After Montenegro, the “great unknown” now lies ahead of us – the next leg through Albania. What awaits us there? We have read a lot but still feel like we know very little about this strangely reclusive country. The reports we have seen instil both scepticism and uncertainty in equal measure – the mere mention of the word Albania evokes memories of a darker, communist era before the fall of the iron curtain. If you let these widespread prejudices get to you, you would almost certainly steer clear of visiting it in your own boat. And many do choose to bypass it entirely by cruising direct from Italy to Greece. We too are still plagued by doubts, even at this late stage, so to help allay our fears try to seek out someone coming up the other way from Greece to Croatia who has already cruised through Albania and has first-hand, up-to-date information of what it’s like.
In Bar – the last Montenegrin port for clearing – we finally meet a German sailor on his way north, who bought his yacht in Greece and is now transferring her to nearby Trieste. He is
