Hello eveybody! Sometimes you think that you have seen everything..... Sometimes you think that you have "done" everything... But you never know how a trip with a motorcycle is going to end.... So,i answer positive in my friend Christos for a weekend in Albania... In the country of poorness,drugs,and AK-47s...... BUT is Albania like this??? Let see the weekend trip in a neighbor country that have pass a lot of political situations,and i think it still does...!
5 friends 5 motorcycles with a lot fun for a weekend full of new pictures for food in our minds because is hunger for kilometres(or miles)..... Lets see who they are.... Tattoopanther Nikos-X TASOS GS geokall And Zandesiro (me)spooky face...
First day Nea Moudania-Pogradec. Meeting in Malgara toll station... A stop for refueling and heading for the Greek-Albanian borders...! Late on the afternoon we was in the border... First kms(miles) in Albania,the scenery gets more different(hard) than Greece... We staying in a hotel for the night...The program was to stay in a camping outside Pogradec but the owner of the camping site, has a hotel and give us the same price for a room so our bodies relaxing on a bed, for 15 euros the 3 bed room..! Nice!!! After the fantastic cow steaks that the owner of the hotel served us and after some Albanian beers we go outside to see the moon rise above the lake...!
After a very good sleep (i'm talking for me,the other are in a shock because of my snoring) we re ready for a new day! Albanian fashion in the bed... Breakfast bread-butter-marmelade and some pork meat from me....OK!!! Morning wash for the cow!
2nd day Pogradec-Gezavesh-(?????)-Vlore We found a castle near by the city of Tirana (the capital of Albania). -Do you think worth a visit?? -Yes,lets go!! -Whats the road contition?? -We 'll take a secondary asphalt road with a lot of curves and no traffic(as the main road). -Awesome,lets go...!! Have some gas.... You can wash your bike in the road side we seen those hoses allday long! Everything was good so far. Somewere it starts our day-adventure without programming it.....We thought that they make new asphalt road and in a few kilometres (miles) the gravel road stops..... I DONT THINK SO...!
Where are we going??? We make stop to regroup... Thanks god i was in TKC! Somewere here the road disapears!!! And suddenly road construction machines starts to appear on our way:huh....
Awesome place! And then rivers.....Other narrow other wide other deep or just 10 cm of water.... Choose becareful our way in the water everyone has a successful going through..... Nothing changes...Gravel-rocks and mud in our way.... Roads that only 4x4 and 5 lost bikers use... Village square.
And we found a very hard road that make the 3 of 5 to fall off the bikes with 0 kms speed....See the pics... 1 2 3 Because of the contition of the road and the heavy motorcycles we start to tired a lot....Don't forget that we start for an asphalt ride and NOT for gravel-construction-roads..... Where the H...LL is tarmacccccccccc....????? NOWHERE!!!! When we arrive in the top of a mountain we ask a bulldozer operator.... -For tarmac how much kilometers and where???? -The most close is in Fushe-Bulqize. -Kilometers? -30 or 40 i think…. -I was disappointed deep.....We have already 4 hours for 40-50 kilometers done,in this road contition we need 3 more hours to the tarmac.... Full disappointment….. Deep breath … -"OK lets go, who knows maybe we think this in the future and we laugh"!!!. So we start downhill... For good luck those 30 kilometers was nice gravelroad and our speed goes to 50km/h The tarmac appears soon (after 80 kms) and i want to stop to KISS the surface but in our team we have 2 bmw r1200gs that is aircooled so i start to get the superb speed of 80-90 km/h...
We regrouping in a cafe.... An Albanian friend knew Greek language and he don't let us pay nothing..... The gravel route that we have done there isn't on a map or google map,it was a new road.. The route was from point A to point B 5-6 hours for 85km all measured not exactly....
The time has gone the visit in the castle that we start in the morning wasn't anymore in our program.... Think when we arrive to the castle to see 5 muddy guys in fron of you....There was no chance to get in the castle like this mess.. So we start to south for the city of Vlore for the night staying... Tarmac!!! In a few hours we will be there...! BUT don"t be hurry in your mind zandesiro-boy...!!!! The tarmac was in the worst contitions that i 've ever seen in me life...! Holes... Tarmac breakdowns... Huje bumps,fix the tarmac after a hole(i don't remember the word forgive me). Dangerous driving o the albanian cars and trucks.... Max speed 80-90 km/h...:huh Another thing that makes me very sad i s that they let their forests burn they don't have organized fire department they wait fire fighting planes from Greece or Italy to come! Such a same....
BAD road END!!!! The part Milot-Vlore very good, like a european highway and i say like because there is NO road fence,we have seen in this 4 lane highway (2 each direction) cows,donkeys,people,small motorbikes and kids playing hind and seek!!!!We was scared when we see a boy hiding in the concrete between the 2 lanes, our speed 140km/h!! With the green bus i was going school trips when i was 10 years old...Here still in service!! Just married! Stop for refueling...Price 1.20 euros+/-.
Others aircontitioning their legs... Other take a beauty sleep.... Other make yoga to keep the balance...! Arrival late in Vlore and searching for hotel... One more night full of pizzas and albanian beers....
Third day.... Breakfast in our,35 euros the 3bed room, hotel. Not the best we ever have.....2 half toothpics in my and Geokalls plate! The seaside road from Vlore-Sarande… Beautiful scenery...! A beauty that only you can find in balkans.
Be careful live animals on the loose!!! Just married No2... Submarine base! Somewere here we take a swim in the adriatic sea... Big boys playing!! After those crystal sea waters were heading to the Albanian-Greek borders throw a road with a lot of curves and a lot of traffic..."
From the Albanian borders-check.... to the Greek borders "you are Greek"??Yes! GO!!! (no check at all thank you guys!!) Mad for riding... Greece... We take a route througth Konitsa to Nestorio in a place that every year is a river party with thousands of people came in.... There we will meet some friends and have a barbeque... Swim in the river.... The chef on duty... Lets eat!! Until the night comes...
Ε.Τ. go home….! Let me say that the 3 of us stay in Nestorio the other 2 go home....No time available! We make camping in Nestorio(river party place) very beautiful place i recommented for free camping! This in a few lines......
ALBANIA.... A mystery country i can say..... So close but so unknown.... With fresh memories of the close past.... A country that i would like to go again... For the pure images.... And for the nice and warm welcome people.... A big thank you boys tattoopanther,Nikos-x,Tasos gs,Geokall for this adventure weekend... Sorry for my mistakes in english language...