Everyone had already told me how beautiful, cool and affordable the Balkan countries were. So this trip didn’t come as a surprise. I planned it with excitement, wanting to see for myself everything I had heard.

I arrived at the airport in Budva, Montenegro, where the sea has a shade of blue so intense it almost hurts. The rocks, the smell of salt, the sunsets that seem to stay a little longer just for you… everything there feels soft, Mediterranean and full of light. People are effortlessly kind, the food is delicious, and there was one detail that made me love it even more. In the Balkans you can find several dishes made with rice, something that feels like a familiar embrace for a Latina, so I adored it.

I also passed through Podgorica, a city surrounded by the Morača and Ribnica rivers, very close to Lake Skadar, the mountains and the impressive Morača Canyon. Although it is not a particularly touristic city, being the capital it has become a strategic point to explore the rest of the country, also because the main railway network is concentrated there.

From Podgorica I took a bus to Prizren, a six hour journey that, although long, turned out to be wonderful. Prizren is tucked between mountains, and to reach it you must cross the Accursed Mountains, also known as Montañas Malditas, Prokletije or Bjeshkët e Nemuna. They are part of the Dinaric Alps. The name sounds harsh, but the landscape is pure beauty. Towering rock walls, deep valleys and forests that open like a whisper. Being immersed there feels surreal, as if the scenery had been taken from a movie.

Prizren is known as Little Turkey because of its mosques, its everyday spirituality and the cultural blend that feels alive on every corner. The city is surrounded by mountains, and that landscape makes me feel whole. Everything there is warm. The people, their smiles, their conversations and those simple gestures that stay with you. It is a small place, but full of soul. Something I found fascinating is that even though Kosovo has its own flag now, many people still identify deeply with the Albanian flag and adopt it as part of their identity.

After that I continued to Shkodër, where Albania shares a beautiful lake with Montenegro. The landscape feels enchanted, filled with floating aquatic plants, especially water lilies from the Nymphaea genus and the yellow blooms of Nuphar. They are stunning, but we didn’t pay too much attention and jumped into the lake without thinking twice. Swimming there was incredible. The fresh water, the mountains around me, the sun on my skin. A perfect moment I can still feel when I close my eyes.

Later I arrived in Tirana, the capital. Walking through the city surprised me. It has the energy of a place that breathes, with people who walk fast but smile easily, colors on every corner, a beautiful kind of chaos and spontaneous conversations that appear without being searched for. In Albania I felt a little like I was in Latin America, wrapped in that vibrant energy that captivated me from the very first moment.

I end this journey with the feeling that the Balkans have a special kind of soul. They are places that are not only visited but felt. And when you leave, they leave a soft light inside you, like a quiet invitation to return.