We went on two road rides out of our base in Gjirokaster. One took us to the beach town of Sarande on the Ionian Sea, the other into the eastern mountains around Permet. Both rides were two-up on the Tenere, about 75 minutes each way. Add another 15 minutes for the hot springs outside of Permet.
Sarande lies just south of the official dividing line between the Adriatic and the Ionian. It’s the largest city on the Albanian coast looking from Vlora toward Greece. Close enough to Gjirokaster where it seemed like the perfect excuse for a late morning ride to the coast.
Roads in Albania are very much dictated by the country’s geography. In the south, in particular, most follow the contours of mountain bases, a few forge through the lowest points in mountain ranges. Going to Sarande, we rode one of each.
The south and west route we picked for going to Sarande snaked through the mountains. The nicest stretch is the SH78 west between SH4 south and the coast. Beautiful and lots of fun on the bike. The turns are tight and beg to be ridden hard, but the road is narrow and the last thing you want is running into a full size tour bus in the middle of a hairpin turn. And yes, there will be a few.
The north loop takes the contour approach combined with a tunnel. This is a modern highway, still one lane in each direction, but both wide and fast. There are a few tighter turns as one climbs up from Sarande at the end of a long valley, but overall this route is all about sweepers and a couple straight shots. We encountered some very low clouds going through it the first time, a pretty interesting weather phenomena.
As for the city itself it was… OK.
First mentions of Sarande in ancient texts go as far back as the 3rd century BC so one would expect at least some architecture representing its long history. If it exists, it’s well hidden.
The town reminded us a bit of the modern section of Mazatlán on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Nestled in pretty hills overlooking the Ioanian it forgoes the advantage of its natural setting and presents itself as a cookie cutter beach town. This complete with local interpretations of popular American theme restaurant chains. Not quite our cup of tea, but the object of our ride was discovery and explore it we did.
Permet lies in pretty much the opposite direction from Gjirokaster than Sarande. The main reason for the trip besides exploration was a friend’s recommendation and the hot springs often mentioned in tourist guides.
There is only way to get to Permet from Gjirokaster on asphalt without dropping down back to Greece. The path leads north along the valley which starts way down at the border then turns sharply east onto SH75 where it follows the Vjosa river.
As I would later learn studying the area on Gaia, the section along Vjosa is actually a part of the TET. No wonder. The country here is gorgeous.
The crystal clear waters of the river are so turquoise as to seem surreal. Never seen anything like it. Not even the Atlantic side of Mexico.
The mountains on either side, too, are as beautiful as any national park.
When we got to Permet the town seemed a little forlorn. Separated from the coast and the capital by several mountain ranges, it still bears the scars of much harder times. A mix of communist era collective housing with a few twenty first century establishments sprinkled in. We were warned the food here would be quite good and so it was. Very affordable, too. A full glass of good house red wine, much better than any I tasted in Greece, was about 50 cents.
The hot springs weren’t quite what we expected. The area is bucolic and the regional promotional campaign has been a bit too successful. The parking lot was jam packed when we visited in the third week of April. Can’t even imagine the scene mid summer. The area was also actively being developed for RV camping. Needless to say. Our bathing suits stayed dry that day.
The 21 inch front wheel felt right at home when exploring the river bed that day.
All in all, a joy of a ride along a beautiful river that will bring many a smile going in either direction. Next time around I’ll definitely follow the TET branch off.
As for the hot springs, early arrival may fix the overcrowding issue for now, but even that may not be an option once the RV sites are complete.
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