After a spectacular show of lightening streaking throughout the night sky, we arrived early in the morning to the delightful seaside town of Sarande, Albania. There we boarded buses and set off for our destination, the famous archeological ruins of Butrint which lies 18km to the south from where we docked. After a forty-five minute drive through the countryside and past bays lined with muscle farms, we arrived to the site which is tucked into the forest on a peninsula in southern Albania. Despite being continuously inhabited for more than 2500 years by the Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Venetian, and Ottomans, much of this ancient site remains uncovered due to a lack of funding. As we wandered through the trees we came across the ruins of an ancient 3rd century BC theater, a 6th century basilica with mosaic floors, and ancient rocks with Greek inscriptions. Finally, after a bit of a climb, we made it to the fortified acropolis at the top of a picturesque hill which was built by the famous Ali Pasha in the 19th-century. We visited the little museum which is now in the castle then slowly meandered downhill to get back to the buses, just in time to beat the hordes of tourists arriving.
Next we traveled back toward Sarande where we made a pit stop at another castle which was atop a hill overlooking the surrounding mountains on one side and the sea on the other. We took a few pictures before perusing the buffet full of delicious Albanian snacks and settled into a table overlooking the valley as we sipped local wine and beer. The castle walls were filled with the sound of incredible flute music provided by a famous Albanian musician, whom was dressed in a traditional costume. It was amazing to see that he could play such beautiful music without having to touch the instrument with his mouth. His translator explained that the flute had been passed down in his family or over 300 hundred years. Can you believe that?! After about an hour it was time to get on the buses for a short drive back to our stunning floating home, the Sea Cloud.
Right when we arrived at the ship it was time for another delicious meal on the Lido deck, although we were still full from our “snack” at the castle. Luckily we had the afternoon to catch up on our favorite books and rest a bit before we made our way to the Lido for a surprise photo workshop by Krista who taught us how to get amazing photographs simply using our phones. That wasn’t the last surprise the expedition staff had in store for us. After Krista’s talk we had time to get a beverage and get cozy for Doug’s talk about the Sea Cloud and her fascinating, long, and diverse history. We then went downstairs where our shipmates were kind enough to let us peek into their cabins which were the original staterooms of the owners. After the open house we ate another gourmet dinner before we went to bed exhausted from the day’s activities, but excited to see what the next day had in store.
