Two hours from Tirana and near the Montenegro border is Skhodra. There is not much to see or do there but it was a convenient stop for the border.
In the main square was a statue of the 5 heroes. It was a fine example of socialist- realism sculpture. The men have square jaws and firearms and hold hands or grasp each others shoulders. Some countries are getting rid of such symbols so it was good to see that this one survived. When we arrived there was a group of elderly men dressed in black putting wreaths at the base of the statue and they were being filmed by a TV crew.
This was another place where we had a lot of problems finding a bus out of the place. We met a French couple who were headed for the hills and the national park so we were able to get some information from their guide book.
We found the travel agency that was organising the mini buses but they told us that the 'financial police' were in town and that it was pretty sure that the minibus would not be going to Montenegro but that we would have to take a taxi across the border. We had seen many policemen with their whistles and ticket books stopping cars with foreign number plates and checking their documents.
We met an Albanian man called Matt and he used to live in Australia for a few years. He worked as a dishwasher in several pizza restaurants in Melbourne and sent money home to his wife and children. Now he lives full time in Shkodra and works as a builder. We shared a taxi with him and another lady and were able to cross into Montenegro without being ripped -off!
