The Salon

Korca, Albania July 2009

The Gentleman, Albania

"In the morning of his days, he is in the afternoon of his life."

~Mary Oliver~

We often stop and pick up hitchhikers in the country, enjoying brief but lovely little episodes of friendship with real people. Our bits of Albanian get us through, but oh how we long to be able to communicate completely. This handsome gentleman waved us down between two tiny villages and asked for a lift to "the center". We tried to figure out the center of what, which turned out to be the center of the next little village,  actually hardly even a village- just a small group of buildings with a dimly lit bar. He told us that he really could have walked the short distance, but well- his knees now gave him trouble- they ached. He hopped out of the car and happily let us take his wonderful photo.

Young Roma Boy, Albania

Korca, Albania July 2009

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails

And puppy-dogs' tails,

That's what little boys are made of.

There's a story behind this young boy's eyes, isn't there? Because of our language barriers I couldn't find out what it was... but I have my ideas. He was obviously happy- you can see that around his eyes, but there's a hesitancy around his smile. I wanted to gather him into my arms and take him with me. He's a charmer, that's for sure.

Yes, In The Middle of Nowhere!

Close to Voskopoja, Albania

For Ginnie... who asked if it was in the middle of nowhere... uh huh.... it truly is!

Fill 'er Up!

Voskopoja, Albania July 2009

Paradise, Albania

We were driving in the mountains somewhere near Permeti (southern Albania) when we drove past one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen. It immediately reminded me of Canada... a still lake surrounded by green pines and mountains. We slammed on the brakes and backed up. There was a small building that we assumed was a cafe so we wandered down to the water and tested the antique dock and wobbly plastic chairs. It felt like heaven. An thin old man with a smile on his face assured us the dock was safe and we ordered our espressos and water.

Half an hour in Paradise... pure bliss.

Time to be on our way.... I walked up to the little cafe looking for the old man so we could pay for our coffees. I peaked in the windows of the cafe and found myself watching an incredible scene. A dozen people were occupied with stacks and stacks of honeycombs! It was then that I noticed I was surrounded by a lot of bees. I was bothered by them but they didn't seem to care about me... whew! I called to my friends to come and see. The always friendly Albanians invited us in and though I was nervous about all the bees I couldn't resist the opportunity to see how the honey was being processed.

Everyone had their job to do...

From scraping the honeycombs...

to using the improvised centrifuge...

(notice the chandelier and elegant curtains!)

and then pouring the 100% organic honey into empty Coke bottles.

And of course, after being served a huge plate of honey to taste test, how could we resist buying a litre or two of this liquid gold to take home with us?

Really??

First time I ever ended up here!!!!

The Game

Korca, Albania July 2009

"There are places on the planet we belong and they are not necessarily where we are born. If we are lucky- if the gods are in a good mood- we find them, for whatever length of time is necessary for us to know that, yes, we belong to the earth and it to us. Even if we cannot articulate this intense physical sensation, even if language fails us, we know what home is then, in our very bones."

~ Elizabeth Huggan ~

From one of my favourite books: Belonging

Wonder

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.

There are seven million.

~Walt Streightiff ~

Girl

Korca, Albania (July 2009)

My eyes are an ocean in which my dreams are reflected....

~Anna M. Uhlich.~