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https://www.strava.com/activities/9311975726

Today's ride was much nicer than yesterday's with a very quiet and rural road. There was some nice views at some points too. I left Fier early around 0630 and as it was very rural there was nowhere to stop for the first 25km. Given the total ride was only 40km I was well on my way by 0900.

I hit a junction outside a wee town and spotted a roadside cafe. It looked a bit rough but I was getting hungry - breakfast had been 2 yoghurts almost 3 hours earlier. I had a banana and a croissant from yesterday so I thought I'd grab a coffee and a coke and eat my food. Taking your own food into cafes is quite acceptable here.

When I got to the counter the lady was bagging a soft read filled with meat, salad and chips. Basically Souvlaki! It looked so good I ordered one. I was taking a risk as this cafe was not particularly clean.

A few minutes it appeared and I inhaled it. It was lovely and very especially after all the pizza I had been eating in Albania (pizza is not a favourite).

Then m t was back on the bike hoping that the kebab was safe to eat. Thankfully it was and there was no after effects.

The heat was building and I was really sweating, literally running, not dripping, off my forehead and nose. I only had 20km so decided I'd stop after 10km and have a break and rehydrate. I found a quiet cafe and ordered a coke and coffee. I am switching to espresso because fresh milks seems to be in short supply here. Albanian espresso is STRONG but tastes great..

Then another 10km or so and I stopped at what I thought was a cafe but turned out to be a grocery shop with seats and tables. No coffee but plenty of cold drinks. I bought a Fanta and looked for a seat. I ended up sitting with 2 locals who were sipping at large shots of Grappa. We tried chatting and with lots of gestures and Google maps I was able to explain who I was and what I was doing. As usual there was a lot of shaking of heads and rolling of eyes.

This would have been around 1030 and they were already finishing their first, maybe second, Grappa. At the other table 4 guys were drinking beers. I've noticed that in all the Adriatic countries alcohol consumption mid-morningnis quite common. I've seen wine being drunk as early as 0830.

The last few km into Vlores were not really that memorable however I did nite that Vlores appeared to be more upmarket than Durres the last seaside resort I stayed in. That was reassuring because I was stopping for two nights in order to get a washing done and prepare for the mountains.

Once in my accommodation, which turned out to be a large one bedroom apartment, I had the opportunity washing machine running and I was showering. I then started to look more closely and the next few days of riding. From my balcony I could see the mountain range I knew I had to cross to get south towards Greece.

The first day in the mountains had to be at least 45km to be able to find suitable accomodation. This involved 1300m of climbing. This would be the longest/highest of the tour. If I could extended the ride to my "usual" 80km then the climbing would be 1700m.

For 3 days after this 1700m there would be 600-800m each day.

None of this was filling me with joy. I then changed checked the weather forecast. It is due to get hotter and the first day in the mountains was showing 26° by 0900. The temperature was peaking at 29° and the next few days were set to continue in a similar vein.

I wasn't happy with this so I started to look at what other options existed. Vlores has a Trainline however from Fier to Vlores is freight only. Even then it doesn't look like it would be easy to get to Greece by train. Then I stumbled across a Greek website showing a bus service from Albania into Greece, as far as Athens. It wasn't that clear what the routes are so I searched are und for their contact details. One page gave a WhatsApp number so before going to sleep I sent a message asking if there was a bus from Vlores to Patras and if I could take a bike.