Another great day exploring, but man that water was COLD!

When we had been on the group tour the other day through Osumi Canyon, we had been talking to an Italian couple who had done another canyon hike just the day before... to Holta Canyon, which we had never heard of. 

It was an hour and a half drive from Berat, but that's what we have the car for! So we took off early yesterday morning to do another canyon walk. This one was self guided though... and free!

The Italian couple had mentioned that Holta Canyon has very low water level, however there are two sections where you have to get wet up to your chest... and the water is VERY cold.

The entrance to Holta Canyon.

The parking area is at GPS 40.925881, 20.222138

When we arrived at about 10:00am, the parking area was pretty much empty. There are a couple of small restaurants there, and parking for maybe 25 cars, but we figured it's probably only busy on weekends.

Looking into the canyon.

There are a lot of interesting things to see along the way.

This family was visiting from Chicago.

The wife is originally from a small town near here.

Wow. Fantastic scenery.

As far as the canyon itself goes, this was actually better scenery than the one we did the other day!

The canyon walls are 350 meters (1,100') high at some parts!

There are some natural springs coming out of some parts of the rock.

Up until now, the highest point of the water had been about midway between your knees and your crotch. And even Ruth will tell you that the water was cold. Certainly not something I would consider swimming in. 

Regular readers know that I don't enjoy cold water. It feels like torture to me. So when we got to the part where the water was chest deep, I let Ruth go on ahead to see if it was worth it. 

Ruth, making her way through the deep part.

She made it through to the other side.

And then she was gone for like fifteen minutes! Another couple went through, and the woman was squealing in pain as she made her way into the cold water. She was almost half way when she turned around due to the discomfort! She did eventually make it through, but this made it even worse for me.

So Ruth finally comes back, and talks me into it. Yes, I squealed too!

Me, in the canyon.

So many interesting geological formations.

Don't forget to look up!

I made a video of a section of the walk back out.

It's five minutes long, but you have to watch to the end to see the part where I have to get back in the cold water. Turn up your volume. Too funny...

Look at the size of the tiny people compared to the canyon walls.

By the time we came out, things were quite a lot busier. Really glad we showed up as early as we did. We went to one of the restaurants and had a lemon soda (a popular carbonated drink here in Albania) and sat and waited for our things to dry off a bit before getting in the car. While we were sitting, two separate bus loads of tour groups showed up! Even more important that we arrived early.

While we were sitting there, this fellow ended up on my hat!

Here's a few photos from the drive...

The Banje Reservoir and hydro dam was completed in 2016.

Scenery along the way.

Another great day in Albania!

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