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My twelfth day in Albania began bright and early in the southern city of Sarandë. Come with me as I try my hand at farming mussels in Albania, explore ancient Butrint, and go for a swim at Ksamil Beach!
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My morning began with a trip to ancient Butrint in Butrint National Park. It was stunning scenery and looked like a lot of wetlands! It was so peaceful out there. It’s the only UNESCO national park due to the archaeological sites there. We could see one of them, the Venetian Triangular Castle, across the water! It was built to protect the city of Butrint.
It only costs 600 lekes/$5.68 USD to enter the park, including ruined walls, a theater, Roman thermal baths, a Roman chapel, a baptistery, a basilica, an acropolis, a pair of gates, and much more! The site is massive!
There’s also a museum. Here, you have an amazing view of the lake. You can also see an incredible archaeological find: the head of the statue of Apollo, the Greek god of music. This one is a replica, but the original is in Tirana.
After 90 minutes, we headed back to the park entrance to see the Venetian defense tower, which protected the canal. What an experience!
Then, we headed back to Ksamil to go to the beach. There are plenty of places in this beach town where you can buy a bathing suit if you didn’t bring one. I bought some swimming trunks for $10 USD. We were in the most famous spot of Ksamil Beach, Three Islands, so it costs 12 Euros to rent an umbrella for two people.
We jumped into the water, which was really cold and shallow. The beach was packed with people. We only had 20-30 minutes to enjoy the beach. Then, we headed to get some mussels!
After a 5-minute drive, we arrived at the rustic Mussel House, where I met Linda. But before we could eat at the restaurant, we headed on a boat tour of Butrint Lake to the mussel farm.
There are pods below the water where the mussels are. The farm is divided into sections, which are owned by different people. The Mussel House has their own section. They have hundreds of thousands of mussels.
Backa the restaurant, Erjan and I toasted with some tasty white Albanian wine. Then, Linda took me into the kitchen to see them cook the mussels. I watched the chefs cook them in oil, parsley, garlic, and white wine. It smelled so good! Then, they added some cream to some of them!
At the table, we had salted mussels with oil and white wine, mussels with tomato and onion, creamy mussels, mussel risotto, and a salad with tomatoes.
Erjan showed me how to use the mussel shell as a utensil to take the meat out of the shells. It’s the Albanian way of eating them. The salted ones were so succulent and tasty! We had at least 150 mussels.
The tomato and onion ones had a nice, juicy burst with a bit of sourness. They were also crunchy! They were amazing and so different. But the star was the creamy mussels, which were ridiculously good. It was like a creamy pasta. It was so good, I had to lick some of the shells clean!
I loved eating the mussels Albanian-style! I also really enjoyed the broth from the tomato-and-onion mussels, which was like a seafood and vegetable soup! The white wine broth was tangy from the lemon, and the cream was nice and rich.
The risotto was super tasty! Rice isn’t produced in Albania anymore. It was super creamy and moist, and very different from paella or biryani. The best thing is, this huge mussel feast only costs 600 lekes, or just under $6 USD!
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About Me:
My name is David Hoffmann. For the last 12 years, I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food, and history! Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,100 destinations in 77 countries, which I welcome you to check out on my KZfaq channel, travel blog, and social media sites.
I focus a great deal on food and historical sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning about the local history and culture.
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