Road Trip

After a night to rest in Shkoder, today was the day we were going to rent a car and begin our road trip through Albania. Transport throughout the country is quite difficult without a car, and renting a car isn't overly expensive. As a result, the three of us could split the car for a week and cost us about 140 euro each. Although there were cheaper options, we had mates who used this company, and we were happy to pay extra to not get stitched up with additional hidden fees. The roads through Albania appeared to be quite hectic from what we had seen, and so we took the safe option and got the automatic as well. This ended up being a hugely important decision as I am unsure i would have been able to drive through the cities in a manual with the craziness that occurs in the streets. Not to mention, the gear stick is on the wrong side of the steering wheel, so it would have been very difficult to adjust to shifting gears with my right hand instead of my left. In retrospect, the worst drive was the first one. Because I was the only one over 25, all the insurance was in my name, and I was supposed to drive the whole way. As such, I drive it out of the rental car place and head toward the highway. But the crazy drivers of the city continue onto the highways where additional lanes are created along the shoulder whenever someone is in a rush, Sheppard's herd sheep long the side of the road, and people sell puppy's through car windows when stuck in traffic. It was comical and stressful all at once, but truly a unique experience. Not to mention, the roads are far worse in the north of the country, so driving in general was just a bit chaotic right off the bat.

Right before we left Shkoder, we encouraged Erin to go to the hospital and get her cough checked out. It had been 2 weeks of endless coughing, and so she abliged. While she did that, Lewis and I watched some boxing. Diaz vs. Paul. It was basically an exhibition match, but I watched it anyway. After this, we picked up Erin from the hospital and learned about her pneumonia. She had antibiotics to treat it, but it meant she would not be able to drink for almost the rest of the time we had together. Either way, she was very keen to get rid of her sickness.

Nonetheless, we eventually arrived at the first location, Durres. Although we stayed here mostly as a stopover, the main esplanade was really cool and quite lively. Lewis and I wandered through here while Erin remained at home, getting over her pneumonia, which we were still unaware she had. We bought some groceries and headed home to cook up a feed and go to bed. A classic backpackers dinner of frozen veggies, sauce, and pasta was enough to sustain us.Read more