permission from our local port authority would not be given. Whatever powers that should or could be finalized had not been, and the Panorama would have to back out of Porto Palermo and continue her course north heading towards our next day’s destination of Durres, Albania. It seemed the Ionian Sea had calmed, and our passage would be a gentle rocking as we all gathered for an impromptu discussion on the trials of traveling in newly open countries. We were indeed exploring the Dalmatian Coast, with all the trials and tribulations that travelers must face.
As we all gathered in the library and dining area of the Panorama for an impromptu recap, we posed questions to our staff and each other exploring many ideas about travel in general, but Albania in particular. Outside the sun was setting on the rugged Albanian coastline; storm clouds hung on the mountain ridges, white caps dotted the Ionian Sea and we continued our voyage, ever pushing north.
