Category: Uncategorized
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17. Montenegro: Sukobin to Perast
Bye bye to Albania and another fast border crossing into Montenegro at Sukobin south of lake Skadar (a shared booth for passport control, superslick). Alma in the lovely hostel in Albania had recommended going to Stari Bar, so after a bit of umming and ahhing we decide not to follow the lake road but head…
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16. Of clothing and a brief interlude on undercarriage care – for the female cycle touring enthusiasts only
Writing this from our midpoint in Montenegro on a rainy rest day high up a hill with washing strewn around us seems like a good time to take stock of what we’ve brought with us. I asked Jon over our lunch of chips shopska salad and bean stew: what would you do differently in terms…
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15. Nerd Alert #2: Albania and North Macedonia in figures
All col names our made up names or nearest settlement names! D10. 48km to Farma Sotira, Col de Leskovik 1020m D11. 71km to Korçë. Col de Barmash 1020m, Col de New Road 1175m D12. 82km to Ohrid. D13. Rest day D14. 86km to Sveti Jovan Bigorski D15. 46km to Peshkopi. Snow. D16. 74km to Kukes,…
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14. Albania #2: Peshkopi to Shkroder
After a COLD start in the snow in Macedonia, we cross the border after Debar – another fast ‘n friendly crossing with us now feeling like old Albanian hands with our greetings down to pat. Neither of us really sure anyone understands us but our merriness is seeming to rub off. We leave the border…
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13. North Macedonia
A straight forward border crossing along the shores of Lake Ohrid from Albania into Macedonia. Immediately more trees (many of them on the Albanian side were cut down after several people hid in the woods to flee during the Hoxha regime, so tells us Kapka Kassabova, though all of Albania feels more treeless – Jon…
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12. Albania #1: Tre Urat to Pogradec
We cross into Albania at the Tre Urat (Three Bridges) border crossing. Both the Greek and the Albanian immigration and customs officials are incredibly friendly. One of them teaches us some basic Albanian while we wait for our passports to be stamped. Then we pedal off and duly cross one of the Tre bridges. We…
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11. Nerd Alert – Northern Greece cycling in figures (this is for you, Steve!)
All distances from Jon’s bike computer All height gains from Jon painstakingly counting contour lines. 97km before hitting Greece (Newcastle, Amsterdam, Ancona) D1 4km in Igoumenitsa D2 55km to Parga D3 72km to Preveza D4 73km to Alepohori D5 49km (1600m ascent) to Manteio – v steep D6 50km to Ioannina D7 43km to Koukouli…
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10. Greece: Koukouli to the border with Albania
Two days of good old Alpine climbs and we leave lovely Northern Greece behind. A day of remote up and down contouring in wild and beautiful mountain land – jagged snowy peaks not what I expected at all. The Bear Poo on the road turns out to be Cow Pat. Wild flowers and stubby oaks…
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9. Greece: Ioannina to Koukouli
We leave Ioannina along the water edge. Jon likes the bus station we cycle past. It was a crazyplace. We escape the hail under a green grocer’s awning and then it’s into flattish land and onto byways between fields until crunch decision time in Karies. Do we go for the sights of Gjirokaster in Albania…
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8. Greece: Manteio to Ioannina
We wake up in our hotel (where last night a steady stream of well-healed Greek youths – well, under 40s…. – came up to have a drink) to beautiful but cold dawn. The owner makes us Greek coffee (delicious, better with sugar in it) and tells us in greek-german about his family (14 yr old…
Tour de (Western) Balkans 2023 