Do you see what I see?

 Here is the story of our viewings of the great conjunction of 2020. 

On Dec. 21, we hauled ourselves and two of Val's friends down to the artificial lake of Tirana, figuring the dam would be the best viewing point for that part of the sky. Terry has been taking evening walks around the lake for exercise and has been tracking Jupiter and Saturn in their twilight arcs.

Alas, a screen of clouds obscured our view of the celestial marvel that night. We hung out there by the dam for a good hour, but didn't get a break. We saw one twinkling light near the horizon that we thought *could* have been the conjunction, or not, but it was too dim to tell where the hilltops were across the lake there. 

Tuesday was a pretty evening, but also still cloudy. Made for a nice sunset, though!

Last night we finally had our chance! As the sun was doing down, I saw how clear the sky was and called the kids to get their shoes on - we didn't have time to get all the way to the lake, but we could walk down to the central plaza (Sheshi Skenderbeg), the most open area nearby, to see what we could see. 

And there it was! We could spot it without difficulty and unbelievably it even shows up in my phone's camera, just over the big Orthodox church near the center. 

Welp, that was it. So we went into the big bookstore there to pick up a World War II history book that Val was interested in, and then headed to home. 

But, as we were leaving the plaza, I saw two men hauling in a big old telescope! I was sure they were going to set it up to see the conjunction, so we turned around and followed them. Quicker than you could say "Bethlehem," they had it set up and pointed at the planetary marvel. We were the first in line to see it (and toss a few coins into their collection box). We could see both planets and a few of the moons, not very clearly, but distinctly enough. I think there was some cloud haze at that point. Then they turned it around to look at the moon, which was incredibly clear and beautiful. 

So we got to see the great conjunction of 2020.

Here's hoping for some 2020 vision going into the new year. 

Ancient Apollonia

Last Saturday we had the pleasure of visiting the site of an  ancient Greek settlement some way down the coast, near the city of Fier. Apollonia was established over 2,000 years ago and within a few generations had developed its own distinct identity as a small city-state, neither Greek nor Illyrian. At its height, the population was around 40,000 people. 

The archaeological ruins have only been 6% excavated and explored. What is visible is this partially restored temple, an amphitheater, and the foundations of several homes where families (counting enslaved people) averaging around 30 members lived. 

The major river that was this city's main access highway and irrigation source for the lush farmlands all around was diverted by a major earthquake (I forget when), after which the city declined. 

In the 13th century, an Orthodox monastery was built on the ruins of the city, and it still stands today. We briefly saw a priest in his black robe standing under a tree as we came up the hill. 

It was very dark inside, but we were able to see ancient frescos, stone carvings, and a beautiful floor mosaic that has been partially uncovered.

The layers of history run deep here. 

One of the most fun parts of the excursion was the company of two other families, whose sons are classmates and good friends of Gabriel. The boys were so happy to spend time together on a Saturday! 

After the visit to the archaeological site, we all went out for an amazing fish and frog leg dinner at a nearby restaurant. It was a bit of a drive to get there, but so worth it - a place I'd been wanting to see for a long time! 

 

Tree is up

These are not the clearest photos in the world, but we had fun setting up the tree yesterday and hanging ornaments. This one detail really makes it feel like we've vaulted into the Christmas season. 

The kids have been buying and wrapping gifts for an "angel tree" activity at school where donations go to a local organization, Tek Ura, that does really great work here with marginalized communites. 

I set up a bunch of candles in our fireplace, makes a nice little grotto. The light colored stones in the middle are a fossil of some kind of mollusc that I found on one of our hikes.

And we made ginger cookies with sprinkles! Terry and Val ground up whole cloves for the spice mix. Yum!