Today, our group (minus Ian) decided to enjoy the nice weather and go for a hike around the hills of our village. Our goal: go to the highest point that we see!
We already kind of knew the direction in which to go because of the community map activity we did. So we headed to the edge of the map and into the unknown.
Around every corner there was a new hill that looked taller than the one we just climbed. So we kept climbing. At the highest point, on the tallest hill (which actually wasn’t too high) we had reach the cemetery. It was quite a beautiful cemetery! All the graves were decorated with colorful flowers and shrines, along with a plate of fruit that sat at the edge of each tombs. I think that this is a common theme here in Albania, to have cemeteries on the top of hills, that is. Just the other day when Ian and I went walking along the main road into other neighboring villages, we spotted another cemetery that was on the top of the hill. I’m guessing that it symbolizes putting their loves ones above them and having the deceased watch over the living around their grave. I could be totally wrong but I like the idea! Plus, what a gorgeous site to see from the top of the village!
As we made our way around the cemetery, we spotted a whole line of bunkers that were carved into the neighboring hill. We had to go check them out!
Albania is known for their bunkers. They have over 4000 of them in the entire country, and Albania is not a very big country at all! I don’t really know too much about them, just that they were built during the cold war. But, hopefully I’ll learn more about them as I learn more about the culture.
I was so excited to go into a bunker! It was actually quite funny! I was racing through the weeds and plants along the path, as if I had just found a cave with hidden treasure like in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. When I got to the one labeled “2” I hopped over the branches blocking the entrance and began to look at the interior of the bunker. And of course, the bunker was completely empty. It was quite large, though. Much larger than I had imagined. But no hidden treasure, haha. I waited for the others to walk into the dark abyss that made up the bunker. We walked all the way to the end and took a few pictures just to have proof when we told our friends back home that we were actually inside a bunker! haha. Oh, the things that amuse American volunteers in Albania. haha.
As we headed back, we passed an abandoned building that looked as if the windows had been either knocked out or blown up. We ventured inside where we found the remains of nicely painted walls that had been covered by graffiti by what I assume are young teens and children of the village. And of course, the path that we chose to come back on must have been a trash dump for some of the villagers that live in the higher areas because we walked through this watery path lined with pop bottles and food wrappers. A few villagers working on their gardens watched as we hopped through the path, trying to avoid all the mud and trash puddles. I could only imagine what they were thinking. haha.
Overall, it was a nice hike. And I can now say I’ve been in an Albanian bunker! Yay! :)
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