After a week of sweltering heat in Tirana and Berat with no place to cool off, alas, I was bound for the Albanian Riviera to bask in the Ionian sun for a few days. I took a direct bus to the main transportation hub to the city of Vlore a couple hours away. Had I more time I would have like to stay as the city is the biggest city along the southern Albanian stretch of beaches, but due to time I decided to spend the three days I had left in Albania in Himare.
Since 2009, a newly built highway slithers through Llogora National Park onto the cruise city hub of Saranda near the Albanian border with Greece. Himare is about midway with absolutely stunning vertical rock faces, dense forests, and turquoise waters of the Ionian Sea from one-thousand. The rugged mountains of the Ceraunian offers an excellent chance of paragliding if that is your thing. I was just fine with the two-hour rollercoaster ride by bus.
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The town center is a few city blocks straddling the Spile and Marachi beaches. Himare, like many cities and towns in the southern most region of Albania has a significant Greek population. The town is more of a family friendly beach town, so the night is very quiet. There are two hostels here, where you will likely meet other backpackers but nothing crazy. There is not much to do, other than eat seafood, down some beers, and just kick it at the beach.
After a day eating deliciously cheap seafood, I decided to check out some other beaches recommended by the hostel. The next day, I stocked up on fruits, nuts, and water and spend the day hiking along dusky paths through shrubs, thorns, and rocks to get to Livadi Beach about an hour northwest. The beach is eh, but the time was well spent as found a very beautiful and secluded cove with huge rocks to do some cliff diving. Times like this mean combating the isolation of slow solo travel. With no wifi or people to talk to, I often find myself embracing my childhood imagination, which can feel ridiculous at forty-one.
People that know me, would never consider me an introvert, but I’ve learned to embrace the alone time as a time to reflect life. As I’ve aged, I feel a transformation from a person who always had to be in the mix to someone who enjoys these kinds of private moments. One can learn a lot about oneself when you have no distractions. For example, the voids we may be feeling can be seen as torment or lessons to strengthen us.
Back in Himare with sun down, the main focus is getting your grub on and their best restaurants remain packed. Being solo, I prefer to grab food to go and retire to the hostel. At least there, I can find other solo travelers to chat with over my meal or download my day in my journal. Since, I’m without a guide book, it’s a great time to research the next leg of my travels. Overall, Himare was a nice little beach town to spend a couple days, but decided that another full day in Himare would mean less time at the end of my trip, and since I still had four more countries to travel through in three weeks before I caught my flight back to Mia i, I knew it was time to head out. I decided to take the earliest but and try to get to Macedonia before the end of the night.
