Category: From Catherine

Started this morning.

So!  A few years ago, an intrepid group of skiiers came (thanks to Outdoor Albania) to stay with Sose and Alfred.  They were exploring the possibilities of what I think is called “Ski Touring.”  Every winter since then there’s been one or two groups of pioneers arriving to explore the possibilities, and their articles are sprinkled […]

This is our dog, Pango.  At the time of this picture, he is lying quietly and patiently outside my tent, guarding me while I prepare to go to sleep.  He has not questioned why I’ve decided to sleep on top of a desolate stony mountain in late October.  Nor why we had to spend the whole […]

that kind of needs to “go viral,” if you can help?   http://vimeo.com/49966905 Despite the fact that I seem a bit fat, and have terrible bags under m’eyes, this video that Italian filmmaker Florian Platter made this summer still cuts straight to my heart, stirs up all the stuff that keeps me awake all night, makes me feel […]

Many Thanks to Max et al. for taking and sending this (and several other) excellent photos!  If you all behave yourselves I’ll even post some more!

It’s an ill wind that blows no good . . . . On Saturday night, Alfred and I realized we’d rented out every single sleeping space at Rilindja AND at the house.  In a possibly mis-placed fit of fellow-feeling, I’d even promised our tent to a lovely young man from Tirana, who’d been trying to make it […]

  This is you working hard to clean the beautiful path you set out in the mountains. We met four weeks ago and visited with our Dutch group your beautiful place. We have had a beautiful time in the Albanese alps. I wish you a lot of success and all the best,   Robert The Netherlands

A nice Canadian just sent me this picture with the name “Albania snaky cliff road” – asking where it is.  Does anyone recognize it? Alfred guesses “Logara?” and says “It’s Great!” Free beer when you get here, if you can tell us where it is!

A Belated-ly Published Post from Ellie Burnett, International Volunteer Extraordinaire (IVE) Our little family of two has a tepid relationship with signage. We are always first in line to commend a place for clear, legible, eye-level pedestrian signs. I have a distaste for billboards, not only aesthetically but also in terms of injury prevention: they cause accidents. For his […]

My first summer here was marked by a stately progression of bugs.  Each different bug managed I would say to dominate for about a week.  It’s all a bit jumbled now, but I remember a week of Gigantic and furry Cecropia moths which seemed particularly fond of the upstairs corridor, then a more modest period […]