Cousins in berat
After wandering the city & just absorbing the culture, I decided to try & figure out going down to Berat. A few people had said I should see some of the other cities in Albania, & it turns out that ironically my cousin, Karol & her daughter + 2 kids were in Berat & asked if I wanted to day-trip it down to visit. I hadn’t seen Karol in 20 years & had never met Kelsey, her daughter, so I was eager to join them with an excuse to take the bus down south to a different part of the country.
The morning I was due to take the bus, I had a bugger of a time trying to find a taxi, so I decided to walk the 1 hour way, which ended up being perfect. I arrived at the outskirts of the main downtown city area to a ramshackle bus terminal, which amounted to a bunch of mid-sized buses parked in a row & drivers standing in front of the buses smoking cigarettes. Each bus had the destination city name written in marker on a sheet of paper in the front window & all I had to do was jump on the bus, paying when I arrived in Berat. 500 LEK = $7 CAD for a three hour bus trip!
When I got off the bus, a man came right up to me & asked if I needed a taxi & I’m usually really crazy about getting ripped off, but I said, “sure…how much?” & he said 500 LEK & I thought “whatever!” & jumped in the front seat…something else I never do!
What a great guy! He typed on google translate, “I want to do a good job for you so you feel happy & secure”. Awe. I tipped him double cost. When we pulled up to the Karel’s hotel, she was waiting with the biggest smile! Yay cousins! The driver insisted on helping get the luggage sorted & offered up his business card for the return trip. He said that the last bus left at 4 p.m., so to call him at 3 o’clock to ensure he was in the vicinity.
As soon as he pulled away & Karel & hugged I knew I was getting a room & staying over night. I needed this visit so very much & didn’t feel like I wanted to rush it. The hotel was $30/night & the room was awesome…big & sparkling clean. Once sorted, we walked to a cafe where Kelsey, Karel’s daughter & her two kids were sitting…the cafe having a little play structure for the kids. I grabbed a cappuccino & a pistachio cream croissant & started to catch up & visit. It was soooo good to see her & visit! I didn’t realize how much I missed talking…& with someone familiar…the same background & family to boot…priceless. We decided to walk up to Beret castle & holy man…that is when I soon realized my cousins are in SHAPE!!! The legs on Karel, who is one year older than me…never mind the arms! Kelsey carried the 9 month old son in the front of her in a pack, Karel the three year old girl on her back & they never stopped to breathe during the 10 million steps straight up & back.
I learned something about travelling with children, which I thought they were both very brave to do…absolutely everyone is endeared to them through the children. People stop to talk, play, rejoice in the children. No one wants to rip them off. Everyone just loves the kids! Honestly, they are really sweet though! We end up walking to this restaurant for dinner I found on google…serving traditional fare & again, the people working in the restaurant are all over the kids…playing with them, giving them toys, providing Karen & Kelsey with a small reprise from constant attention. It’s endearing & I fall in love with the people of Berat.
We head back to our hotel & I don’t even mind knowing I’ll be wearing the exact same sweaty clothes again tomorrow, as I drift off to sleep.
