Albania – Following the Ottoman trail

Thanks for the picture & information

Louis

Cool ride report and great pictures, the balkans is on my list of places to ride

Day 6 - Kukes to Djakovica (Kosovo)

Our planned route was to ride out of Kukes, taking a gravel road following the lake, turning left just before the border



View looking aback at Kukes





Berin & myself enjoying a great track



The closer we got to the border we came across bunkers and watch-towers





Here you can see Kosovo in the background



The track is still looking well used



But as we carried on it started to look less well used



Went to recci the track, you can tell by my look in this picture that it was not good news



The track ended in steps up to someone’s home :eek1



A quick check of the map confirmed that we would need to retrace our steps



This was the route we ended up riding, to me checking out tracks that may or may not work out is all part of the fun



The local security were keeping a close eye on us



This beast was seriously checking out the HP2 :huh



We enjoyed the track in the opposite direction



Just as Nicky stopped to take this picture, a chap came along speaking good English and said he saw us ride by and knew we’d be returning and that they didn’t see many bikes that way



It was a busy track, but not with the kind of traffic we’re used to





We were back on the main road, a mixture of good graded gravel and tarmac. We pulled into a petrol station and were talking about getting food and were greeted by a ‘Cockney’ Albanian, living in London back home to visit his family



This was the feast he arranged for us, this was a real luxury for us as it had been bread & Laughing Cow most days, as it had been so remote.



We passed a disused factory, I commented that if we got stuck we could always spend the night here, but Jane told us this was the kind of place the zombies hang out at :huh



Again, as we got close to the border there were more signs of defence.



The Kosovo border has to be the friendliest border crossing we’ve ever experienced







I had way-marked the hotel Carshia Jupave , it was good that the borderguards & police had also recommended this, I think it was a mixture of GPS freezing, user error & road works that resulted in us taking an indirect route to the hotel



A few heads were turned when we ended up having to ride down this cobbled alley to the underground parking





We went for a wander before dinner



We saw the usual sights you’d expect from a town with a history





But we couldn’t work out if this was the ‘in-place’ to buy wedding attire …





Being in the building trade, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen electrical work like this :eek1



Louis

I thought that was Martin's GPS wiring?

Keep it coming, still waiting on more video's from Jane though......

Thank you, ver good RR, keep them coming

Terrific report and pics!!, Cheers from Paraguay!

Day 7 - Djakovica (Kosovo) to Valbone (Albania)

We would have liked to explore Kosovo more as we had only just popped in for the night and heading back to Albania. I’m sure we’ll be back to see more of Kosovo on another trip.

We could have headed to Kasaj where we were going to cross into Albania on a perfectly good tarmac road but where’s the fun it that! So we found an old unpaved road/track that brought us right out by the border crossing.

But we did get feet!



Martin seeing if the were any fish in his boots



We crossed back into Albania with no problems and headed to do a loop in the hills before heading to Fierze to check out the ferry





More signs that we will close to the border again



The track became less used. As it was only a loop we were doing it wasn't a problem to ride the track back to the road and ride down the Fierze.





As we rounded a corner on the track we came across a group of men mining chromium it was a very small mine ( sorry no pictures they weren’t happy about pictures being taken I think Jane may have some video footage) They told us the track ended in about 1k because of a land slide, not sure if this was the truth, but we turned round as they were very insistent that they didn’t want us to carry on but you know how it is when there’s no common language things can get a bit confusing.

This picture is for anyone who’s seen the film “Taken”, don’t always believe Hollywood as we found only friendly people!!!



We wanted to head to Valbone for the night but first we wanted to check out the Fierze to Komani ferry as it was a option for the next days route.

This was the ferry in use before the road was built it, was the fastest way to travel North



We had heard the ferry they were using now was on the small size so we agreed to think about it and weigh up the options that night



We rode up a main tarmac road to Bajram Curri before heading to Valbone on a mix of graded gravel and new tarmac





We stopped for a late lunch on the side of the road with great views.



Then followed the road up the mountain to find somewhere to stay for the night









The first place we stopped at had no room as this was a popular area for trekking and climbing we carried on almost to the end of the road and spotted a sign for a hotel along a gravel track.

This is the great hotel we found



Bikes parked out on the patio



We showered, changed and met at the bar for a drink ,the hotel owner became very excited and called us outside, the sun was setting and was lighting the mountain, a truly amazing sight





This was the coldest we had been all trip so we were really glad of the fire and the extra blankets they brought us.



We had a great meal snuggled next to the fire.



This was todays route

Keep it coming Louis! I'm planning time for video editing over Xmas, when I finally have a life outside work!!

hohohoh guys you really impressed me, i'm an Albanian and i never drove over that really "hard" off roads ! for sure you have been in "thethi" village ? next time that somebody will visit Albania please let me know to present to you our beautiful country !!

here are some photos of "Thethi" place :

Cool I know its going to take a lot of time & skilful editing to make me look like a "Riding God" so more than happy to wait

Hi

Yep the Thethi village area is great you do have a beautiful country would be good to meet up next time we are down that way

On the way to Thethi (more pictures to come later in the report)



Cheers

Louis

Way to go! This is why the Balkans are so bautyful.
Koen

We want more

Been through Albania twice, I have mixed feelings about the place, first it's one of the most beautiful place I've been, on the other hand it is probably also one of the places where I've seen the most rubbish at the side of the roads, or next to rivers, hummmmm

It's also the only place in Europe where kids have thrown rocks after me....

Still some of the views I've seen are stunning....

Casper

(subscribed)

Sorry for the delay hoping to get some time this week

Yep I know what you're saying but most of Europe has to many rules about riding your motor bike on unsealed roads

Never had this in Albania but did stop and hand out our stickers to the kids we meet but had this a lot in Morocco


Louis

Oh this is going to be good!
Subscribed, .

PS. Keep up the tracks and maps' details - my inner geek loves that!!

Day 8 Valbone to Shkodra (Albania)

After a great breakfast I put on my "Gucci waterproof socks" as my boots were still wet!



It was a sunny start but still very cold



It was time to retrace our route back down to Fierze (where the ferry docked)



But first we wanted to ride to the end of the road which was only about 1 mile up the road



We had decided over dinner the night before not to take the ferry, although we were sure it would be very scenic we had come to ride the trails. This is where we left the main track and headed to the mountains.



It was a good route over the mountain but the track was tricky in places as it looked like it had been damaged by water over the winter so no pictures as it was easier to keep going



The view back to where we had come from this morning you can see the whiter looking mountain in the picture





The track now turned into a good graded gravel track with a lay-by for a lunch stop





On the edge of Shkodra we stopped for a drink at a cafe and a quick check of Nicky's guide book, a phone call form Jane, a kind waiter meeting us on his bike and we were booked into Hotel Tradita G&T



After a long day its great to chill out with a beer or coke!



This turned out to be a lucky find were the made us feel very welcome















The food was also very good





Martin's hard training of drinking the local spirit came to good use tonight as he was challenged to drink an Albanian man's drink



And it was a proper measure





This days route



Now would seem a good time to say that we stayed in some great hotels, enjoyed some lovely food & spirits. We run a kitty while we're away and this always works well, this included the expenses of transported the van to Venice, flights, ferries, hotels, food, fuel (just about everything from door to door)for 18 days riding and it came in at just over £1,500 per person, which I think is a bargain, for the amount of fun we had!

Louis

Bad knees and/or just knee protection? Reason I ask is; I have a couple of marginal joints and have considered those? Great report, Thanks!

Does sound good on that budget

This is a fantastic RR. Thanks guys 'n' gals.

Awesome pics and report, thanks!