As much as we liked Albania, we were really ready for something a bit easier by the time we left. Our bikes and panniers were filthy from Albanian road grime (AKA poo), we were both run down with colds, we’d seen as much poverty, starving dogs and bad roads as we could mentally cope with and it was getting decidedly chilly.
Our last few days in Albania were really pleasant (despite my whining). We stayed in a great place in Korcë, with warm heating, and an incredibly comfortable bed, and the best breakfast of the trip (which included our first sweet borek – yummo). The perfect cure for our soft western bodies and minds to cope with (and hide from) the challenges that come hand in hand with cycling in Albania.
Korcë itself is another surprisingly lovely Albanian town. It’s a little rough around the edges, but gives the sense that it’s becoming (nicely) modernised, and the traffic is slow and considerate. It also has a really great food market and we stocked up with lots of fresh goodies, including great olives, feta cheese and honey comb. It’s all grown or made by small producers and is incredibly fresh and mainly organic.
The 50 km from Korcë to the Macedonian border was relatively uneventful and passes through farmland. However, like all things in Albania it was never dull, and we passed a huge variety of interesting “vehicles”. These included numerous horse drawn carriages, all kinds of home modified motor bikes (usually with trays or racks added to carry loads), pedestrians and people pushing wheelbarrows (on the highway!). There’s also an astonishing number of roadside stalls selling fruit and vegetables, homemade raki in plastic coke bottles, honeys, pickles and an array of other produce.
The border with Macedonia is on Lake Ohrid, a rather huge body that is one of Europe’s deepest and oldest lakes. It’s surrounded by snow-capped mountains, sits about 800 m above sea level and is really quite a spectacular sight.
We decided we were too soft to camp in the cold (it’s around -7 at night with a maximum of 5 during the day) so booked a room in a small village. After cycling our way to the top of a rather steep hill, we asked some locals for directions. They told us in broken English that owner was to be found in a restaurant two kilometres back at the bottom of the hill. Back we went, only to find that they had neglected to tell us it was down a side road. This meant that we cycled back up, to get better directions, only to go back down again! Aaarrggghhhh! We eventually found the right place, and arranged to meet the owners dad with the key. A third ride up the hill, and we were there. The dad was lovely, and proudly showed us his wine cellar replete with 300 litre kegs of homemade wine. A few tastes, and a carafe to take away, and we settled in to our room with views over the lake.
The next day took us up and over the range beside the lake. The road was almost devoid of cars and provided awesome views over the lake and surrounding mountains. We only cycled 37kms so had the luxury of going slowly, taking in the views and playing in the icy snow at the top. The drop down was, as always, great fun, but had us gasping from the cold, especially in the shade of the mountain. By the time got to the bottom, I’m not sure I could feel my face anymore!
We found a great place to stay in the Lakeside Hotel, which, in its heyday was the place to stay. Apparently it was built during the 1950’s by political prisoners and Tito even had a residence next door. Today it’s faded somewhat, with 70’s decor, worn infrastructure and rooms for 20 euros per night (exactly our sort of place!). The owners spoke perfect English and were only too happy to share stories about the hotel’s past. They had been living in the U.S. for more than 20 years but returned to buy the hotel after the previous company that owned the hotel went bankrupt.
We’re now in Bitola, near the Greek border, and I’m writing this from an old stone guesthouse run by a lovely family who grow all there own food, produce their own wine, and most importantly brew beer! The beer, in particular, is delicious and has been the first craft beer we’ve had in all the Balkans.
From here we will meet Toby (my brother) and have a whole ten days off the bikes for Christmas! We’ve both been dreaming of this for the past few weeks, and are really looking forward to taking a rest and, hopefully, recharging ourselves for the final stint through Greece and Morocco, before we head home.
4ks an hour 