Today was a long one…! Leaving my camping spot high up in the mountains about 8.30 I headed north-east to ride clockwise around the huge tributary lake called the Drin. Most of the way it was a single track tarmac road, and sometimes there were guard rails at the side of the road, and sometimes not – which was actually fun… A few people said to me in the past that the roads are poor on Albania, but to be honest, so far I have found the roads to be pretty good. Better than Edinburgh, to be honest.
Heading clockwise I passed through Fierze, where there is a large Hydro-electric Dam, and it is quite a sight to behold. Then headed for Krume on the SH23. From my camping spot this morning to Krume, the ride was again challenging, hard work but very much fun. Up, down, and with a zillion bends and switchbacks it was a really exhilarating ride.
Between Krume and Kukes there were actually some stretches of two-lane highway, which surprised me. At Kukes I stopped for fuel, a rest, a cold drink and a look at google maps to decide where to go next. As I still want to see more of the country I decided to head south, heading for Peshkopi. At one point I took a wrong turn and ended up at the Kosovo border crossing. As I was there I thought “why not” and got in the queue. The border guard asked if I had insurance and I told him “no” but would like to buy some across the border. He said that was not possible, so I turned around and carried on heading south west into Albania.
After Kukes, the roads went back to a single lane tarmac road, and in some places the road was in poor condition, but in fairness, in some parts they were laying new tarmac. Albania is not a rich country, so I would imagine all things take time, especially roads.
Leaving Kukes and heading south the landscape quickly changed, and instead of mountains I started to ride through green rolling hills, and at one point it reminded me of Cumbria. By the late afternoon I was tired, and after around 6 hours riding, so was my bum, and that’s when I started looking for places to pitch my tent. Yesterday it was mostly wilderness but as you ride south of Kukes the land becomes more arable, so hidey-holes to camp are difficult as most of the land is being farmed.
Just before the village of Shumbat I saw a mosque in the distance and thought that would be a good place to rest up for ten minutes to give my bum a rest, have a drink, look at Google maps and think about my options for the evening. Mosques are always inviting and they really don’t mind if you rest up outside.
Just as I started slowing down for the Mosque I noticed a shop at the side of the road and a sign saying ‘Campsite’. What a stroke of luck, so I hung a left and rolled into a nice small campsite – called Dobra Camping. It’s 10eu a night, the toilets and showers are excellent and there is only space for four tents. There were already a couple from Montenegro and a couple from the Netherlands, so I bagged myself a spot in the shade under a tree with a wonderful view. Bargain…!
I may stay here an extra day to catch up with some video editing, and above all else, just relax, enjoy the peace, and maybe wander into the village and try their cafe. It was a long exhausting day today, riding around 235km which took most of the day due to the nature of the roads. But today has been about pleasure, doing what I love most – which is riding challenging roads and seeing new horizons.
