NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE 3: In Albanian hydrofoil during a storm

Since this series has got a lot of positive feedback, I decided to write the third part of this. As you can see from the title we were visiting Albania with a hydrofoil when we got to a storm. You can check out part 1 "Sandstorm in Death Valley" and part 2 "Trapped in the Caucasus".

It was a beautiful day in Corfu, Greece. We had decided that we would take a hydrofoil trip to Albania and see some recommended spots. The sun was shining and there was barely any wind at all. We left Corfu in the morning and traveled to Albania in a hydrofoil. It was really quick as they usually are.

It was about 12 o'clock when we arrived Sarandë. It's a stunning city which is an important part of the tourism business in Albania. We had lunch there and then we decided to attend a tour which would take us to the Blue Eye - a famous spring near the city. The tour was a bus tour so we were on a tiny and meandering road. We climbed up the mountains. At the same second as we stepped out of the bus it started raining. At first, it was just some small sprinkle and we didn't mind it. After all, it was a hot and humid day so some raindrops were just refreshing.

We walked further from the bus and the rain got heavier. Soon it was pouring rain and people were running towards shelters. The ground transformed into mud and we ran back to our bus. As the journey back to Sarandë began, we noticed that the road leading to the spring had turned into a big mudslide. The road was so narrow and there was a huge drop next to us. The bus slid from one side of the road to another. It was absolutely awful. The driver couldn't see properly and we drove past many cars that had broken down.

Luckily, our driver was amazing and he got us safely out of there. We were so relieved when we got back to Sarandë and I was really looking forward to getting back to the hotel. Standing in the port, we noticed that there were some huge waves out in the sea and the wind was really really strong. We knew that we had to get back to Corfu in time so we took another hydrofoil even though we knew that it might be dangerous.

The hydrofoil journey started normally, driving fastly towards Corfu. The waves were blocked by a smaller island. When we got in the open sea the waves were about 3-5 meters high - the highest waves that I have ever seen. The hydrofoil slowed down immediately. Members of the crew were running around the ship as it swung on the waves. People looked really nervous and the fact that some of the crew were panicking themselves didn't make it any easier.

A man from the crew ran to the back of the boat, rose the cover from the floor and started to stick his head under the floor, yelling in Greek to the other members of the crew. One of them was praying while the others were trying to fix something. All of the passengers were panicking. The waves were just getting bigger and bigger. I checked where were the nearest life vests since it really felt like the hydrofoil was going to sink.

Then, suddenly, another island blocked the waves and the sea calmed down. A member of the crew showed thumbs up to the rest of the crew and close the cover. Everybody was so relieved. Just a moment later we arrived in Corfu port and I can tell you that I have never been that happy about getting out of a ship.

It was quite an exciting journey and I'm happy that nothing happened.
-TH