To go to Ksamil, we had to take the bus from Himare to Sarande - a port town. The journey was quite tiring for me because the bus was small and stuffed and the road was not always smooth. When we arrived in Sarande, it was a bit rainy so it felt colder than it should be. The town was quite crowded with locals. There were almost no tourists because it was winter.
We changed to a public bus to get to Ksamil. The weather was getting better and better and when we arrived in Ksamil, it was sunny again. BUT, something wrong happened. My big backpack was not there in the trunk of the bus. There was nothing valuable in my backpack but I was quite shocked because that was the very first trouble we got into during our seven months of travelling. I even couldn’t keep myself calm so I burst into tears. The bus driver and his assistant couldn’t understand why my backpack was not there. Other passengers also gathered to discuss. We all thought that one of the passenger who got off the bus at some stop before took it. So the driver called his boss to come and solve the problem. The boss arrived with his driver and took us back to Sarande to the police station to declare. We were all very intense and suddenly Gautier asked the driver to stop. It was miracle, my backpack was at the side of the road, in front of a hotel. It was untouched. Nothing was stolen. The manager of the hotel saw us and walked out to tell us that he saw it dropped from the bus on the other side of the street so he took it and put it here. We thanked you him and was so happy. We both were quite surprised because there were a lot of people around but nobody stole or even touch it. It’s amazing.
The bus manager took us to where the bus dropped us. And we started to find our airbnb apartment. It was a cute house with a swing in the front yard which was made by the landlord himself because he was a metalsmith. The family (the parents and two girls) welcome us so warmly with their traditional drink - raki, homemade cakes and fruits. The news of us losing my backpack had even come before us. They told us that there were almost no crimes happening to tourists there. And as it was a small community, people know each other so they didn’t do any bad things to each other. We did feel very safe and welcoming when travelling in Albania indeed. The apartment we had was very nice and well-equipped for the 10 euro price. It can be cheap as it was winter but still too cheap for what we got.
The family was very hospitable and generous. They offered us a lot of fruits, cakes and even invited us for dinners. In exchange, we also offer them our dishes. But they all love the pancake Gautier made. We had nice time playing domino every evening. They were masters in it, especially the father. The mother showed me how to make bread her style. The father took Gautier around and to his workplace. We were treated like their old friends.
They also advised us where we should visit in Ksamil such as the beaches, Butrint - an ancient Greek settlement - a UNESCO archaeological site or Blue Eye spring (Syri i Kalter) but we decided to skip the two last ones and discovered Ksamil our way.
The older girl of the family said that the beaches of Ksamil are even more beautiful than the one in Corfu, Greece. It was the hidden gem of Albania and was one of the best beach destinations in Europe. I haven’t been to any beaches in Greece so I didn’t know. But of course we wanted to visit its beaches to see how beautiful it would be. We were amazed when we got there. The beaches were fine sandy beaches and had crystal clear waters, great views of the ocean and incredible mountain scenery. We were there in winter so there were no tourists at all except us. No tourism services opened. We had the beaches for ourselves but couldn’t swim. Such a pity!
The land with Ionian Sea on the right was a bit hilly with a small community. There was a monastery on the top as well. You can visit the monastery before walking around to enjoy the view surrounding it. From there you also can walk down to a hidden beach below.
The land with Butrint lake on the left was much narrower than the land on the right. There was only one or two houses on the very edge of the road. But just walking along the road, we could enjoy the view of amazing Butrint lake. The lake was surrounded by dense forested hills, rocky coast and complemented by saltwater and freshwater marshlands.
Actually, the place we were staying was near the lake as well. Just some steps out of the house, we arrived at a small port at the lake. I love to go there every sunrise and sunset. The view was so stunning.
At the south of Butrint lake, the Vivari Channel connects the lagoon to the sea. So we did a hike to the south of Ksamil to see where it would take us. At first we just walked a long the main road and passed a lot of beautiful olive fields with the background of the sea.
When we reached the lake, it was where we decided to turn right to a small path, instead of continuing the main road which leaded to Butrint - the UNESCO archaeological site. The view was amazing.
We saw an abandoned castle in the map so we headed there and then we saw it, the ruin of the castle of Ali Pasha Tepelena which is named after the Albanian ruler Ali Pasha in the seas. The castle is a small rectangular structure with battered walls. Along the corners, there are two battered round towers with cannons on its seaward side and two irregularly sized battered square towers equipped with firing loops or windows. We couldn’t visit it because it was located in a bit far from the shore and there weren’t any boats around. We had our lunch at the shore with the sea view and a herd of sheep around. It was a beautiful winter afternoon.
Even the weather was quite nice for some days, there were still some days it was quite grumpy. And one day it was even snowy. There hadn’t been in Ksamil for 13 years so it was the first time of seeing snow for the little daughter of that family. The two girls got so excited to see snow that made me feel the same even it was not the first time for me. The snow didn’t last long but we had a fun time enjoying it.
If you are looking for a peaceful and quiet place with plenty of secluded places for your holiday, Ksamil would be a great choice and you will also feel welcomed there. The people are kind and friendly towards tourists and are always happy to help as well as it still lacked of recognition for most tourists. So let visit it before it gets too crowded.
Comentários