It is 2 o’clock in the afternoon, on a Sunday, after what MAY have been one of the most insanely over-committed weeks of my life.  Which, if you know me, is really Saying Something. The sun is strong, enough to make you squint.  A few birds – mostly just one – are chirping and twittering […]

When I decided last year to take a house of my own . . . well, it wasn’t an easy decision.  I knew it was important, for my personal sanity, but I also didn’t know what it would do to my declared public identity.  For years, I had been “The American of Valbona.”  Who would […]

Today was the eighth day in a string of oddly perfect days.  Even the weather has been ‘perfect’ – if you don’t mind climate change.  Warm in the sun outside, just a jacket.  Sitting on a blanket on the ‘shpati’ or hill-bank next to my house, with the sheep grazing around me, eyeing the ever-increasing […]

I mean, it isn’t compulsory to drag them up mountains, is it?  If you spend a day or two in Valbona first, you can always get a sense of how the kids are doing against some comparable-to-Theth hikes (but don’t leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere if they melt down).  In general, I think […]

Dear Catherine,   I was looking for information about Albania when I stumbled upon your sweet and inviting website. We are thinking of visiting Albania in August, and we might want your help in planning our trip. But first and foremost I would like to know: how busy is the Valbona valley in August? I […]

Wilderness in Albania in peril! “A short glimpse from the outside can create a feeling that finally at least in this country a large piece of real European wilderness can be secured. Several protected areas have been established in the past years to create conditions for longterm protection of biodiversity and natural values of this country. […]