Capricious weather

After a few days of cloudy and rainy weather, today the sun is shining again in Tirana and we have 80F degrees at noon.


Temperature and weather changes happen very quickly here due to the topography of the city, with the Adriatic sea just a few miles away and the Dajti mountain chain surrounding its rear. The clouds swiftly fly by and the sun plays peek a boo, on and off among them, when the weather is not completely clear, but, interestingly, there is not much wind all the time, as it’s always the case in New York. Sunny days are always very hot by midday, when the sun beats down unmercifully (and it seems so much closer than in the US!).

It would be interesting to study the differences in barometric pressures between Tirana and NY. Physically I feel much better in the former, where I don’t experience the osteo-arthritic pains that plague me instead in NY! Dealing with the smog, heavy dust, and visible pollen from the trees lining all the boulevards is another story.

In Tirana evenings, however, are usually very pleasant and a light jacket is needed, even though the midday temperature may have been high. I have been here for several years now during both late spring and falls, and I’ve always slept with 2 woolen blankets at night!

This morning I had to run an errand and found myself sweating profusely by 10:30am, but for my sleep in the cool bedroom heavy covers are always present!

BTW, today I finally managed to get a decent picture of the Skanderbeg statue in the middle of the large square bearing its name, which is a maze of, and never ending pedestrian and vehicular traffic. It's such a challenge to criss cross it either by foot or in car!