Shkoder

After what felt like an eternity, I finally managed to leave Montenegro. I'd originally planned to spend about a week there. Seventeen days later, I was still there. I had seriously considered skipping Albania altogether, but pretty much everyone I'd spoken to treated that idea as sacrilege. Apparently, there was no way I could travel through the Balkans and leave Albania off the list. So, Albania it was. This does mean I'll have to cut some time from other parts of the trip, most likely the French Riviera. Given that Albania is cheaper, less crowded and has beaches that are supposedly just as good, I figured I could rush through the south of France without feeling too hard done by.

I headed straight from the Pirate Hostel to Shkodër via a transfer organised by the hostel. It was little more than a van, but it did the job, and within an hour we had arrived. Shkodër is a cute little town sitting near a lake, and my main plan was to spend most of the day relaxing while waiting for Lewis and Erin to arrive. The three of us were planning to tackle the famous hike through the valley from Valbona to Theth. I dropped my stuff at the hostel and headed out to explore the streets of Shkodër and get my first taste of Albania. I bumped into a couple of the other people from the Pirate Hostel who had been on the same transfer, so we grabbed a beer together before continuing to wander around.

Shkodër has a really nice atmosphere. There were people selling all sorts of little items and knick-knacks along the streets, most of them clearly aimed at tourists. There were some pretty cool Albanian souvenirs, and I was tempted to buy a few, although the quality didn't exactly scream "this will last a lifetime". Like much of the Balkans, there was something about the town that made it feel much smaller than it actually was. Everyone seemed to know everyone, people looked out for each other, and there was a relaxed atmosphere that made wandering around incredibly enjoyable.

Then I saw perhaps the most Balkan thing I could imagine. A man was being pulled over by the police while driving around with a monkey sitting on his wing mirror. It's worth mentioning that pretty much every other road rule appeared to be optional in Albania, so this was already a strange reason to be pulled over. I couldn't understand what was being said, but from what I could tell, the police officer wasn't particularly interested in the traffic violation, he just wanted to meet the monkey and give it a pat.

After continuing to wander around, I grabbed some food from the main strip before heading back to the hostel. I had a big hike coming up, Lewis and Erin were arriving soon, and I figured a good night's sleep was probably the best way to prepare. After 17 days in Montenegro, I was finally ready to see what Albania had to offer.Read more