We left at about 6:30 AM with Fredi, arrived in a town called Komani which has two ferry boats that take you up a river to a town called Fierza. One of the boats is a car ferry the other is a passenger ferry only. Fredi of course knows the passenger only crew and asked if they would take us back later that day. We had planned on staying the night in Tropoja with Fredi’s brother but the weather was looking a bit bad and we didn’t want Bob to miss his plane on Sunday, this time of year the ferry boats only run once a day so without this we would not have been able to go at all. There is only one road and it takes over five hours with a very good four wheel drive which we don’t have! Long story short the boat guys said yes and off we went up one of the most beautiful boat rides of our lives! It’s about two hours but we stopped along the way to pick-up and drop-off people at what Fredi called stations, but really they looked like the base of a mountain! Honestly you could not see where these people where going or coming from, Fredi said some hike two hours to the village and I mean right up a mountain, it was crazy!
It was pretty rough weather to start and continued to get worse as we went so that by the time we pulled into Fierza it was snowing hard! This is why we don’t have too many pictures. Fredi’s brother picked us up and we went to his house for a wonderful lunch, we had planned on staying until early evening but because it was snowing so hard we got back on the ferry and headed home. The ferry had zero lights; I mean none inside or out! No running lights, not that there are any other boats anyway, but no spot light either so about an hour in we were in pitch black with only the glow of the little gas heater they had put on board for the Americans! Thankfully they seemed to know the route by heart and we made it back safely. Bob and I were laughing later that it felt like we were in a movie on board a Russian ship or something because the crew seemed so type cast! But they were all very friendly and we ate bread and cheese with them for diner. They of course had their homemade raki (local moonshine) as well!
Once back home Prenda had once again made diner for us and we enjoyed meeting her Father, sister and nephew. After that we came home and feel asleep, what a day.
Bob left this morning and I already miss him so much but I know he has to get home. Thank goodness for Skype. Mariada and I went to church this morning, then she had rehearsal for a show she is in tomorrow at the Theater, which sad to say still has zero heat. After that we went to lunch in a restaurant I know has heat and then to the market, we are now warming up in our apartment getting ready for a busy week.
Enjoy the pictures
Mariada, rehearsing for tomorrow's show. She's juggling a soccer ball.
Our trip home! The snow on the sides of the mountains helped us see were we where going :)
Mariada enjoying the heater they put in for the trip home, on the way up there was no heat and she kept saying to me Mom, I can't feel my feets! Oh honey, get ready for Michigan :)
Yummy! The guy in the red is Pastor Dave, he's been in Albania since 1992. Started with HFTW but now has his own Church. he was visiting Fredi's brother this weekend. Great guy.
One of the "stations".
The water is the most beautiful shade of jade. Wish the sun had been out!
One of the many, many waterfalls, I thought they where snow melt, but they are spring feed from the top of the mountains.
Another waterfall.
Another station.
Fredi, Mariada and myself, it was windy but it was amazing, it looked like you where headed right for a mountian, then we would turn and there was the river! So cool.
OK, I'm cold, I'm going inside!
Our vessel and staring off point. 
1 comment:
W-O-W! Can you imagine how stunning it must be in the summer with the sun out? Let's do that sometime! ;-)
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