Today we visited our third country of the voyage. Starting out in Croatia, we sailed the Adriatic Sea aboard the Sea Cloud. We continued south to Montenegro, and today was our first day in Albania.
As the sun came up, we sailed into the industrial port of Durres. This large port offers excellent access to visit both the historical and modern capitals of Albania.
It is evident that the turbulent history of Albania is quite recent, and that is an emerging nation after being subjected to the most rigorous communist regime of all. Just to put things into perspective, there were no private cars until 1990, when Albanian streets and avenues were almost deserted. It is hard to believe that the busy streets of this lively country looked so different in 1992, when the communist rule collapsed.
We traveled by bus through the busy port city of Durres, heading towards the beautiful old Albanian capital of Kruje. This picturesque town is located under spectacular limestone escarpments, and with a privileged view of the lowlands and the Ionian Sea. Here we learned about Albania's national hero, George Kastrioti (Scanderbeg), who organized feudal lords to resist Ottoman rule and inspired national identity. We visited the Scanderbeg museum and the Ethnographic Museum, and walked through a fascinating little medieval bazaar.
We moved on to the capital city of Albania, Tirane. We walked around the Skanderbeg Square after enjoying a pleasant time at the restaurant Sarajet, where we were offered Albanian specialties as well as Albanian traditional folk music and dances.
We returned to the ship and got underway. We enjoyed a special deck grill buffet followed by the maritime songs of the amateur but enthusiastic "Sea Cloud Shanty Gang."
