We needed to get to Berat today. First we took a city bus to the bus “station”. When we arrived at a dirt lot filled with buses, lots of men were yelling location names at us. We said “Berat” and were ushered into a small bus already mostly filled with people. A man grabbed my bags and put them inside the bus. The bus was moving while I was boarding. I am lucky that I didn’t fall.
We made our way on the moving bus to the very last seats in the back, looking like human pinballs. At last, we settled in for a 2 ½-hour bus ride. I was starting to get sick with lots of coughing, sneezing, and a stuffy nose. I am sure the bus riders were thrilled.
Once in Berat, we proceeded to the main part of town. Berat is built on the side of a hill so going up the cobblestone stairs was difficult at best. Google Maps said that we faced a long walk up the hill to reach our guest house. After Rob scouted many steps up and down, we found a very quick access up the few steps shown below.
Our receptionist didn’t even ask our names or for a reservation but showed us to our room. I think we were the only people staying in the guest house that night. I lay down and fell right asleep. Rob went out to explore “The White City” which is a UNESCO site.
He found a pretty little Orthodox church across the river called St. Thomas Church.
We had a lovely dinner and then strolled with the locals. The evening walk is called the Xhiro. There were all age groups but mostly old men and children.
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