Relaxing

The coast is nice, but not a lot of thought went into landscaping, it was hotels upon hotels upon hotels, with lines of sun-beds in front of them and a lot of construction going on. The place I stayed was really reasonable in price, however, the breakfast was a bit spartan. I woke up early and started my day with a plunge in the sea, I envy everyone living next to the coast. I found out that a ferry would be leaving at 11 pm at night for Bari, on the Italian "boot". I was a bit upset for not having checked this the night before, as I could have left even the previous evening. but then I watched a good soccer game. .

Durres itself has lots of Roman ruins, an amphitheater, bunch of columns, and Byzantine walls. The amphitheater is one of the largest in the Balkan area, it was pretty impressive. Crazy, how large the Roman Empire was, if I think back that they had but horses to get around...and probably no bikes...just imaging managing all of this.

At the port, I bought the ticket for the crossing.

I found a nice beach with a restaurant and had a peaceful afternoon, swimming and sleeping, then having a ntce dinner looking into the afternoon sun. Not a bad life, after all...but I doubt I could do this (i.e. doing nothing) longer than a day or two. So a couple of hours left till the ferry and then it's Italy, scheduled arrival time is 7 am. Again, I regret leaving Albania and I do want to return one of these days on a mountain bike...my road bike was a lost cause here (Note: I have been very close, like 1 km from the border in 2022, but my bike broke down...)

OK, time for some wise(-ass) thoughts: when on a bike trip, time gets really precious. It's not enough to pack thing together, dress up and get ready, you have to ride (OK, safe for downhills). No riding, no progress, obvious as it seems. Taking a detour to see a castle on a hill (like Kruje) means like half a day, suddenly, it's late in the evening. Chatting with someone for half an hour is half an hour gone. The sun sets here rather early, we are not only south, but also east, in the same time-zone as Paris, means it gets dark around half past eight. Of course, one can ride through the night, which I did a few times, but all I am saying is that you gotta time things wisely, otherwise you're getting nowhere... ...and I guess a day like today, visiting a town and crashing at a beach, cannot hurt all that much, or can it? Well, we will see, I only have a few days left, the clock is definitely ticking. Oh well...

I rode to the port and there was a navy ship anchored there - and it was allowed to visit it, so I did.

For whatever reason, all ferries leave the country at 11 pm, there are multiple vessels lined up to take the onslaught of the people...and an onslaught it is...One has to pass through customs and passport control and the "queue" is like they were handing out free money...there were hundreds of people shoving, pushing; coming from all directions, the police often had to scream at the people and push them back. And of course, I was standing in the midst of this crowd, with my bike loaded with the bags, in the meantime, mosquitoes were having a feast at my feet. The border police looked suspiciously at my Hungarian passport and I could only find a stupid answer to their question: "Why did you come here?". It was a real relief to be on the ship, I paid 4 Euros surcharge for a cabin of my own, with shower and toilette, it was a really good deal. The ship departed with over an hour delay and finally we were sailing towards Italy.

So,, my summary of Albania, back in 2012...As you have read, the poor roads got to me, other than that, it surely is an interesting place. It is not a rich country, there is a lot of poverty, but also some great highlights: for example, the people are really entrepreneurial, every mile of the road has a little grocery shop, sometimes even two next to each other - which can be great when you get thirsty. The prices are more than reasonable, all the stores have ice-cold 1,5l bottles water, sold for some 30 cents. The people are really friendly, sometimes a bit too friendly, all of them trying to wave, whistle or shout at you when passing by, some kids try to outrun you (they succeeded when I was pushing uphill). The restaurants serve great food, for under 10 Euros, I had a feast fit for kings, with wine, water, salad and a large main course of a steak. This is hardly beatable...I have yet to discover the rest of the country, from friends I heard that especially the south part is beautiful...I feel like packing and going - why not?

See you soon, Albania!