Albania . . . Albania . . .

You border on the Adriatic
Your land is mountainous
And your chief export is
Chrome

Thank you Coach for that geography lesson 20 years ago given from a famous pub in Boston. Everything I ever knew about Albania before coming here, I learned from you.

It was Easter weekend and five of us jumped in a rental 4x4 and headed to the southeast toward the Kosovo neighbor. They share a border, they share a flag and they share a language, but the calm, laid back feel of Albania was quite the contrast from the high energy, tense feel that pravails in Kosovo. We were lucky if we got a paved roads during our drive, but we were not lacking in beautiful scenery and friendly, helpful locals. They were often facinated by the idea of five women from 5 countries driving around their country. We went from lakes to mountains, countryside to seaside and entered back into Kosovo through a river valley that was quite unbelievable. Surprisingly we saw as many crosses as we saw minerettes. We watched a parade lead by a crucifix march up a mountain to a church on the night of Good Friday. Happy Easter signs were hung in virtually every town we drove through. That definitely wouldn't be something seen out in the open in Kosovo. The Kosovar Albanians like to think of themselves as one of them, but the Albanians from Albania feel little connection to the provence that is seeking independence. A bit strange, really, but obvious in conversations with Albanians about their neighboring Albanians. The generally seem to have little if any concern about what happens here. they don't see it as having much of an effect on their country. The irony of the fact that every Kosovar ALbanian that knew we were going to Albania acted as if we were going back to their home land . . . a place they share with their Albanian brothers and sisters.

The poverty and untouched spaces of Albania in addition to the relaxed atmosphere reminded me a lot of traveling around the Domonican Republic. Albania doesn't have the tourist draw of the DR yet, but given what Croatia and Montenegro have done for their tourist industries, I have a hunch Albania will figure it out soon.