The Road Less Travelled

Albania is so beautiful, so breathtakingly beautiful, yet so hard to travel in! At least in our Subaru Outback… A month or so ago instead of the usual “highway” (it takes just under 4 hrs to cover 180 km) we took another road to Tirana – via Gramsh and Elbasan. Approximately the same 180 km took 6 hrs. Did we know that a road, marked as a major one on the map, isn’t paved? No! We gave a ride to a local town elder (he was on his one and a half hour long walk to the meeting) and found out that majority of the people from that area had moved to the bigger cities. Pretty likely this major road will remain unpaved.

As we drove, I kept on wondering whether the river down in the canyon is suitable for rafting, even if you’re super experienced. And whether we should have ridden our mountain bikes instead. Wait, we don’t have any mountain bikes! So I guess we won’t take that road again anytime soon. Shame, it was so gorgeous! (Did I mention the rocks falling down on the road?)

Come explore the untouched beauty of the land of eagles!

Where Did The Trees Go?

I am not any sort of an environmentalist, but I love the nature. I try not to trash it, but I don’t plant any trees. Nevertheless, the thought has crossed my mind numerous times since I moved to Albania. Coming from a very green country of Lithuania (they taught us at school, that the forests comprise 30%), I take greenery for granted. Thus my eye searches for it even in the rocky terrain of Albania.

Leaving the climatic and geological considerations aside (I cannot boast much knowledge here anyways), it is obvious that some of the tall greenery is gone. But where and how? So far, I could pinpoint two reasons. One is of human origin, the other one is of worm origin.

First, people mercilessly hack trees for firewood. Most households, us included, use firewood for heating. I don’t think it’s much fun to spend a whole day deep in the mountains for a mule-load of firewood. But what can one do? Unemployment is soaring, and winters are cold. So here I started thinking of some sort of reforestation programme.

Second, people have cut a lot of trees during the Communist times to expand their fields. Agriculture in Albania can be tricky – 70% of the country is rugged mountains. But the communists had their own ways, and all over Albania you will see terraced mountain slopes (now I wonder, did Enver Hoxha learn from Mao experts or vice versa?). Fair enough. One needs to grow his own food when the country is surrounded by an iron wall of ideology.

I cannot be angry with the people, as I consider these two reasons economical. But I can surely be angry with the second destroyer of the trees - the Thaumetopoea pityocampa parasites (or pine processionary caterpillars; some knowledgeable people have written about pretty stunning behaviour of this pest) that build silvery nests in the few remaining pine trees, happily feed on them and finally destroy them. After a little bit of research I found out, that various species of insects can destroy the pest. Or the trees can be sprayed. But I have also read that the governments in the Mediterranean region have spent millions on fighting these bugs and the results have not been as satisfactory as expected. So here I started thinking of some sort of “good insect” raising and releasing programme.

While I keep on thinking, the forests in Albania keep on shrinking.