We left Saranda quite early even though we only had a few miles to cover to Palermos. The Saranda harbour milieu was up to usual standard with ferries and hydrofoils coming and going; a small cruise ship about to dock and reckless pedlos darting between them all. Free of the harbour we started to relax – a mistake of course! A lone distance swimmer (with a dark blue bathing cap, doh!) hadn’t noticed he was on a collision course with WJ3. GS saw him at the last minute, swore like a trooper and quickly adjusted a course away from this suicidal idiot. He was quite likely blinded afterwards by her red-eyed, laser stare. So, our conversation to Palermos thereafter turned to considering the delights of Albanian prison foods and leniency in visiting hours for seniors. How the swimmer missed becoming fish food in the cruise ship’s prop or under a hydrofoil’s fin is anyone’s guess.
Saranda Harbour - on a busy day |
We left Saranda quite early even though we only had a few miles to cover to Palermos. The Saranda harbour milieu was up to usual standard with ferries and hydrofoils coming and going; a small cruise ship about to dock and reckless pedlos darting between them all. Free of the harbour we started to relax – a mistake of course! A lone distance swimmer (with a dark blue bathing cap, doh!) hadn’t noticed he was on a collision course with WJ3. GS saw him at the last minute, swore like a trooper and quickly adjusted a course away from this suicidal idiot. He was quite likely blinded afterwards by her red-eyed, laser stare. So, our conversation to Palermos thereafter turned to considering the delights of Albanian prison foods and leniency in visiting hours for seniors. How the swimmer missed becoming fish food in the cruise ship’s prop or under a hydrofoil’s fin is anyone’s guess.
Our trip up
the coast was less eventful. The weather
was mild, seas calm with very little boat traffic, even fishing boats. We motored in quite close to shore as the
water is clear, clean and deep; the mountains overhead just seem to tumble into
the seas. Palermos is one of the few
“storm refuges” along the coast and we had our sights set on visiting Ali
Pasha’s castle positioned on a small promontory in the middle of the bay. A motor boat was leaving as we arrived and
another yacht was tied to a rather formidable, if not neglected, pier. A nice young man from the taverna took our
lines and helped us settle in. The small
beach near the pier was well established, if not remote, with a variety of mobile
homes, beach huts and even a café. A few
small tinnies flitted round. It seemed
like a nice place to spend a few days.
Sitting Ducks? Porto Palermos |
At this
point of course, our day continued a pear shaped, downhill track. We were aware that a military base was to the
north….. The Italians had not long set
sail before we heard the unmistakable roar of a diesel engine. Sure enough, the Coast Guard paid us a
visit. We were advised the pier was
military property (even though the area is designated part of tourism &
culture) and we were to leave now. Had
we not had engine problems, we might not have been given permission to
stay. We left very early next morning
though….
Meanwhile,
we had a pleasant swim, helped another couple of boats to tie alongside, took our
dinner at the little restaurant up the hill (with very nice local foods) and
most certainly visited Ali Pasha’s little fort.
Just on dusk, we watched the Dick Tracy team return to base with nary a
glance in our direction.
View of the small "resort". Most of the derelict buildings were stuffed to the gunnels with fodder for local goats |
(Ali Pasha Tepelena (1740-1822), the “Lion of Yannina*” is one of local history’s curious characters who managed, under the Ottoman Sultan’s nose, to carve out an independent territory for himself that covered most of Albania and western Greece. At once a heroic rebel, a gifted & fearless general and an ambitious despot, he had a passionate yet brutal flair for controlling his Christian subjects yet attacking with impunity the Ottoman supporters with whom he aligned himself as necessary.
His
brutality is legendary, reinforced by writings of Lord Byron, who visited him
in his “splendid court” in 1809. The
cells of Ali Pasha’s torture chambers must still ring with the screams of
tormented souls. Not that he was alone
in inflicting cruel punishments – in context historically it did seem rather de
rigueur.
Ali Pasha's main forts/castles/residences were Tepelena, Gjirokastra and Ioannina. Read more about Ali Pasha in Wiki /on the net.)
Ali Pasha's main forts/castles/residences were Tepelena, Gjirokastra and Ioannina. Read more about Ali Pasha in Wiki /on the net.)
* Ioannina in Greece
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