Magic Sea Life

 Din cauza restrictiilor de calatorie pe timp de pandemie, in vara lui 2020 am hotarat sa bifez o destinatie de plaja si snorkeling care era pe lista mea de mai multa vreme, unde am putut ajunge cu automobilul fara nicio conditie de test covid sau carantina - Albania. Marea (Adriatica/Ionica) este foarte frumoasa, similara cu apa din Grecia sau Croatia, cu care, de altfel, se si invecineaza. Orientarea vestica a coastei este mai putin favorabila plajei la ore matinale, insa ofera privelisti superbe ale asfintitului.   Drumul prin Bulgaria si Macedonia a fost destul de obositor (am oprit pentru o noapte in Macedonia la un hotel ideal pt.tranzit -Hotel Manastir Sv. Joakim Osogovski). Soselele in Albania nu sunt cele mai rele, exista si niste bucati de autostrada, sunt gratis (nu exista nici macar vigneta), insa limitele de viteza sunt enervant de mici - 40 si 80 km/h. Peisajele, flora si fauna sunt asemanatoare cu cele din Grecia, din pacate gunoaiele de pe marginea drumurilor, ...

 Given the travel restrictions during the pandemic, in the summer of 2000 I decided to check a beach and snorkeling destination which had been on my list for a while and could be reached by car with no Covid testing or quarantine - Albania. The Adriatic / Ionian Sea is very beautiful, very much alike the water in Greece or Croatia, which are neighboring countries. The western orientation of the coast is less favorable for sunbathing in the morning, but does offer gorgeous scenery at sunset.   The road through Bulgaria and Macedonia is pretty tiring (we stopped for one night in Macedonia at a hotel ideally suited for transit - Hotel Manastir Sv. Joakim Osogovski). The roads in Albania are not the worst, there are some highways, they are free (there is not even a vignette), but the speed limits are annoyingly low: 40 and 80 km/h. The landscape, flora and fauna are similar to those of Greece, unfortunately the garbage by the side of the roads, in ravines and even on the bottom...