The drive from Pogradec to Korca was pretty uneventful, or so I am deducing because I do not remember anything from it. Once in Korca, I was shocked at how bare the city looked baked in the sun. And then I remembered that Korca is a city whose center is off-center. It’s full of beautiful houses and monuments which are hidden in narrow alleys and semidetached neighborhoods. I have lots family in Korca, but I’ve never paid attention to where they live, or the nice parts of the city that they’ve shown me because I’ve always passively followed people to places and I’ve never actually led the way. We found the city looking upside-down, or inside-out to be more accurate, because the municipality was redoing all the pipes across town.

People were cordial when asked for directions, but they had that implied sense of self-importance, typical of Korcars, who assume everyone should know where certain things in their city are, that’s why they gave us directions that were based on us knowing where major buildings or institutions were. Oh well, it’s the Korca way.

- Kejda

-Michael

I really enjoyed the ride for the most part, might have been more fun or more stressful if I were behind the wheel, I don’t know. The road curves and curls like crazy but the scenery is rewarding. If you see little kids selling pears or peeled hazelnuts on the side of the road, don’t get something you don’t need just because you feel bad for the kid: if you do, you will feel bad for the next ten kids you’ll pass by without buying anything from in the next couple of minutes, all trying to sell the same things. I suggest having the camera ready at all times, this is a beautiful strip of Albania.

-Kejda

Driving Tushemisht to Korca

Aug 3, 2006 – 2 Photos