The hilltop coastal camp spot we had found at the end of the last episode provided a good mix of Albania. Communist ruins, and beautiful clear water. We woke to a perfect day with the sun glistening off the crystal waters, fisherman in small boats were casting their nets, and a herd of noisy goats scrabbled up the crest in front of us and off into the shrub. While making our morning coffee a local shepherd moving his flock stops by to say hello. He couldn’t speak any English though a friendly smile was enough of a welcome gesture. Very intrigued by the Troopy we gave him a little tour, and in return he offered a ride on his donkey. We’ve found it interesting in countries where shepherds are still widely used that they usually always insist we go for a ride on their horses, or donkey in this case, as if it’s something they’re very proud of. Not wanting to offend Jolie jumped on, still in her PJs, for a little guided ride. Google translate is indispensable in situations like this where communication would otherwise be limited to hand gestures. Thankfully with technology we were able to have a basic conversation and learn a bit about the 62yr old shepherd, his family, how his kids had left home to study, how he moves his flock each day, and a bit of history about the various artillery ruins surrounding the camp spot. After a coffee and some biscuits, some for donkey too, he seemed to blissfully forget about his flock as they meandered off into the bush. 45 minutes went by before he trotted off, rounding up his sheep and headed off down the track. We packed down the Troopy, crawled back up the rutted track in, and headed inland again towards the mountains of the North.
As we near the town of Shkoda we notice a noise coming from the rear of the Troopy, an unfortunately familiar noise. A quick search of mechanics on iOverlander shows a mechanic conveniently nearby so we put it in the GPS and make a beeline. During our travels through Asia we’ve loved the ability to not only have access to extremely cost effective mechanics though also be to be able to arrive and start work almost immediately. We’re not sure if this is because they feel obliged because we’re Westerners, or they actually charge us more than normal (still incredibly cheap), or that’s just how they operate. Regardless of what it is, it’s a huge benefit for us from a time perspective. This mechanic was no different, and minutes after arriving they had the rear wheels off confirming our suspicion that the brake pads had gone again. This big fat overweight Troopy needs a diet as it has chewed down a few brake pads over the years! Although the ability to get into these mechanics is convenient it would be in vein if we didn’t carry the right spares. We luckily caught this at the right time too as it had caused a minor score on the disc. Not a problem though, they whisked the disk off to a machine shop and had it back machined and smooth about half an our later. The friendly guys who run the shop gave the underside a quick once over while they waited for the disc to return, greasing everything as they went. With everything back together the day was late and we weren’t going to reach our planned destination. Adjacent the city is a huge lake which also makes up the border with Montenegro. Using our Google Maps technique we found a few potential camp spots by the lake to the north which looked promising. As we drove out of the city in the warm autumn afternoon light towards the lake we were surprised at how many people were cycling, with almost as many people on bikes in some parts as there was vehicles. Maybe this is a carry over tradition from communist days, the demographic, or simply enjoy being healthy, either way with most people casually riding in pairs it set a relaxing tone to the afternoon.
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21 июл 2022
