Envoy is now anchored at Syracuse, Sicily.
In posting this I have also added photos to the previous post.
We’d heard mixed reports about Albania, with most of the negative comments coming from people who hadn’t been there, but we found our four days there an absolute delight with wonderful, friendly, smiling and helpful people. Furthermore we found the Sarande region perfectly safe, very low priced and loaded with interesting places to visit.
Albania is a mountainous but fertile country roughly one tenth the size of New Zealand, with a largely rural-based population of 3.5 million, of whom 60% are Muslim with the remainder being Catholic or Orthodox. It was great to hear the regular calls to Muslim prayer again, something we’ve not heard since leaving Turkey. Albania has a rich and colourful history having suffered invasions by Greeks, Romans, Venetians, Turks and French among others. Then for five decades after WW11 Albania was an isolationist, totalitarian, atheist, communist state ruled by iron-fisted President Enver Hoxha, and only in 1991 when the system collapsed did Albania, at that time the poorest country in Europe, start to open up to the outside world.
We used BWA Yachting as agents to clear-in (agents are mandatory), and BWA’s Auron Tate’s best friend is married to a part-Maori New Zealander. She is the daughter of a Mr Taylor who used to be high up in the former New Zealand Communist Party, then emigrated to Albania with his family in the late 1960s to live under the communist system.
BWA had emailed us advising a huge number of documents required to visit Albania, something like 19, including a list of personal effects of all people on board - in fact it all seemed so daunting we were almost put off visiting. In reality though this list applied to commercial vessels, and they only wanted to see our Crew List, passports and Registration Certificate, making it all very simple. The formalities were cheap at 38 Euros (NZ$) and for comparison this costs 150 Euros (NZ$) in Greece. Envoy’s berthage alongside the quay cost 70 Euros (NZ$) for three nights. BWA’s main contact person helping us with practical issues like water and power had the interesting name – Captain Zaho. We shared the same dock with Port Police so the security was excellent.
Envoy quayside in Sarande - security here was very good
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Enjoying a delicious and reasonably-priced dinner at a Sarande waterfront taverna
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One of our days there we took a 40 minute bus trip, costing 200 Leke (about NZ$2.25) each return, to see the impressive ruins of Butrint, founded about 1400BC and since settled in turn by all of the various invading countries.
Chris, Di and Laurie exploring Butrint ruins
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On the return bus trip we bought a cheap bracelet from an enterprising eleven year old boy who can speak ten languages.
Sitting with Chris in the bus, this enterprising 11 year old Albanian speaks 10 languages
Another day we rented a car and drove about 90 minutes to Gjirokasta, the best preserved Ottoman village in the Balkans overlooked by a castle that became the palace of local ruler Ali Pasha. Here we had a cooked breakfast for three for a total of 1,050 Leke (about NZ$12).
Blue Eye freshwater springs on the way to Gjirokasta
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Sombre entrance to Gjirokasta castle, once a prison
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Gjirokasta is riddled with atmospheric cobbled lanes
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Chris bought a carving from this stone carver working beside a Gjirokasta lane
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Our last night we had dinner at the castle overlooking Sarande, with entertainment from an Albanian cultural group. Other patrons included a very lively group of Polish ladies seemingly wanting to make the most of their vacation, and everyone danced to the haunting Albanian music based around a prolonged monotone chant with different performers taking turns to add lyrics and gesticulations in a similar form to rap.
Albanian entertainers pose with guests – they insisted Chris and I wear their hats!
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By visiting non-EU Albania for a few days Envoy is able to remain in the EU for a further 18 months without any VAT liability, and we’re now rather intrigued by Albania and plan to return.
TECHNICAL Chris “MacGyver” has project-managed quite a few jobs for us since coming aboard including the installation of a fresh water consumption meter. Envoy carries a generous 980 litres of water in three tanks, but we don’t have contents gauges and only one tank can be accessed for dipping. Up to now we’ve been getting around this by keeping the tanks filled to a high level using additional water stored in plastic containers on deck. We decided to install a consumption meter so that when we start to use a tank we can record the meter reading, know how much water is left in the tank, and know when to change tanks. This means we shouldn’t need to carry so much spare water, and will eliminate the risk of a tank running dry – which results in difficulty re-priming the water pumps. This is now installed downstream from the water pump and the new system is working well.
Chris holding Sensus water gauge prior to installation
ENVOY LOG As at 18/5/14, we’d spent 40 days aboard and cruised 133 miles for 24 engine hours.
In posting this I have also added photos to the previous post.
We’d heard mixed reports about Albania, with most of the negative comments coming from people who hadn’t been there, but we found our four days there an absolute delight with wonderful, friendly, smiling and helpful people. Furthermore we found the Sarande region perfectly safe, very low priced and loaded with interesting places to visit.
Albania is a mountainous but fertile country roughly one tenth the size of New Zealand, with a largely rural-based population of 3.5 million, of whom 60% are Muslim with the remainder being Catholic or Orthodox. It was great to hear the regular calls to Muslim prayer again, something we’ve not heard since leaving Turkey. Albania has a rich and colourful history having suffered invasions by Greeks, Romans, Venetians, Turks and French among others. Then for five decades after WW11 Albania was an isolationist, totalitarian, atheist, communist state ruled by iron-fisted President Enver Hoxha, and only in 1991 when the system collapsed did Albania, at that time the poorest country in Europe, start to open up to the outside world.
We used BWA Yachting as agents to clear-in (agents are mandatory), and BWA’s Auron Tate’s best friend is married to a part-Maori New Zealander. She is the daughter of a Mr Taylor who used to be high up in the former New Zealand Communist Party, then emigrated to Albania with his family in the late 1960s to live under the communist system.
BWA had emailed us advising a huge number of documents required to visit Albania, something like 19, including a list of personal effects of all people on board - in fact it all seemed so daunting we were almost put off visiting. In reality though this list applied to commercial vessels, and they only wanted to see our Crew List, passports and Registration Certificate, making it all very simple. The formalities were cheap at 38 Euros (NZ$) and for comparison this costs 150 Euros (NZ$) in Greece. Envoy’s berthage alongside the quay cost 70 Euros (NZ$) for three nights. BWA’s main contact person helping us with practical issues like water and power had the interesting name – Captain Zaho. We shared the same dock with Port Police so the security was excellent.
Envoy quayside in Sarande - security here was very good
Enjoying a delicious and reasonably-priced dinner at a Sarande waterfront taverna
One of our days there we took a 40 minute bus trip, costing 200 Leke (about NZ$2.25) each return, to see the impressive ruins of Butrint, founded about 1400BC and since settled in turn by all of the various invading countries.
Chris, Di and Laurie exploring Butrint ruins
On the return bus trip we bought a cheap bracelet from an enterprising eleven year old boy who can speak ten languages.
Sitting with Chris in the bus, this enterprising 11 year old Albanian speaks 10 languages
Another day we rented a car and drove about 90 minutes to Gjirokasta, the best preserved Ottoman village in the Balkans overlooked by a castle that became the palace of local ruler Ali Pasha. Here we had a cooked breakfast for three for a total of 1,050 Leke (about NZ$12).
Blue Eye freshwater springs on the way to Gjirokasta
Sombre entrance to Gjirokasta castle, once a prison
Gjirokasta is riddled with atmospheric cobbled lanes
Chris bought a carving from this stone carver working beside a Gjirokasta lane
Our last night we had dinner at the castle overlooking Sarande, with entertainment from an Albanian cultural group. Other patrons included a very lively group of Polish ladies seemingly wanting to make the most of their vacation, and everyone danced to the haunting Albanian music based around a prolonged monotone chant with different performers taking turns to add lyrics and gesticulations in a similar form to rap.
Albanian entertainers pose with guests – they insisted Chris and I wear their hats!
By visiting non-EU Albania for a few days Envoy is able to remain in the EU for a further 18 months without any VAT liability, and we’re now rather intrigued by Albania and plan to return.
TECHNICAL Chris “MacGyver” has project-managed quite a few jobs for us since coming aboard including the installation of a fresh water consumption meter. Envoy carries a generous 980 litres of water in three tanks, but we don’t have contents gauges and only one tank can be accessed for dipping. Up to now we’ve been getting around this by keeping the tanks filled to a high level using additional water stored in plastic containers on deck. We decided to install a consumption meter so that when we start to use a tank we can record the meter reading, know how much water is left in the tank, and know when to change tanks. This means we shouldn’t need to carry so much spare water, and will eliminate the risk of a tank running dry – which results in difficulty re-priming the water pumps. This is now installed downstream from the water pump and the new system is working well.
Chris holding Sensus water gauge prior to installation
ENVOY LOG As at 18/5/14, we’d spent 40 days aboard and cruised 133 miles for 24 engine hours.
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