Balkans Holiday Revisited - Day 6

Day 6 - Butrint

Had a day off the bikes and took a bus to the ruined city of Butrint, along the coast road we'd avoided yesterday. The bus was a very entertaining way of meeting the locals. We must do it more often as you get to see & interact with people more than on the bikes.

Butrint was a city founded by the ancient Greeks in about C6th BC and continuously occupied until C14th AD. The remaining town walls are impressive



and within them are a mass of ruins including an amphitheatre, built by the Greeks but subsequently used by the Romans, a Roman baths, a basila and loads more all. It was awe inspiring to know that both Julius & Augustus Caesars were frequent visitors to the place.



We enjoyed wandering around for a couple of hours. It'sall set in an incredibly peaceful woodland alongside a river estuary. Later we crossed the river to a small fort on the other side. The crossing is by a chain ferry & is part of the coast road from Greece to Saranda. Note the state of the deck which was decidedly holey! There were potholes on the quay too so cars were having to negotiate their way on & off quite carefully. Being narrower it would have been easier for bikes.



After an excessively long lunch break, as there was a 3 hour gap in the bus timetable, we returned to Saranda for a swim off the beach and another night in the local bar. Time to move on up the coast tomorrow

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