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The piles of rubbish lying around do tend to attract stray dogs at night. Coming back to the hotel from the bar late at night we were frequently barked and growled at, and one of my colleagues couldn't walk back alone - they seemed to have taken a dislike to him and would chase him if he did!
Although the locals say the water is safe to drink, it's probably best to stick to bottled water, which is readily available. Be careful about the food - I was very lucky when I was there that I ate pretty much everything on offer and wasn't affected in the slightest, but almost everyone else newly arrived on the project came down with a stomach bug which meant they couldn't leave the bathroom for 24 hours or so!
There are no rubbish collections in Albania, at least not where I was staying. All the waste - glass bottles, cans, plastic - either gets dumped in a communal midden in the middle of the village (a three-sided low brick wall construct in Ksamil), or seems to be thrown into the sea - from where unfortunately it all washes up onto the beaches. Ksamili has some gorgeous little coves, but most of them were filled with trash. I'm hoping that the increase of interest in this country will encourage them to clean up a bit. It's a shame it takes tourism to do it.
You have to watch where you walk and not fall into open man holes. They are stolen and then left open and most of the open holes are about a foot or two deep some are over 10 feet deep. One man died while we were there after falling into one while it was raining and he drowned. Garage is everywhere they sweep out their stores right into the streets, odd bunch of people they just drop their garbage while they walk down the roads. The water and sewer lines run side by side so the water is not safe to drink I tried boiling it twice through and it still wasn't drinkable.
If you're going swimming in the sea at Saranda or Ksamili, or in Lake Butrint, be careful where you put your feet! I had great fun spotting hermit crabs and crayfish, but you might get your toes nipped. This probably wouldn't be worth a warning, but you also have to be wary of sea urchins - step on one of these and the spines can inflict a painful wound
When I was in Ksamili in 2002, the electricity supply, and therefore hot water, was a bit sporadic - it would frequently go off for several hours, usually in the late afternoon/evening when we got back from a long day's digging desperate for a shower! We were informed it was because the government was selling a large proportion of the Albanian produced electricity over the border to Greece, leaving the locals a bit short. Obviously I'm not sure if this is still the case, and it may not affect all areas.
In 1988, our bus drove us from Tiranë to Shkodër and back. On the way to Shkodër, I had spotted an impressive plant that looked like a ghostly ruin with rusted pipes and equipment, but that nevertheless seemed to work. I have made some research and found that there was in Lezhë a highly polluting paper plant that was a threat for the environment and especially for the wetlands of Kune-Vaini. I suppose this is the one shown here, though it looks more like a chemical plant than a paper plant. I have read also that there was a mineral industry plant "in the district of Lezhë".Given the condition the plant was in 1988, I feel pretty sure that it is not working anymore (and I wish it does not!). I hope to check it in summer 2006. However, even when they are closed, abandoned plants remain a threat for biodiversity and for the environment. You can find more on the subject on biodiversity in...
I am not sure where this photo was taken. It should be Korcë but if some one tells me it is in Elbasan, in Lushnijë (I do not think so) or Fier, I would not be surprised. Compared to other places in 1988 Albania, this looked like “reasonable” pollution !
I am not sure that the two photos shown here will give the true feeling of the very severe pollution that I had seen when passing along the paper plant of Lushnijë. There were chimneys spitting smokes of various colors. Moreover, but I could not take the photo (the bus was running and I was not fast enough), the small river that flew along the road was covered with a thick (15-20 cm) layer of foam. An apocalyptic sight!
Pollution in Elbasan seemed in 1988 to be varied and coming from different type of industries. The production of the iron and steel plant was important and declined rapidly after 1991 while the production at the nickel and cobalt refinery ceased completely. In the1980’s, extraction of lateritic nickeliferous iron ore ranged from 1 to 1.2 Mt/yr of ore, of which about one-half was consumed at the Elbasan iron and steel works to produce pig iron, a small amount of steel, and salts of nickel and cobalt. As far as I have read, none of these industries ran anymore in 2000. I do not know what is the situation in 2006.
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Reviews and photos of Albania attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Albania sightseeing.
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Q: Hello all I'm planning to visit Albania in 2012 and i need every bit of advice going. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of...
A: I have been to Albania several times over the years and i would say you should try and make a visit to Berat aswell as Girokaster. These places are very scenic places...
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