Yesterday was Sunday, and we had a nice relaxing day.
You could sure tell it was a Sunday in our area. Quite a few more people were out enjoying the patio restaurants and walking and cycling on the various paths that line the waterfront. Traffic was also bumper to bumper at times on the road in front. I can't imagine what it would be like during the summer season.
We did some computer work in the morning, and then did a couple of video calls. One to Ruth's sister in Hamilton, Ontario, and then one to our granddaughter Sadie just south of Ottawa, Ontario.
It was almost 3:30pm when we finally left the apartment!
At this point, there were hardly any people!
Looking back.
Can you see the large cut in the mountain in the background? That's the new Vlore bypass road that has been under construction since 2017. It was supposed to be finished in 27 months, but it's way behind schedule.
Ruth liked the bird mural.
We continued around the ferry port and onto the beach on the north side of the city. Lots of trash lying around on this section. We can't really figure out why this part of the beach doesn't seem to be well looked after or have the same number of apartments hotels and restaurants that the ones on the other side of the ferry port have.
Not often we do a selfie!
Looking back at where we came from.
We turned around after 3.6 kms (2.2 miles), so ended up doing a total of 7.2 kms (4.4 miles). Then we stopped at a couple of grocery stores on the way back and stocked up on a few things.
Really good news out of Albania yesterday evening. Despite having very few restrictions, Albania's Covid numbers continue to drop.
"The epidemiological situation is stable with a declining incidence and this has been observed from the third week of March onwards. A decrease has also been noticed in terms of the % of positivity of new cases where in recent weeks it has dropped to 12%. The decline is also noted in hospitalizations. For 4 days there are no patients in the COVID 4 Hospital, which will continue to be on standby, but which is undoubtedly a positive indicator of the situation in hospitals. Currently, the bed utilization rate is below 30%, while intensive care is below 13%."
As such, they are reducing the curfew hours to 10pm to 6am, from the previous 8pm to 6am.
So, we are quite happy to be here.
Meanwhile, our planned trip back to Canada in May will likely not happen, although we still remain open to the possibility. Besides having to jump through hoops to avoid the ridiculously unfair mandatory hotel quarantine for people flying into Canada, we are also a little concerned about ending up stuck there. Also, the main reason for going back at that time would have been to help out with the planned estate auction at Ruth's father's house on May 29th. But the auctioneer tells us that the auction may not happen because he is not currently getting approval from the health department to actually hold any auctions. So that's up in the air, and given the state of the numbers in Canada, it's not likely to change anytime soon. We would actually need to arrive in Canada by May 14th at the latest in order to complete the 14 day quarantine and that's only a month away.
I just don't see it happening.
And regarding our motorhome waiting for us in Germany, that country will be updating its regulations and restrictions on April 18th, however we don't see much changing in that regard either. Our current hope is that we will be able to get into Germany by mid-June, although of course we've learned that a lot can change in two months... or a lot can stay the same. We can do nothing but wait.
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And in Canada...
Fantastic news re the numbers in Albania. Other countries could learn a lot from their example. Maybe they haven't got big pharma companies influencing their decisions.
ReplyDeleteYes! Its all about how much people can make during a pandemic... Especially pharmaceutical company influences.
DeleteWe thought that was great news as well, hopefully the numbers will just keeping getting better. It is definitely nice to see some normalcy during these crazy times. :-)
DeleteUnfortunately when things like this or natural disasters hit, there are always going to be those that prosper and not always in a good way! :-(
Just curious, have you thought about getting vaccinated in Albania. Just wondering if that is possible. Canadian and American friends of ours are in Mexico, and the Vaccine is being offered to them. Best of luck to you, we are enjoying your travels.
ReplyDeleteFrom what we have seen and heard the vaccines are only available to the residents of the country and it is that way in most countries.
DeleteEven if we could get it, we are not sure that we would. If it comes to the point that we need to be vaccinated in order to travel then we would definitely think about getting it. We aren't sold on it, and from everything we have read that really all it does is that it makes you less sick should get the virus and they aren't even sure how long the vaccine will be effective for!
Still a beautiful area to visit.
ReplyDeleteNice the numbers are dropping there. Maybe the rest of the world could take lessons.
Good luck with the travel planning.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
It is a nice place to relax in, especially if you love the beach!
DeleteWe are definitely happy to hear that numbers are dropping, especially when life here is pretty much close to being "normal" at least during these crazy tines.
Nice to hear the good news about Covid cases there. Hope the rest of the world is paying attention. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteIt is really good news about the lower numbers here and that the hospitals are also showing less cases and deaths. We can only hope that the numbers continue to go down.
Deletehttps://www.cp24.com/news/man-who-spent-1-500-to-stay-at-toronto-quarantine-hotel-got-covid-19-anyways-infected-whole-family-1.5383988
ReplyDeleteYep. It's messed up, unfair, and totally unnecessary in our opinion.
DeleteNot sure what lessons "other countries" could learn about a current 12 % positivity rate. Albania's overlall Covid case per 1M are 44,696 and deaths per 1M are 807. Canada is 28,061 and 614 respectively.(sourced from CoronaVirus World cases web site) Let me assure I am a fan of Kevin and Ruth but the quarantine hotels are needed. It has been proven that you cannot rely on people to do the right thing. There are quite a few cases of people arriving to Canada's airports with fake negative tests while in fact being infected. I hope it all works out for you as to your travel but personally I have felt you have been "pushing the envelope" a fair bit recently with travel on crowded buses etc. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Paul. I don't want to argue, because so many of these Covid things are simply opinion. And it's even difficult to base our opinion on the statistics because there are so many variables, and a lot of them unknown. But I do want to address some of your comments.
DeleteThe 12% positivity rate in Albania is likely high because they only test people who are showing symptoms. That's just a guess on my part, but certainly Canada has been testing anybody and everybody which has of course made the positivity rate much lower there.
Yes, the overall cases per million in Albania is substantially higher than Canada's, but the death rate is virtually the same. This, despite having almost zero restrictions or lockdowns. And you have to admit, that the most recent news yesterday regarding the low occupancy rates of the hospital beds here is encouraging. Again, all while having zero lockdowns and life going on pretty much normally. You would think that the numbers would be through the roof, but they are not.
As you already know, we totally disagree with you regarding Canada's 3 day mandatory hotel stay.
I can see the news reports that say a few people have arrived with fake test results, but I can't see anywhere where they say that have in fact been infected while arriving with those fake negative results.
Regarding your last comment, everybody has their own personal risk levels.
Thanks for your good wishes.
I hate to say it, but your PM is strange! But you probably knew that! I hope you don't mind, me getting personal! Take care, Rawn
ReplyDeleteI think that many people can say that to just any leader of any country. There is no perfect leader out there but at least our PM has nice hair, lol!
DeleteHaha - good one!
DeleteThat's funny Ruth!
DeleteYou are each entitled to your opinions. This pandemic has become far to political on all fronts. I agree with your response as to world leaders. This is a world wide pandemic lets all support one another with respect. Stay safe and enjoy your travels.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, the pandemic has become far too political and we do try to steer away from political topics unless they happen to affect our travels in anyway. Luckily for the most part, I think everyone here has been quite civil with their responses and we appreciate that. :-)
DeleteDh and I are getting our second dose of the vaccine tomorrow, but due to our medical issues, we will still be cautious. I was wondering if you and Kevin had been vaccinated or planned to be vaccinated. I know there are plenty of people in the US that don't plan to get it. Please feel free not to answer. I just ask this heavenly are in such a unique position - traveling through foreign countries and all.
ReplyDeleteEveryone still needs to be cautious even after getting the vaccine. All the vaccine does is to help you from getting really sick from the virus, at least that is what the health experts are saying about it.
DeleteNo, Kevin and I have not been vaccinated. The vaccine wasn't available in Canada when we left last October and the countries that we have been to either don't have it or only offer it to their own residents.
As to us getting the vaccine, we are unsure. First we aren't totally sold on it, as I mentioned it doesn't remove your chances of still contracting the virus, it only makes helps to make you less sick should you get the virus. They also don't know how long the vaccine will actually last, which means that you may continually have to get booster shots and also, there isn't enough data out to show what long term effects the vaccine could have. Having said all that, if it made travel for us much easier than we would look into getting it.