Pedalbania – Stage 4
Gjirokaster (Muzinë Pass) – Sarandë
29 May 2018
Distance: 66km; total ascent: 661m
Stayed at: Hotel Porto Eda, Sarandë
We drove in, and we drove out. This morning the minibus took us further down the main road, then turned uphill to the top of the Muzinë pass (555m). Another major sightseeing opportunity awaited, and doing this saved a good chunk of time.
The roads had improved as the holiday progressed and we got nearer the coast. This morning was another exhilarating, swooping downhill on a road with very little traffic, spoiled only by my having to jam on the brakes when an unknown insect hit my forehead, got behind my glasses and stung me under my right eye. Once I’d composed myself I carried on with a sharp pain. I was praying my eye wouldn’t swell up and affect my vision, and relieved as time went on and the pain faded. We regrouped after a flat run-in to the edge of Sarandë; looking in the minibus’s wing mirror I could just see a slight red mark. I’d been lucky.
Although we were within a mile of the coast we couldn’t yet see it, as a low ridge hid the view. We were heading for another World Heritage site, the ancient city of Butrint which lies on a promontory south of Sarandë, between the sea and a large lagoon. Our route took us around the lagoon via a coffee stop at one petrol station and a regroup at another to reach the small cable-driven ferry which crosses the narrow channel which is the only outlet from the lagoon. A ‘rustic ferry’, Erlis claimed.
The far (northern) bank was Touristville. Coaches, some of them from cruise ships and labelled ‘English’, ‘Spanish’ or ‘French’ according to the language of the on-board commentary, were lined up in a large car park. There were German and Dutch bikers. Overweight people in badly-fitting light-coloured clothes wandered about. Local women tried to sell small punnets of strawberries and other fruit. And a hot, sweaty bunch of lycra-wearing Brits were looking for cold drinks and lunch.
Actually it all worked out rather well. Hotel/Restorant Livia was fairly quiet as most of the tourists were in the ancient city. We had another excellent lunch sitting at a reserved table in the shade and by the time we had finished the place was filling up, but the Butrint ruins were emptying. It was hot, but Butrint was quiet and there was plenty of shade as we followed the general route round the ruins.
Again, I won’t duplicate the guidebooks and information online. Start with Wikipedia’s article. The Bradt guidebook also has a good section if you have a copy.
The last leg for today was to ride the last 16km into Sarandë. There were a few small ups and downs and by this time it was hot; it was a relief to reach the town and find our hotel overlooking a small marina and with a waterside bar/restaurant terrace. It didn’t take long before most of the group were occupying a shady table where half-empty Elbar bottles (“Korça finished!”) jostled for space with larger (“Haven’t you got any, you know, large bottles?”) bottles of imported wheat beer.
For the evening meal we sat in the terrace restaurant and chose individually from the à la carte menu. The pizza was good. Afterwards as the evening faded to night, four of us sat at a table on the water’s edge enjoying a final drink, a cool breeze and the lights across the bay as an almost-full moon rose from behind the hills.
Viewranger track of the day
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