This past weekend Tiff and I decided to travel to Kukes for our first non-capital excursion as volunteers. We chose Kukes for a few reasons; first the volunteers there were hosting a training event for Outdoor Ambassadors ( a group that promotes enviromental awareness through activities like hiking and camping), secondly we wanted to go to Puke (pronounced with the e like an A), thirdly we just needed to get out of Shkoder. Our list of sites to visit also included Fushe Arrez (fush arrez) but due to bus schedules and furgon routes we couldn't make it there, but we have a bus that makes a trip to the Fushe everyday so we will make it there soon. As you know Shkoder is in the north-west part of Albania. We are surronded on three sides by water (1 lake, 2 rivers) and prone to flooding, we are also about a 45 minute drive to Ulcin, Montenegro, so we have heard, we are still not allowed to leave the country. Kukes on the other hand is almost directly across the country traveling due east. They are surronded on 3 sides by water (1 lake that used to be a river) and was completely rebuilt after the old Kukes was submerged under the lake when the government dammed the river in the 1970's. They are also about a 45 minute drive from Prizen, Kosovo.
We left Shkoder on Friday and traveled to Puke on a bus. About 2 hours later we arrived on the outskirts of the city, our bus was bound for a different location and they took the road that runs along the outskirts of Puke instead of the one that runs through the city. We spent the day with the volunteers relaxing and joking, we were also joined by 4 other volunteers that were working with GPS software mapping trails around the country. The next morning we caught a furgon at 7:25 a.m. bound for Kukes. We went up and down mountains through valleys and over rivers, luckily this driver goes very slowly but the ride still felt like a roller coaster. He even bought us a coffee at our rest stop because we were Americans and we knew James (one of the Kukes volunteers), who I think he might have a little of a man crush on. We finally arrived at about 11 a.m.
Traveling time from Shkoder to Kukes- 2 hours to Puke + 3.5 hours from Puke = 5.5 hours
We enjoyed a great weekend with the volunteers in Kukes and a volunteer that joined us from our group. We learned about the Outdoor Ambassadors, had good food, and went on an incredible hike up a canyon called "the bad staicase." (Hopefully I will get pictures up soon). This afternoon after our hike we decided to take the "new" road home. The new road is the Albanian superhighway that includes numerous bridges, and a tunnel that I estimated to be over 3 miles long. Most of it is 4 lanes and it is designed to allow freight to be brought from Eastern Europe to the port in Durres more efficiently than was possible before. If anything went out from Durres it either went around Albania and then south from Montenegro through Shkoder, or through the old road that we took on our way here. The road is not totally finished yet and they still have to let one direction of cars travel through the tunnel at a time, 3 mile tunnel, but traveling on this road we left at 2 p.m. from Kukes and arrived in Shkoder in time to here the bells chime at 5! This included a transfer of furgons in Milot but I didn't check to see exactly what time this transfer happened. The road was very nice and reminded me of freeways in the US other than the random people on the side of the road trying to catch a bus or furgon. I made a quick map of our trip just to help anyone not associated with Albanian geography what the trip looked like. You can't even see the new road on maps yet, but it cuts in that general direction and meets up with the Shkoder- Tirana road near Milot and that meets with the Tirana- Durres Road near Tirana.
So we are back in Shkoder safe and sound albeit tired, and ready to start a new week. I have seen other volunteers do this and thought it would be a good idea to have people who read the blog, or get it forwarded to them by people who read it to ask questions about what life is like in Albania, and we will try to answer them as best as we can. So shoot us an E-mail, or comment in the blog and we will answer all your questions and everything you ever needed to know about Shqiperia! Hope all is well in the US!
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