The same two family tents seen closer, their blue and sand flysheets under the olive canopy

On site

A wash block, a thatch, and shade.

Potam, Himarë — Albania

A campground's fittings are few enough to list honestly, so here they are in full — the sanitary block, the shelter everyone ends up under, and the canopy that covers the rest.

01 — Washing

The wash block at Olive Camping — three basins along a panelled wall under three round-cornered mirrors, the grove visible through the open end

The cubicle block at Olive Camping — full-height WC cubicles with dark-framed doors under a covered walkway

Three basins run along one panelled wall under three round-cornered mirrors, in a block left open to the grove at one end. The WCs are full-height cubicles in a row along a covered walkway, their doors opening onto the yard.

02 — The thatch

One long shelter, lit late.

A palm-thatched roof on rough posts, with plank tables, stools and benches under it and a green shade sail running off one side. It is where the touring bicycles get leaned, where the tables are, and, once the sun is off the water, the brightest thing on the site.

The palm-thatched common area at Olive Camping — plank tables and stools under the thatch, a green shade sail strung to one side, pitched tents and loaded touring bicycles beyond

03 — In full

The wash block
A row of three basins under three round-cornered mirrors, in a panelled block open to the grove at one end.
WC cubicles
Full-height cubicles in a row under a covered walkway, doors opening onto the yard.
The thatched common area
A long palm-thatched shelter with benches, plank tables and a shade sail running off one side. It is lit at dusk, and the servery beneath it is the brightest thing on the site once the sun is down.
Shade over every pitch
Mature olives across the whole ground, with shade sails strung where the canopy thins.

A hand-painted wooden finger-post at Olive Camping reading Camping, It's My, Therapy, under a fringe of dried palm thatch with tents behind

04 — Painted by hand

The signs here were painted on the site: the round board with its olive branch, and the finger-post under the thatch. They are the reason you know you have arrived at the right grove, because there is nothing else out on the road to tell you.