Friday (12th of January)

As you know from previous posts, I am not a good early riser. I need at least 14 coffees until I wake, and then I would probably spend most of my time in the bathroom!! Early mornings and me just dont mix. It was a shock to the system therefore that I had to leave at 7:45 with Richard, to go to Borsh. Richard lived in Borsh for many years, before he eventually moved to Sarande.

Borsh is a very beautiful seaside town, situated about an hour north from Sarande. It was a very split town, made up of 7 little suburbs. You can see some of the suburbs from the pictures below. At the center of the town is a huge orchard, of apple, orange and olive trees. Borsh was one of the first places where the communists set up an orchard to be maintained by the people. For this, a lot of people were brought in from other places in Albania, causing a huge rift between the new arrivals and the old true Borsh residents. Richard told me how the rift still exists even now, 60 or 70 years later.

There's a few photos below. I took more, but these are the best ones. Apologies for the quality - they're not as good as they could have been, cos the light was very tricky (thanks to the pesky clouds) and I'm still mastering the art of photography with an SLR.


1) on the way, we stopped at a garage at the bottom of a little valley
2) a difference between the new and the old in the center of Borsh


3) an old car, just off the side of a cliff. Accidents happen!!
4) an ilusive horse, who wouldn't raise his head for me at all


5) a beautiful house on the side of the mountain
6) the mountains where the house was situated

As an aside, just around the river bend, they are now using this area as a rubbish dump. Can you believe the fact that anyone in their right mind could destroy such an amazing place by using it as a rubbish dump?? Albania has really revolted from the Communist era, when every Saturday was a clean up day, and everyone would go out to the streets and clean up rubbish. Now - they blindly throw their rubbish bins and bags EVERYWHERE.


7) old ruins at the bottom of the mountains
8) the tiles on the floor of the ruins


9) The orchard from ground level
10) The orchard (which is vast!!) from above.

We visited some people in Borsh. One woman in particular we visited lived in a little two room house in the most beautiful location I have EVER seen. Her name is Drita (which i think is translated - light), and her husband unfortunately killed himself a year or so ago. She looks after her 2 or 3 littelest children (the older 3 or 4 have since left) here also. Richard donates food and meat to her every month, and she was pleased to see us, but she was evidently upset and not doing to well without the husband. Please keep her in your prayers.


The views were incredible. Richard and I stopped for a little picnic here, just down the road from Dritas house, and was probably the best picnic I have ever had, just for the views! They had to be seen to be believed.