Gale force Katabatic winds were an unwelcome surprise as we rounded the Kataburum promontory leaving Orikum, especially since we expected to have our pick of several picturesque coves for the night. There was simply no choice but to stay out to sea until finally, about 11pm, the winds abated enough and we made our way into the very slightly protected roadstead off the town of Himare where we traded howling winds for blaring disco speakers all over this beach resort. At first light we were again struck by the oddity of being virtually the only yacht in the place, but that's Albania.

The next day we headed down the coast about 10 miles to a very protected bay called Porto Palermo and anchored off a little spit of land where Ali Pasha's castle still stands - he was the ferocious Ottoman Turk who controlled the area in the late 1800's, we read. Then, just as we were about to dinghy in for an evening stroll, those pesky katabatic winds blasted us again, forcing us to up-anchor and move to the other side of Ali's castle. We sat anchor watch to about 2am before things calmed down again.

For several days now, we had been checking back and forth with our friends Atilio and Maria on the sister-ship Sisila to arrange a rendezvous with them. Finally, after a morning stop back in Himare for some provisions, we found Sisila in a little bay called Kalomea, but as we approached, they were chased away by some more military types - Albania's tourist bureau still has a ways to go! Anyway, we simply moved one bay south and found another neat cove and this time the Katabatic winds didn't appear, even though we both ran shore lines out, just in case.

With their friends Franca and Vittorio, the six of us had a great time, with afternoon snacks on Sisila and the evening dinner on Sangaris. (Top left pic is from our earlier get-together in Trieste, IT). Sadly, they had to head out in the morning as they need to be in Monfalcone by the end of the month. We hung out for a couple more nights in what turned out to be a super spot that we had all to ourselves - including our own private fig tree at the head of the bay that we could dinghy into and harvest at will (both figs and clothing ;-) Then it was up anchor as we headed over to the Greek island of Erykoussa and back to anchorages filled with cruising yachts - what a dramatic change that's almost like a time-warp from the Albanian experience.