Maiden Voyage

Gjirokaster to Ioannina

Distance: 96 km
Elapsed Time: 6 hrs 18 min
Average Speed: 17 km/ hr
Max speed: 49 km/hr
Temp: high 37 C
Weather: Hot! Serious summmer heat, slight breeze

After a frantic day of goodbyes and tying up loose ends, bike assembling, and packing, Chris and I finally crash for 2 hours of sleep, then rose again for our long awaited departure out of Gjirokaster and Shqiperia altogether. Ryan (new pcv) and Fatos, our landlord, walked with us to the old pazar where we took some final photos and then to Cercis Topolli square where we would start. Kristina, our friend who is a journalist, even came to do a quick interview. As the sun rose over the Drino Valley Chris and I set off toward the border, teetering slightly with our bags.

Now, I'll be the first to admit we haven't followed the advice of our experienced biking friends and online blogs. Not because we didn't want to, some things just didn't work out the way we would have preferred. But heck we got bikes and bags and a tent so we will prevail!

The first 30 km out of town were flat, which should have been relatively comfortable had I not been lugging 40+ kilos of pannier weight with my breaks not locked slightly shut. (shume keq! I am suddenly regretting carrying extra bottles of sunscreen and camping food!)

After the border the hills began. Greece has a lot of newly paved highways, and through most areas we were able to stop and pick blackberries (yeah!)-- which was great because we need all the calories we can get. A lot of the hills we walked up, avash-avash being our motto, but loved flying down the other side and reaching speeds up to 49 km/hr. The midsummer afternoon heat was brutal so we stopped at a shady patch of grass and took a nap. Like Albania, Greece has an abundance of fresh water springs, so we stopped many times to fill our bottles and do our best to avoid heat stroke

Eventually, 12+ after our departure, we entered Ioannina, stopped in a sandwich shop to wash up and change clothes, and headed to the lake for a dinner picnic. I forgot what a nightlife they have here! Families and friends came out en mass after sunset to fill up the many water-side mega cafes with music and laughter. We popped our tent just outside the sound and crashed. Day one: success! Challenging is an understatement, but if shlepping a boat up and down 96 km of hills with this heat didn't kill us I'm pretty sure we can handle anything!