July 19 Sarande, Albania

July 19, Tuesday- Sarande, Albania

Today is another tender port. We have learned that another 5 star perk is that we don’t have to get a tender ticket. We just proceed to the gangway and board the tender. This is only of benefit when you leave early. After the rush, it is open tendering for everyone. 

Sarande is an Albanian resort town. As we approached it looked new and clean. When the tender arrived we started our exploratory walk. It was not long before we discovered that the waterfront facade was indeed clean, but most of it was not new. The buildings seem quite old and away from the sea they are not well maintained. 

Some interesting features are the steep walk ways from street level down to the water, a rather old amusement park and a nice beach area. Aside from the aggressive taxi drivers we did not meet very many English speakers. In fact we did not feel very welcome here.

We will share some photos with you,but we don’t have much in the way of interesting experiences. The one exception is the lady with the plant garden. I will explain that at the photo. 

The day started with the sun rising over Sarande on our approach. It ends with the sun disappearing as we departed 

This lovely garden is at the foot of an extremely steep driveway. The photo does not capture that. The elderly lady who tends it saw us admiring it from the sidewalk and insisted that we come down to see it. We did and were glad we did. She was so proud of it. Our sincere compliments made her beam. She did her best in broken English to thank us. She was the kindest person we met in Albania and we cherish our little time with her. 

To the beach 

Time to leave