Monthly Archives: September 2020

Midnight School by the Beach

It’s a typical weekday in Himara. The sky is sunny and the water is calm and clear. We walk across town to a gyros shop for lunch. I wash the gyros down with a cold beer and then wash the beer down with a makiato while the kids have some ice cream. Then it’s timeContinue reading “Midnight School by the Beach”

Cyclones and Electrical Storms on the Mediterranean

I heard a wailing in the distance as I switched off the patio lights for the night. The lights in the sky were off as well as cloud cover left the town in darkness. The sea was black and calm and there was an eerie stillness in the air, a sense that something was notContinue reading “Cyclones and Electrical Storms on the Mediterranean”

Tomb Raiders of Apollonia

Named for Apollo, the god of sun, light, music and poetry, the long lost city of Apollonia of Illyria was once, like Dyracchium to the north, one of the most important Mediterranean economic centers of the ancient world. Unlike Dyracchium, Apollonia today is little more than ruins spread across a couple hundred acres of overgrownContinue reading “Tomb Raiders of Apollonia”

Nothing to Fier but Fier Itself

I’ve had my share of adventures driving on foreign roads, including quite a few recently in Albania. But I had to face the most terrifying thing of all recently in the central Albanian city of Fier: scratching the rental car. From narrow, winding roads to wild, out of control roundabouts, there are plenty of hazardsContinue reading “Nothing to Fier but Fier Itself”

Fainting During a Root Canal

I can’t say I was enjoying my first root canal, but I was pleasantly surprised by my first week in the dentist’s chair in Albania. It was kind of grueling, but not especially painful. In fact, I’ve had cleanings that hurt worse. Unfortunately, my final day in that chair was not an easy one. InContinue reading “Fainting During a Root Canal”

Slippery Slopes at the City of Stone

Built into the hillsides, with a fortress overlooking the bazaar and narrow cobblestone streets that wind through the stone roofed houses below, Gjirokastër is a steep town. The writer Ismail Kadare called it “maybe the steepest in the world.” Within my first five minutes in Gjirokastër, my rental car and I faced maybe the steepestContinue reading “Slippery Slopes at the City of Stone”