Newsletter Volume 31, Number 2

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Next Month's Program

Jim Prizzio, Forest Service Helicopter Pilot.

New Rating's

Gilder Solo 12/17/99: Todd Whitmer!

Adriatic Adventure, Dispatch #3

Sent: Saturday, October 30, 1999 1:16 AM

We've said our "fare ye well"s to Albania and have now moved on to Montenegro and Croatia. Our final Albanian farewell party added up to 21 friendly well-wishers crowded onto the fishing boat we were rafted to for the night. We've decided that eight days visiting all of the five Albanian ports is enough for one year, maybe too much. We've met some good people (and some scoundrels), had some good food (and some food not so good), had some good sailing (and some great sailing) and now have a few more stories to tell.

Our last evening in Albania was spent in the port of Shangjin, a rather isolated and desolate place about 10 kilometers from the town of Lezhe. Lehze is the site of the hilltop citadel where Skenderbeg, a national hero and the figure on the 1'000 Leke bank note, held off the invasion of the Turks in the mid 15th century. The Albanians are generally friendly folks although curious about us but they have some funny quirks. They'll come up to the boat and just stand there staring at us as if we were exhibits in a zoo. This is a bit disconcerting. They nod when they say "no and shake their heads when they say "yes". In a restaurant Doug asked the waiter if they have steak the waiter nodded and said "no". Doug said good, he'll have the steak. The waiter nodded more vigorously and insisted they have no steak but they have fish. Doug and I looked at each other, a bit puzzled at this conflicting message. Doug asked if they had lamb and the waiter responded with a nod and a "no" but they have fish. Pork? No but they have fish. Doug had the fish. In a nicer restaurant in one of the bigger cities we asked for the menu but the waiter replied, somewhat embarrassed, that he could bring the menu but as they do not have most of the items on the menu it wouldn't be much use. But they have fish.

Our last night in Albania was poetically punctuated by nearby machine-gun fire so we at last had the opportunity to hear the hearty thump of the weapons that are so prominently prolific in Albania. The country is also littered with about 750'000 "pillboxes", these are two-man steel and concrete domes with a machine-gun support behind a slit and an entry in the back. These pillboxes guard the beaches, coasts, ports, roads, hills, everything and they are everywhere! We've seen hundreds of them clustered here and there but all are now unmanned... presumably. Our departure from Vlore was accented with cannon fire and shells striking the sea not more than a few hundred meters from Circe. This cannon fire didn't seem to be aimed at us and came from a different cannon than the four large cannon which guard the point at the entrance to the bay of Vlore. These four cannon were manned by a sole soldier with a lone, lonely looking palm behind a sandbag barricade. I met a couple of Morman missionaries in Durres (elder Pratt & elder Young) who had seen an underground airport and, unrelated, had an old communist threaten to cut their throats for taking a picture of a procommunist poster. They are anxious to get back home after a year and a year & a half respectively in Albania. They now speak Albanian, which should be very useful when they return home to America. The entrance from the town of Durres into the port is guarded by several soldiers armed with machine-guns, one of them behind a barricade of sandbags. There is also one small tank standing by in case the locals get out of hand. Then there's the story about the guy with the machine-gun trying to put on his green sweater with one hand while sauntering down the hill to see what we were doing in a restricted military area. We had motored over to a sea tunnel with large doors in the side of a hill that was (is?) used to hide submarines after having lunch on an old abandoned Turkish fort. I wonder about Circe's insurance coverage from time to time.

Arriving in Montenegro's port of Bar was like stepping out of the dark into the light. Civilization. The formalities entering the country were routine however the customs officer mentioned that we are the first Americans to enter the port this year. He said Americans are afraid to go to Yugoslavia so do not visit beautiful Montenegro. And the mountainous coast of Montenegro is beautiful. The people are happy, friendly, and eager to please. The city is modern with an abundance of sidewalk cafes, bars, and restaurants. It was a joy just to wander the aisles of a real supermarket again! Then there was the pleasant shock of finding a toilet (a real toilet) with paper and paper towels! The simple pleasures. Next year I'll have to spend more time along this part of the coast. Doug finally got all of the meat he wanted in Bar, our first night back in civilization we celebrated with a feast. We had a large platter of mixed grilled meats (for Doug), local cheese, fresh french fries, an assortment of salads, bread, and a bottle of Montenegrin wine. The bill for the two of us added up to about 10 US dollars. A liter of local vodka (40%) costs about a buck.

We are now in Dubrovnik and Doug is ready to return to the States. Over the past few weeks we've had 12 great days sailing 430 nautical miles (796 km) through 5 countries. In addition to the stories we have to tell there are a few adventures that won't be told, at least not for a while. "If we don't make mistakes, we don't make anything."

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