Day 3 Korce Albania

I woke up early to meet M and C in reception. We had decided last night that we would go for a swim in the lake before breakfast. I have to admit I am no cold water swimmer and although the water was a bit warmer than the coastal waters of the UK it still felt cold and it took me ages to actually get in the water. M and C were straight in there but I finally went for it and got my shoulders under. 

It wasn't so bad once I had started swimming. Unlike the UK it didn't feel cold once we were out of the water. We returned to the hotel for a shower and then breakfast. I'm not sure the others in the group actually believed that we had been swimming in the lake before breakfast.

We left the hotel and drove for an hour to the village of Voskopoje, situated on the trade route between Venice and Constantinople. It is renowned for having 26 churches built there between 1630 and 1780. Now, after two and a half centuries of damage caused by war, earthquakes and erosion only five remain. The ceilings and walls of all five are covered in frescoes.

There were signs saying no photos But I asked a priest and he said it was OK, I realised afterwards that he was probably expecting some baksheesh.

The frescoes filled every space. It was obvious that this was very important religious and cultural centre in previous centuries. 

We walked up the hill to the church of St Athanas This one was built in 1724

Here there were even more remarkable frescoes

After lunch in the village we were driven  to a museum of painted icons from a variety of churches.

 They were very well displayed and made a colourful exhibition. I had a brief look round but I'm not that interested in this kind of art and know little about it. The items dated from the 14th to the 20th century.

Another drive of about an hour or so took us to Korce, the largest city in SE Albania which sits at the foot of Moravia mountain. This was where we were staying the night at the Hotel Kocibelli.

My room was really large with a double bed, chaise longue etc and it even had a kettle but no cups! The hotel had an indoor swimming pool so as soon as we arrived, M, C and myself donned our damp swimming gear to go swimming for the second time that day. 

 

We didn't have long as we were meeting up in an hour's time for a tour of the town. But the half hour swim was definitely worth the effort.The tour took us to the new cathedral and then into the old bazaar. Here instead of shops there were numerous restaurants where we had a meal.

We saw teddy bears displayed around many houses as we travelled around this part of Albania. Apparently they were used to keep the 'evil eye' away.

I was keen to return to the hotel as the cobbled streets were making the tendonitis in my leg more painful. Back at the hotel I was excited about making myself a cup of tea (always have tea bags with me). Seemed I was the only one with a kettle. However not only were there no cups but there was no water either. After checking at reception there was no water in the hotel due to a faulty pipe somewhere. It took a couple of hours of digging and drilling before the problem could be solved. Oh well no cup of tea in bed for me tonight.