Home » Albania » Shrubbery of deafs: Chosen mails from Albania

Trumpeldor ^ 2 <br />Yesterday I saw a very nice person on the road, who offered me a coffee with him. Well, usually I don't refuse such requests (which I get here twice a day), but this time I refused indeed. Why? because this man's hands were cut. Well, I have got nothing against cripples, but - my main way of communicating with the locals is by hands, so talking to a person without hands would be just a "Shrubbery of deafs" (SIACH CHRESIM).

Shrubbery of deafs: Chosen mails from Albania

Itamar Cohen
2006-02-26 14:06:27

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() no accommodation () roughly camping is not advisable. The roads are not passable in winter (). and so on.

The author of the guidebook havent taken in account the vehicle which enables the best passability the mountain bike; neither did she consider, that very few families would say no to a shy cyclist, who arrived from far away, and asks to sleep in their house for one night.

But, to say the
Shkodra castletruth, I am not such a superman. I did only a little hiking around. For a longer trip, I should have stayed one more night at a villages family home, and I wasnt ready to do that. Not because of the very basic conditions (I am used to make my shower by a DLI of cold water within BUL-PGIA toilets since my days in Venezuella), but well, I will tell you all when I am back.

Ofanan ata horeg oti..
luchian

Kosovo
The road (...) is very bad (..)at least four hours [by car] (...) very wild, desolate country (...) excellent views. (from the guidebook).

Before flying, I printed at home some 1:50K maps of Albania. I didn't print any map of the north-east, which borders Kosovo, so that by no means I will be able to travel there. Luchi will be jealous, Flaschner will think I am an idiot, but both won't be very surprised to hear that at the end I cycled there indeed. Well, I talked with people around, and also read in the most updated guidebook, and understood that it's utterly safe - and it was so. The only warning was not
Velbona valley, near Bairam Tzurito get off the road, due to old mines, but I'm used to that from the Golan (Orly, you should be happy that at least I don't take my girlfriends to hike within mine fields, as Luchi is used to do...).

>For the first time I see the fruits of carrying heavy mountain bike (rather than road bike) with me: about 1/3 of my way by now wasn't asphalted, and even the asphalted roads here are not exactly Netivey Ayalon.

Does anybody have an idea how do you say SICH in Albanian?

Ofanan

LAVAZH
The first thing which I noticed while arriving to Albania was the huge number of road-signs on which only one word is written: "LAVAZH". When I asked the locals, they explained me that this means - "car wash".

I find it stupid, that ppl in a country, in which most towns still don't have a reliable water and electricity supply, care so much about the cleaning of their car; and it's even sad, recollecting that the same ppl care so little about the cleaning of their environment - relatively to the Albanians, Israelis are the masters of cleaning, good order and quiet.

Anyway, today I decided that after carrying me along 1200 kms in Albania's fucked "roads", my bike deserves a little gift. So I came into one of these "Lavazhes". At the beginning they thought that I was joking with them, but I well explained them, that if they wash car for 4$, they should wash my bike for 2$ without problem (they do it by a pipe, of course, they don't have here automatic machines for that). So now my bike are cleaner as they haven't been for a very long time.

BTW: if you wander how the LAVAZHes get along without normal electricity & water supply - well, they have their own generators; and about the water - well, I was a bit exaverating (though many locals really stock barrels of water for the next water break, which will surely come).

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ofanan,

first of all, try to improve your english.
I have never been in Israel (it is very unsafe to go there, although maybe not directly your very own fault). One day I would like to see Jerusalem.

Anyway, I don't know how clean and how orderly your people are.
It is true that Albania suffers water shortage, but contrary to your opinion, I don't think they don't clean enough.
They clean and they wash constantly, more than you see and more than you think. The car-wash stations that you saw no matter how primitive may look to you are an indication that we take good care of ourselves.
The problem is with our public environment and public attitude.
Yes we are unruly, and yes we defy authority. Is that good ? - No!
But that we are. We defy order and government authority even when it is a democratically elected or when it is a foreign power.
We constantly fought and sometimes pirated Romans, later for centuries we fought ottoman turks until independence. So we fought against Greek chauvinism, so we fought against Yugoslav occupation and assimilation, so we Albanians fought against the Sadam of the Balkans, Milosevich, until NATO doomed his day, until Kosovo (helped by dear friends like Jewish American Tom Lantos and others in Congress) won its long due INDEPENDENCE.
My friend, we come from a long way of sufferings, and we are on our way towards progress. You can see it in our new car wash stations with modern automatic service, new highways, and a boom in construction business.
Albania is opening toward West everyday (sadly with this the old Albanian spirit is dying) and we are still shedding off the five century ottoman dust, and fifty years of harsh communist dictatorship rule.
Best wishes, and hope to see you soon in Albania.

Florian, 2009-04-06 07:55:14