Dhermi - Albania

Ruth says: After our freebie night camping we stayed in the brightly coloured hotel in the top picture. Albania was so beautiful and so cheap. We ate out twice a day and still managed to stay within our budget. All my concerns about the country were insubstantiated. We passed hundreds of traffic police on our journey and not one of them stopped us to extort money. Everyone we met was incredibly friendly and helpful and we had a fanatstic time.

Bob says: Albania appears to be at the beginning of a resurgence. Albania emerged from its isolation in the early nineties following demontrations from its people and entered the world stage when it accepted thousands of Kosovan refugees during the bosnian war. This kick started a flow of international aid that is starting to make a difference to the infrastructure in Albania. Although, judging by the amount of BMWs Audis and Mercs that came to the resorts from Tirane (the capital) much of this aid is sadly going into the hands of the few instead of the many. However, there are new roads popping up all over the place, although albania still has some of the finest potholes I have ever seen! Visit albania before it loses its commercial innocence, you are sure to get a warm welcome from its people.

Also, following a request from mother dando this blog will now feature more photos of the lovely Ruth..... And who could argue with that!