Butrint National Park (Albanian: Parku Kombëtar i Butrintit) is a national park created in November 2000 and located in southwestern Albania.[1] It protects 85.91 square kilometres of historic landscape, archaeology and environment. The park's boundary includes the seaside municipality of Ksamil.[2]
The day before we left Saranda, Albania, we went to the Butrint National Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an important archaeological site and contains various artifacts and structures dating from the Bronze Age up to the 19th Century. The park consists of archaeological remains from various ages and we explored the area through the natural woodland and enjoyed the environment around us. The site is bordered by Lake Butrint and the Vivari Channel which drains into the Ionian Sea. What makes the site so special it that it is relatively undeveloped, and due to its remote location in Southern Albanian, there were not many tourists around. Much of the time, we had each new monument to ourselves to explore.
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After entering the park, we walked down tree-lined lanes until we came to hills and steps to climb.
The Roman market area.
The Roman Theater in which plays and events are still held.
The names of Roman slaves who were set free were engraved in the walls.
Chrissy and Erika exploring the Roman Theater
The stage area of the Roman Theater
The sign showing the public baths dating from the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Roman Bath area
Sign about the Roman Forum area first discovered in 2005
Roman Forum area shown above. Excavations are still ongoing.
Erika, Chrissy, and Frank taking a breather.
Part of the natural woodlands in the park.
Sign about the Baptistery which is especially famous for its mosaics.
Baptistery and mosaics.
Close-up of mosaics
One last view of the Baptistery.
View of the lake as we climbed higher in the park.
Chrissy
Another view of the lake
View of the trail that wound uphill towards the Venetian Castle.
Chrissy with the lake in the background.
Chrissy and Erika
View of the lake from some ruins
The Great Basilica
Some info (hard to read) about the basilica
Another view of the basilica
Frank, Chrissy and Erika resting (again!) outside of the basilica
Final view of the interior of the basilica
View of the lake
Another lake view
We had a lot of climbing to do to get to the ruins of the Venetian Castle. Here you see Erika and Frank leading the way.
Venetian Castle
In the lower part of the castle, there is an interesting museum about Butrint.
View of the Albanian coast from the castle.
Another view from the castle
Venetian Castle
Our whole way walking through the woods, we were serenaded by cicadas. Here's a close-up of one.
After a hot and tiring day at the national park, we went to near Ksamil Beach for lunch and a swim in the Ionian Sea.
Restaurant employees displaying the fish choices of the day.
Close-up of fish choices.
More fish!
Annette enjoying the cool breeze and the view.
Ksamil Beach - there wasn't much of a beach, but the sea was very clear and warm.
We each ordered entrees but shared this yummy grilled octopus.
Another beach view
Chrissy, Annette (with unidentified boy on the bottom of photo) swimming in the Ionian Sea.
Chrissy and Annette are the two on the left front sitting in the sea and relaxing.
All of the sunsets in Saranda were gorgeous. My camera didn't quite capture it - the sun was bright red.
Sunset from our hotel balcony on our last night in Saranda.
That's all for today. I still have a lot of updating to do - more of our last day in Albania, then 7 days in Italy for Chrissy and me. Frank also will hopefully post soon. We have been running around a lot and unfortunately do not have available wifi now in Zagreb, Croatia. We're staying at our cousin, Yada's, mother's apartment which is right near the city center and just a short tram (4 stops) trip to all of the major sites. Yada is cooking fabulous meals and we are enjoying exploring during the day. We also got to see Yada's daughter, Eva, and her son, Damian who live in Italy. Of course, Yada's husband, Darko, insists on being our chauffeur whenever we go back to the apartment. Yada's mother, Nada is 91 and unfortunately recovering from a broken hip at Yada's house. She looks great, though.
Chrissy has been sick since she got to Europe. She had giardia (sp?) probably from a lake in Nepal. She took a full course of antibiotics but is again sick for the last few days, so we went to the doctor this morning. She just gets nauseated and tired, so I hope that she recovers quickly. We will get more results from tests on Tuesday. Please keep her in your prayers. She feels well enough to run around with us, but she just gets tired. That's all for now. Will post again soon, I hope!!!!
