Last Updated on June 24, 2019 by PowersToTravel
If Albanians know anything, it’s how to keep a car on the road and looking its best. In the more populated areas it seemed as if every quarter of a mile we would see a car wash. No village was complete without a selection of Lavazho.
Lavazho are not like American car washes. In the US, we drive up to the car wash, feed our credit card or bills into a machine, punch a button for the Premium Wash, and relax (or make out) as we roll through the sprayer and tumbling brushes. In Albania the lavazho are stations at which the driver can get out, pay an attendant for a water wand to spray his vehicle, soap and a vacuum. Or, if the driver is not so motivated, he can pay the attendant to wash the car, similar to a single-man high-school car wash. We were amazed at the sheer number of lavazho and so too at the variety of features and levels of sophistication, or lack thereof.
It was also entertaining to watch our guide at the border of Albania and Montenegro. We had traveled around Albania for about a week, and our car was a little dirty. Our guide seemed most intent on crossing the border with Albanian license plates in a clean car. Unfortunately the tiny lavazho at the border, which had one water sprayer, was otherwise engaged by a very slow person with a large vehicle. Sadly, Kledi acknowledged that we didn’t want to spend our vacation waiting for a car wash, and we crossed to border, leaving Albania, but not our dust, behind.
Tire, hubcap stores and repair shops also dominated the landscape. The reason was clear, if you just looked down at the pavement and at the potholes. There were times that Kledi, for no apparent reason, would come to a complete stop on a highway, in order to slowly advance over a chasm between the roadway and a bridge. I am an uncomfortable backseat driver, usually somewhat afraid for my life, but the driving tour through Albania was actually such a pleasure; Kledi was such an excellent driver. My husband, who has driven in the Philippines, even said, “I don’t think I could drive here.” Vehicles of so many shapes and sizes traveled in any lane of the road, going at any speed. Generally they would be going forward, but at times in reverse. Pedestrians, several abreast, strolled from village to farm. Clutches of people hung out on the sides of the roads, waiting for the next minibus.
Our guide explained to us that speed is never a factor in a car accident in Albania. “The driver lost control of the vehicle” or “The culprit of the accident was the bad weather.” Whenever we would pass either an accident or a wrecked car one of us would smile and say “Oh, it wasn’t the animal in the road – the driver lost control of the vehicle!”
Diabetic Travel Tips
Think twice before actually renting a car in Albania. It is much safer having a guide drive you around, at least the first time. That way you will become aware of all the nuances of the roads and the particular habits of the locals.
Check out this article of mine too:
Albania Travel Blog – Itinerary, Impressions and Diabetic Travel Tips
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