mountain roads and churches

The road from Gjirokaster through Permet and Ersek to Korce goes first along Drino and Vjosa rivers. The light of the rising sun on the fresh-green mountains is simply amazing.
In Permet I stop for coffee. Everybody is on the move, chatting on street-corners or sipping coffee in cafes.
The road towards Ersek is narrow, with plenty of potholes and winds along mountain edges. It takes me about 3 hours to drive 40 km. Further from Ersek it's more or less flat and it's possible even to race with 80 km/h!
18 km from Korce there's a village called Voskopoja which was once the biggest city of Albania with a huge collection of churches. Eight of them should still be there. I go to find out. From the center of the village there are signs directing the visitor to the various churches but that's about everything they've done for the curious tourist. I have to climb over fences and streams to actually reach them. Manage to find 7 of 8. Not bad. Everyone minds their own business and people greet me friendly when passing on the cobbled street. The hotel Royal up on the mountain is open but empty so I drive back to Korce.
The cathedral looks beautiful is the rays of the setting sun and is buzzing with people of all ages. I spend about half an hour listening to the song of the monks and watching this social and religious meeting.
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