Welcome to travels with Todd

Although I tend to be more cautious walking downhill than walking uphill (porque tropeço frequentemente e as vezes caio), the gravitational assist from walking downhill allows for less strenuous speed. So, downhill it was toward the center of town to find some lunch and hopefully leave some time for a littoral walk before reconnecting with the Intrepid group.

When I give directions to people visiting Lisbon without me to help guide them, one piece of advice I provide is that if they are at the Castelo, Graça, or anywhere in Alfama and feeling a bit lost, they need only walk downhill and they will eventually find the rio Teju even if the streets twist and turn. Using that principal, and wanting to wander the city a bit more, I set off down some hills hoping to find a familiar landmark such as the Venetian Tower or the Durrës Amphitheater (and with some added confidence knowing I could open a map app if needed). Once I spotted the latter, I wandered along the Bulevardi Epidamn where I encountered this interesting reproduction of the Tower and the castle.

I continued down the street south toward the port and, given the location and purpose of our next stop, walked into a café called Pelikan where I had a small chicken sandwich with peach flavored iced tea. (In the US, when I order iced tea, I usually tell the server that I need three things – a glass, ice, and tea. No lemon. No sweetener. Nothing else is required. However, it seems that unflavored bottled tea is all but impossible to find in Albania. In my time there I found that most infusions offered at cafés and restaurants are tisanes rather than actual çaj {recall the blueberry “tea” I had at the end of my food tour in Tirana} and even had they offered a hot cup, the day was warm, I’d walked a lot and had passed the point of mere incalescence.) I followed the sandwich with a double dessert of pistachio gelato and black forest cake. This combination required more walking.

If you’ve ever wondered why

Those of you who have followed the arc of this blog have seen my musical references expand to become an integral element in recounting each trip. By the time I return to the US in late September, I will have visited 37 other countries around the world. Everyplace has unique aspects but there are also some universal elements that span time and culture. One of them is music. And music ties our humanity together in unexpected ways and places. I recall the tributes to the Beatles – one in Ulaanbaatar and one in Yekaterinburg – that I saw on the first trip I recounted for this site. That this defunct for decades British band had statuary tributes in places separated by more than 4,300km and that are so culturally different made a deep impression.

The above paragraph is intended as a prelude to the photo below.

That’s Tina Turner, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and Mick Jagger. The work by British sculptor Andy Edwards was commissioned as part of a cultural and artistic initiative to enhance the Durrës promenade and celebrate the global impact of the four (non-Albanian) icons. And, as I write this in the autumn of 2025, as I’ve mentioned previously, Albanian women (Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Ava Max, and Bibi Rexha) are rather prominent in global pop music.

A walk in the park

Our group straggled to E’s designated meeting point – some earlier than others – but we boarded our van on time and continued our journey south. We’d need a bit more than an hour to reach the park and the visitor center where we were to get our first look at Dalmatian pelicans – a moment some in the group had been eagerly anticipating.

Perhaps we’d arrived a little earlier than expected because the van stopped more or less a kilometer short of the Visitor’s Center and we trod along a boardwalk for this short distance. Even promised spectacular views,

no one opted to spend 100 lek (about $1) to climb the estimated 200 stairs to reach the top of the Kulla 360°. Instead, we went directly to the Visitor’s Center where we eventually met a park ranger who introduced us to “Johnny” – an injured pelican who’s a permanent resident at the Center.

Here are some facts about the Pelecanus crispus or Dalmatian pelican. It’s not only a symbol of Divjaka-Karavasta NP but it’s the largest pelican species and the largest freshwater bird in the world. It’s among the heaviest flying birds in the world and has a wingspan of between 2.7 and 3.2 meters.

The wetlands, marshes, and estuaries of the park are the bird’s only breeding ground in Albania and the Albanian population is estimated to be five percent of the global population of a species that’s considered vulnerable. It’s differentiated from other pelican species by its curly nape feathers, grey legs and silvery-white plumage, and, when they’re in flight, their wings appear solid grey.

Unlike most waterfowl such as ducks, geese, and swans, pelicans are altricial or nidicolous. The former are nidifugous and, when they hatch, they do so with eyes open and are covered with down. Pelican hatchlings are naked, helpless, and dependent on their parents until they fledge at 10-12 weeks. Both parents incubate the eggs and tend to the young after they hatch with one parent usually remaining with the chicks when the other seeks food.

Johnny,

remained aloof and was feeling a bit unclubbable. Even after the arrival of another bird (whose name I missed) but who did provide a good look at his impressive beak,

Johnny maintained his orgulous posture.

Capping off my day with the Pelikans, we proceeded from the park to the town of Divjaka where our accommodation for the night was at the Hotel Pelikan. We arrived with a bit of free time and many in our small group opted to make the 300m walk to the seaside. I chose to take a short walk in the town.

Since it was late September, many of the local businesses had closed for the season and my exploration of the area did little more than use some of the calories I’d over consumed at lunch. We dined at the hotel and my notes once again refer to being served an enormous amount of food and that this old man surprised B when I recognized the voices of Olivia Rodrigo and Post Malone among others in the music the hotel was playing.

Everyone was off to bed early because we had a date for sunrise bird-watching and, for me, that meant setting my alarm for 04:30. While you’re awaiting the next post, you can browse the remaining photos pertaining to this and the previous post by using this link.