Springtime for European kayakers can feel like entering one of these megastores and facing an overwhelming range of choices. To make the decision even more complicated, there is another region to explore that most have never considered. It is a beautiful country of rivers, lakes, and mountains to expand the classic Central Alps destinations like Piemont, Ticino, Southern France, and Austria. No, it’s not Corsica. Nor is it Greece, a favorite destination for people who like to paddle Class Fun, in beautiful surroundings and deep gorges, especially after the easter holidays, once Corsican rivers run dry. No, it isn’t one of the beautiful Balkan countries, though they too, will keep you busy with whitewater. Wedged between those ex-Yugoslavian countries and Greece lies a place that has lain below the radar for a long time. Welcome to Albania.
After the Second World War, Albania was isolated from the rest of the world under a ruthless communist dictatorship for nearly 50 years. Enver Hoxha was a very paranoid man who ruled the country with fright and terror. At first, he collaborated tightly with the Soviet Union, but after Josef Stalin's death, he felt the Soviets were getting soft. Hoxha needed a new superpower to look out for his small, vulnerable state surrounded by enemies, and found an economic and ideological ally in China. When Richard Nixon shook hands with Mao Zedong a couple of years later, the relationship deteriorated, leaving Albania on its own until Hoxha died in 1985.
