Return to Tirana

We arrived to a drought-ridden land facing a major energy crisis. Albania relies on hydro-electric power, many of the plants having been built during the communist era. The government placed restrictions on energy consumption this summer. We've heard that some people in Albania were going for days without water and there have been many reported food related poisonings in the hospitals due to the electricity/water crisis. The heat and drought didn't hit us as hard, but it was still intense. At first we were mainly living in our one room with air conditioning, even pulling our bed in there to sleep. Now, for the last few days, the rain has come, but it will take a lot more of it to get Albania out of it's woes. We're expecting a hard winter.