The Accursed Mountains

Lake Koman

We started out in the early morning, driving along winding roads to Lake Koman. This massive reservoir was created in the 1980s under the communist government, when a hydroelectric power station was built.

At the lake, we got off to wait for our boat driver. This was a popular place, as it’s the only way to get to the remote mountains in the north. The boat ride is advertised as one of the most beautiful boat rides you will ever take – emerald water merging with the cliff walls on the sides of the lake. The mountains surrounding the lake are almost uninhabited.

Strangely, the lake is very scenic, even though it’s man made.

Valbona Valley

After three hours, we reached the small town of Fierza, and hopped in a van to reach our guesthouse in the beautiful Valbona Valley. There was a huge lunch waiting for us.

Our host Erik took us on a short walk down to a pond, while telling us about the area. Each settlement is one extended family, and it’s been like that for generations. The villages mix to find marriage partners. Now, many of the locals have embraced tourism and use their homes for guests in the spring to fall tourist season, and move to the city for the winter.

Hiking in the Valbona Valley

The next day, under the threat of rain, we got in the van for a short ride to another village. We started up, joined by some local women moving their cows, to a rest stop at another guesthouse. When we stopped, we waited under shelter as Erik told us some interesting stories. His dad, and many other of the generation who grew up under communism, became a surgeon, since schooling was free. Until recently, Eric made more in six months, as a guesthouse owner and tour guide, than his dad made in a year. Salaries were increased for doctors in the last few years to stop them from leaving Albania for other countries where they would be paid much better.

The shelter turned out to be a great idea, since the skies opened up before too long. We abandoned the hike up to see Erik’s uncle in his home, and walked back down in the heavy rain. We kept going along the road towards our guesthouse, stopping at a restaurant for better pasta than I remember having in Italy! Everything tastes better after a thorough soaking I guess.

Back at the guesthouse

Back at the guesthouse, everyone went back to their rooms to try to get their clothes dry. We are socked in. I went down to the dining room to write in my journal, and ended up listening to a spirited discussion between two of my tripmates on true crime podcasts. Later, most of the others came down, and we started a card game. It turned out to be a fun afternoon when we were housebound due to the weather.

Later, Erik’s uncle Adam came to us since we didn’t reach his house. He spoke in Albanian, translated by Erik. Dusin our tour leader told us Albanian was much like the romance languages including French, Spanish, Italian, but I can’t say I recognized any similar words!

Uncle Adam told us he was honored to have us come here. He spoke of the hard life in the Accursed Mountains. He told us that he loved life under communism, when everyone was equal and connected. They were discouraged from practicing religion, but churches remained. This was not the last time we heard how the people loved living in the era of communism in Albania. But I imagine there was less investigation, interrogation, and torture of the people in remote small towns than there was in the cities.

After saying goodbye to Uncle Adam, we had a hearty meal finished off with the local hooch, raki. It’s still pouring out there, but we were lucky to miss the heavy flooding further south of us, and all over Europe this season.

Tomorrow we will leave the beautiful Valbona Valley that turned out to be a favorite of most of us despite the weather.