Getting from here to there: a bus leaves Himare at 5 am bound for Shkodra ... a journey that continues along the twisty, winding coastal road that started when we left Ksamil for Himare. Then north through the spectacular Llogara Pass that snakes ever upward from the sea to 1,027 meters.
Shkodra is a quick 2-day stop to find a hostel that will book us a furgon (minivan) to get from Shkodra to the Koman Lake Ferry (a one-and-a-half-hour drive and a 3 hour+ boat trip), then another furgon from Fiere to Valbona (another one-and-a-half-hour drive) and to keep our big backpacks while we journey to hike the Albanian Alps.
We do minimal sight-seeing here. To get our hiking legs going we walk about 12 km to and from our hostel to Shiroka on Lake Shkodra for lunch. It's hot here, in the mid to high 30's. A cafe/bar en route is a welcome stop before getting to the end.
On the way, we pass amongst other sights a pigeon aviary and a mosque beautifully decorated on the outside.
August is the wedding month. There is an interesting custom here where the much-decorated vehicles involved in the wedding drive around town honking their horns, other cars honking back - but in front of the pack is a car with the photographer hanging out of a window or the roof photographing the line of vehicles behind him. We saw it several times.
We book our own accommodation in Valbona and Theth and plan to do the hike on our own, without a guide. We will carry only day packs with enough clothes for four days plus snacks and water for the hike.
The drive starting at 06:30 hours from Shkodra to the ferry is uneventful. The ferry ride on the other hand is spectacular. There are three ferry companies and they leave at different time intervals. Each of the 3 legs of the journey costs 6 Euros, payable to the guy that picks us up at the hostel. The time table for each part of the journey works remarkably smoothly.
There are a lot of different boats here as many people book a tour which involves going from one end of the lake to the other and back again to Shkodra in one day. The ferries really load up the vehicles with a number of them parked on the ramp rather than on the ferry deck.
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| What seems like chaos, in the end, works |
The journey starts at a hydro-electric dam and from there the scenery is jaw-dropping.
It is amazing along this long ferry ride, how many isolated homes there are here on the mountains above the lake. This is such a rugged country. Many must be boat access only.
The end of the journey is rather dramatic.
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| Approaching Ferry Landing |
The ferry drops its ramp onto the dirt bank, then the captain and deck-hands jump out to shovel the bank so the cars can get off without tearing the bottoms out of their vehicles. From the moment the tires hit the ground it's straight up a short steep dirt bank. Some cars need a push from the crew, others send gravel spinning as they get right to the top, while still others need to go to a halfway point and try again from there.
Our furgon is waiting and each of us is dropped at our accommodation. We have a typical (for us) mix-up that sorts itself out with casual Albanian style. I had booked a room in Hotel A that was confirmed. A day later, Hotel A cancelled as they were full. So a room at Hotel B was booked. I had long forgotten this and had the driver take us to Hotel A. Hotel A doesn't seem to expect us but has lots of room! After checking in I realize that we should be at Hotel B (Oh no).
I go down to report this to Hotel A and they say - "Don't worry" (a common phrase here), the owner of Hotel B works here! What? The owner of B says - Don't worry, it's OK. Stay here at Hotel A and I will explain to Hotel B that you will not be checking in. Amazing. Perhaps it's all in the family. Everything here is done by cash. We wonder how anything is tracked, how taxes are paid, etc. In the end, we are charged about 50% less for a better room than what we originally booked online.
This Hotel A is a series of lovely stone, alpine buildings set in the woods. The big bonus is that it's right at the start of the walk to the trailhead.
A 'canal' runs through the property. This portion is used as cold storage. Another portion keeps fish for serving in the restaurant and another portion is used by the maids to fill and empty their cleaning buckets. Hopefully, the water doesn't all run together.
Here's me near the beginning of the hike, thinking OMG ... really? We're going, where? Can I do this?
Here's the story:
Getting solid information on the length of the route gives varying information. The locals say its 23 km. The guesthouse we book at the end is about 4 km beyond the main village of Theth.
The peak is at 1966 meters (6450 feet). After the 12 km walk on the riverbed to the trailhead at Ragam, its pretty much up for two to three hours. The trail is quite narrow in places with straight down and straight up on either side. This is the longest and most challenging hike that either of us have ever done. It's as good a way as any to mark our 65th and 70th milestone birthdays year.
While up is challenging, the way down is even more so. Most of it is quite steep with very loose stones on the path. Every step must be calculated.
In the end, we complete it in 7 1/2 hours which includes a half-hour stop at the cafe/bar closest to the Valbona side and a half-hour stop at the cafe/bar near the Theth side. The average time is 6 hours and some take 9 hours.
Some photos from along the hike:
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| The final approach to the 'V' of the peak |
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| Known as the Alps Thistle, the Silver Thistle or the Mountain Thistle - very pretty |
There are a couple of big tours that have hired guides and horses to pack their luggage. We are surprised that they don't use mules.
In front of us on the trail, a horse missteps and tumbles fifty meters down the mountain stopped by a large stump, luggage flying in every direction. It takes the guides about an hour to get the horse back on its feet and back up to the trail, to gather the luggage and put it back on the horse. Amazingly the horse does not break a bone or lose an eye. His face is a bit cut up. It seems like this is not an appropriate job for horses. Perhaps backpackers need to rethink their strategy and spend extra money for a hostel somewhere to store their luggage.
At the first cafe/bar is a colt that we later see on the trail following mama, obviously a packhorse in training.
At the cafe/bar at the far end of the trail, we meet up with a couple from Belgium that we spent some time with on our furgon ride to the ferry and on the ferry. They announce that at the peak of the pass he dropped down on one knee and proposed to her, giving her a ring. She was surprised, but said YES! So there are drinks and cheers all around.
As we leave the cafe a group of young hikers approaches to say we are their inspiration to keep on hiking. I think that means we look our age!!
When we finally reach our guesthouse at the end of the hike, sitting on the deck, we can see our path through the mountains. From this perspective you can see the valley that we passed through is flanked by two towering peaks. The views on the hike both of wide, gracious valleys and steep, treed ravines were spectacular.
Our guesthouse is a bit of a challenge to find. Google maps doesn't quite have it yet as its new. Built and run by the lovely Rita, widowed mom to little Conrad (4 1/2 years) who keeps us busy playing! This guest house is the perfect place to relax. No WiFi. No TV. No radio. Just stunning scenery and good home cooking. Rita gets lamb and cheese from the local shepherd; vegetables from the garden she and her mom grow together; butter and yogurt from a cow she and her mom own; pork from a local farmer and water here from the springs is so pure it can be used straight from the ground.
Like many people, Rita makes her own raki ... hers from plums. Two barrels are busy bubbling away in her back yard:
The day after our trek we hike up to a cafe/bar that her brother owns which is on the path to a different hike into the alps. The lovely Denisa (Rita's young niece) is in charge of the cafe on her summer break from high school. She is a delight to talk to. We get some photos across the valley to Rita's guest house (aptly named Cold Spring).
On this hike, we pass close to one of the 173,000 bunkers built from the 1960s to the 1980s under the rule of Enver Hoxha. They are everywhere and referred to as the bunkerization of Albania. Never used they were a significant drain on the economy. They averaged 5.7 bunkers for every square kilometre.
We learn that most residents of the area do not stay for the winter. While winters here, like everywhere are getting milder, its still too brutal and the road is not accessible. Most head to Shkodra.
Rita has arranged a truck ride from Cold Spring to Shkodra. It's about 72 km in distance. There are four of us in the truck. The first part of the journey to Boge is an insane gravel road high up through the mountains with potholes big enough to swallow a large dog. From Boge to Shkodra is a paved, narrow, windy road. Our (non-Albanian) driver loves his gas pedal, drives way too close to the far edge of the road that plunges a thousand meters or more down, plays chicken with other vehicles on the road and secretly I think loves to scare the sh*t out of his passengers. It's insane. A passenger asks him to slow down which he does deliberately for about a minute then drives faster than ever. We are all grateful to arrive alive.
Another night in Shkodra then on to Tirana.
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