Oosterdam European Adventure, Sarandë, Albania...

We had a nice sail into Sarandë, Albania. It was my first time in Sarandë, so I did not know what to expect…the mountains made a nice backdrop to the city. Sarandë is a tender port so we were off first thing. Our guide Fede meet us at the port gate and we left for Gjirokastra. A UNESCO Heritage city, Gjirokastra, is known as the city of stone and has one of the largest and most well preserved castles in Albania. We now appreciate the city of stones term as the cobblestone narrow roads in the city were something else. The driver dropped us as close as he could get to the castle and we did a short hike up the rest of the way. Gjirokastra Castle was built by the Ottomans 14th-century and is actually one of the biggest castles in the Balkans. The castle dominates the skyline and was once a garrison, a prison and now a museum. We toured the castle with its stunning architecture and panoramic views of the town and the Drino Valley. We left the castle and went down to the Gjirokastra Old Bazaar, the Bazaar is in the center of the Old Town, with shops, bars and restaurants and traditional charm…very nice! Driving back to Saranda we took the old road with its scenic panoramic mountain views. We stopped at Lekursi Castle once a citadel that enclosed an entire village, but today lies in semi-ruin. The views over the Sarandë and bay were excellent. I made a huge unforced error today…  I forgot to download the second file folder on my Nikon Mirrorless camera and reformatted the SD card before I discovered the problem so…  Poof! Almost 200 photos of our ride back to Sarandë and the beautiful mountains and Fort Lekursi and the views from above of Sarandë and the surrounding area were gone forever.  On well, if that’s the worst thing that happens to me, I will have a wonderful life…  Another great day in Albania.