Spile · Himarë · Albania

On the beach

Spile is the seafront quarter of Himarë: the town stacked up behind, a pedestrian front, and pebbles and sand down to the water. Obelix takes a stretch of it — canvas umbrellas on poles, a bamboo screen against the promenade, and tables set straight onto the gravel.

Every frame below is captioned with what is actually in it. The last two are of the beach itself rather than of the tables, and say so.

Wooden chairs and dark tables standing on beach gravel under grey canvas umbrellas, with pines, moored boats and flat turquoise water beyond — The tables, standing on the beach, under the canopy

A burger in a glazed bun on a dark green plate over green leaf lettuce, a serrated steak knife pushed through the top — A burger, on a plate, knife in

Four quarters of a toasted club sandwich stood on end around a pile of thick-cut chips on a black rectangular plate — A toasted club sandwich and chips

The sun touching a flat sea horizon off Spile beach, an orange band across the sky and a wet shingle foreshore in shadow — The sun going down off Spile · the setting, not the venue

Himarë bay under a clear sky, a catamaran lying offshore, a pine-covered headland, and small boats on a pontoon beside the stone quay at the west end of Spile — The bay and the boat moorings at the west end of Spile · the setting, not the venue

What is not here

No dining room, no sea-view balcony, no rooms upstairs. Obelix is a canopy, a grill, the taps and a run of tables on the beach — which is the entire proposition, and the reason to come at six rather than at one.

Getting there