Lazy in Lezhe

This weekend, the Peace Corps office arranged trips for us to spend a few days with volunteers from previous groups who are currently working in Albania. This allows us to get a first hand account of the peace corps life and to see a couple new places in the country. It also gave me a brief brush with internet. I didn't get to upload all of my pictures, but I do have a couple to share.

This is the view out of the back of my host family's home. The view from the bathroom window, to be exact. Nice way to start the day.



This is the bar that we stop by after most of our meeting days in Elbasan. The beer is brewed in-house, the big glasses that you see cost 60 lek (about 60 cents), and the bar itself is set back in a quiet, shady courtyard-- complete with vine covered stone walls. It is a great place to unwind, catch up with friends, and play a few games of cards. Perhaps the best way I have ever found to spend said 60 cents.



On the first leg of my journey to Lezhe, I had to take a furgon from Elbasan to Tirana. The two cities are only about 20 miles apart, but those twenty miles are straight over a rather large mountain range. This is getting close to the top of the mountain, overlooking the valley that contains Elbasan. It was somewhat scary at times, but very beautiful all the same.



After arriving in Lezhe, our first activity was a hike up to the 1,400 year old castle that overlooks the town. It is one in a series of castles that was built down a large section of the coast of Albania. In the event that one was attacked, they could light a signal fire that could be seen by the neighboring castle. In that way, news of an attack could travel across the entire territory in about 30 minutes. Anyway, the castle is in rather good shape (considering its age) but is not really a tourist destination. Once inside, you have free range over the entire structure. Back home, they didn't even let us go into all the rooms of the farmhouse at Pioneer Farms. The first picture is of the outside wall. The second picture is taken from one of the inner yards, overlooking the sea.




On Sunday, we took the 10 minute ride to the coast town of Shengjin. Again, rather pretty.



And there is that! I promise that I do have more pictures than this but, per usual, I just haven't had a chance to upload all of them. We leave Lezhe tomorrow to head back to our host families.