Mother Nature decided to take a hand on my traveling plans and sent me a very rainy day. Perfect excuse for lazing in bed in my warm bedroom (the rest of my rental apartment is freezing), a leisurely breakfast, and just sitting at the dining room table reading while the rain drummed on the living room windows.
I did go out during a lull in the inclement weather to go visit the Rozafa Castle, a bastion that for the last 2,000 years (in one form or another) has kept sentinel on the confluence of the Buna River, which is fed by Skkodër Lake, and the Drin River that joins it from the east. Castles in ruins are a funny thing, with stairs that seem to go nowhere, remnants of walls that seem to belong to nothing in particular, and bastions whose apparent purpose was to just oversee each other. But the ancient castle builders sure had an eye for a beautiful location, and from the walls of Rozafa Castle one can enjoy spectacular views of the anastomosing rivers and the serene lake that seems to go on forever.
I couldn't completely escape the rain, and at some point sought shelter in a supermarket, while the rain came down in torrents. Standing there, waiting for the squall to go by, I fell in conversation with this old timer, Tuvik, who like me was biding his time looking at the rain. He spoke Albanian and a bit of Russian, and could understand none of the languages I speak, but we had a good time talking about Mexico, our daughters, being of an age, and how beautiful Albania is. I think he invited me to go out for a coffee, but I had to decline because I saw no coffee house nearby and didn't fancy getting all wet.
I am now pretty bored with staying at home watching videos and chilled to the bone. Tomorrow I will resume my trip by boarding the 1:20 pm bus to Dubrovnik. I am ready to move forward.
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