Jun 15, 2010 - 40 by 40, 50 by 50

From Tomas: During one of our trip prep meetings, held regularly over a few draft beers at the Sonoma Chicken coop in Campbell, Tomas wondered aloud how many countries each of us had visited. Turns out, it was quite a few, and if things went according to plan on this trip, Jill could potentially visit 40 countries by age 40 and Tomas could visit 50 by 50. We agreed we would not make this a priority, but it would be an interesting accomplishment. From Pogradec, we took a taxi to the Macedonian border 5km away. At the border, there is a lot...

Jun 13, 2010 - Pogradec, Albania

One thing that is obvious after a few days in Albania is their sense that they are the "ugly duckling" of the region. Now there is some merit to this feeling. Corfu Greece is more stunning than Saranda Albania, the southern Montenegran coast is pretty than it's northern Albanian counterpart and on Lake Ohrid, Pogradec cannot hold a candle to Ohrid, Macedonia (although Ohrid is a few days away for us, we assume the guidebooks and Albanians are not wrong). That said, Albania is definitely worth the visit, for the intrigue of the place, if...