View of Tirana from the cable car

We had an early breakfast today and were surprised to see the 2 bits of French toast which had been there at the end of our late breakfast yesterday still sitting there. It also looked like the fried eggs were in that situation too. There were no coffee cups available. I really did resort to cornflakes today!

For some unknown reason we didn’t start till 9.30 and went with the group by minibus to the cable car. It was a lovely ride up to the top. The plan was to walk steeply up a short way till the path levelled out a bit to climb to the top of an adjoining mountain from where we’d get a view to Tirana and mountains in the opposite direction. The trip notes said the walk would take 4 hours and was graded easy /moderate. The terrain was difficult as it was in woods with slippy earth and tree roots as well and stones outcrops. After a while people began to say they’d go back. We reached a marker which said 1 hour 10 minutes to the objective. The incline got steeper and I struggled with my knees as I was needing to use my poles to pull myself up. The guide was a little way ahead. I asked him how far it was in the present conditions and he thought about a kilometre till the climb eased. Had we been on our own it would be been ok as I could have gone at my own pace but I thought I might slow up the group so reluctantly I decided to go down. The guide said they’d see us at 12.30. It was actually just after 2.30 when they all turned up so I probably should have carried on as they were all slower than he expected.

By the time they turned up we and the others who turned back had had our lunch. It was 3.45 before the rest were done which meant the rest of the day was affected.

Instead of the bigger walking tour of the city we did a short version and just had time to go to Bunk Art 2 before closing. It was one of Hoxha’s many bunkers - apparently he was paranoid about “bad people” nuking him. This bunker of long corridors with small rooms giving off them gave the history of police in Albania from early 20th century till the fall of communism. There were photos and videos and plenty to read in English about the torture, surveillance and subjugation of the people. A lot of it was similar to what we learned in House of Leaves yesterday. Strangely the self-proclaimed King Zog left in 1939 with the country’s wealth. At least Iran stopped the Shah doing that.

I noticed a “We mustn’t stop talking about Palestine” sticker on a lamp post. Tedi says the country is tolerant and that Muslims, Orthodox and Catholics live in harmony with the atheists. (He, his father and brother are the later but his mother is a Muslim).

I’m loving the history and this friendly city but I’m disappointed I gave up on the walk. It’s the first time I’ve done that. The next one is supposed to be tougher but hopefully the guide will be more realistic in his timings. We’ll see.