I've gotten a decent amount of fishing in too. In Kelcyre, we fished Tom & Huck style with sticks and fishing line, and I caught my first fish of 2016 (several small ones that we let go). Then, I fished with a friend several times at a still part in the river between Bajram Curri and Valbona. Though this area has some of the best preserved nature in Albania, it's disastrously over-fished and close to impossible to catch anything.
"Where Will Be Tomorrow" is from a tremendously unique record called False Ego by Eddie Callahan. I had a difficult time deciding between this track and "Santa Cruz Mountains" for the title. So try giving the second track a listen too. The whole album is golden.
P.S.
A fellow volunteer wrote a really insightful post about the challenges of Albania. Head over to her blog if you want an interesting read about this country.
https://syshqiponje.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/the-communist-hangover/
Valbona Hiking
My marigolds seeds from last year have begun to sprout. Instead of taking the time to cultivate them indoors, I spread the seeds wildly throughout the garden. Lazy but effective.
Growing tomatoes (this year in pots). It was too much trouble watering them last year and I figured that pots would allow the new volunteer to take care of them more easily.
Dinner at the hostel: potato salad and a green salad a la a German volunteer
Stuffed eggplants that a chef in Bajram Curri taught me and a couple friends how to make. Ingredients: zucchini, tomatoes, onions, garlic, eggplant, and lots of olive oil.
Fresh garlic and olive oil mixture that we used for the stuffed eggplants
Raki and accompaniments that we assembled. Fergese (in the top left) is a type of ricotta'ish cheese with tomatoes, finely chopped onions, ground beef and lots of garlic. The bottom left is a Japanese-style quick pickle. And, on the right is our typical mashed can of mackerel with a raw onion
Here are some communist-era photographs that are displayed at a nearby school. The school previously specialized in music and arts, hence the many instruments in the photographs
Priests playing soccer-volleyball in Rome
Albanian style cabbage and potato soup with beans a la Linda, our lunch chef
