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Malta via The BalkansMalta via The Balkans
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Malta via The Balkans

May - July 2019
This is my first solo motorcycle adventure.
My aim is to ride to Malta via Croatia Montenegro Albania Corfu Italy etc.
I have no fixed timetable other than to meet Mandy in Dubrovnik. Read more
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  • 36footprints
  • 12countries
  • 53days
  • 297photos
  • 0videos
  • 3.4kmiles
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  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    Day 11

    Split

    May 22, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The ride from Zadar to Split was better than expected with no rain and on beautiful roads following the coastline most of the way. Dark clouds covered the mountains to my left so if I had taken the motorway I suspect I would have had another soaking.
    The old town of Split is lovely although very touristy. I had time to have a good walk around before the hour of heavy rain arrived at about 5pm.
    My accommodation is supposed to be a homestay where you stay with a family but I'm the only one here so I have a fully equipped four bedroom apartment all to myself. It's a bit run down but it's right in the centre of the old town with safe parking for the bike.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    Day 12

    Split to Dubrovnik

    May 23, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Dubrovnik can have its own footprint as I'm going to be here a few days with Mandy.
    The ride from Split was spectacular with fantastic views around every bend. I came down the coast road which takes much longer but it is not to be missed. The roads are very good with bend after sweeping bend. At times you are really high and others you are at sea level. To get to Dubrovnik you can either go into Bosnia and Herzegovina then out again about twenty kilometers later or you can catch a ferry and stay in Croatia. The timing for the ferry wasn't good so I chose to cross the border then cross again. I stopped for lunch about twenty kilometers before the border and used the time to make sure my papers are in order and easily accessible. When I reached the crossing the guard in his but opened a window and said 'Where are you from'. 'England' I replied. 'Ok goodbye' he said and closed the window. I didn't even get my passport out of my pocket. After this you ride for about five kilometers in what I thought was no man's land before reaching the Bosnian border where the man said nothing. He just held out his hand, I put my passport in it, he scanned it and handed it back..
    Before reaching the border I had to stop for nearly an hour as there had been a nasty accident and the road was closed. I made my way to the front of a very long cue where the people and vehicles involved had already been removed, the police where photographing and taking measurements for a long time. I was first to go when they opened the road so I had it to myself for quite a while. I stopped to have a chat with a German who was clearly a long distance rider. He was interesting because he has just come from Montenegro, Albania and Corfu so I got some tips from him. He said his wife had flown to meet him in Corfu as she won't go on the bike and with that he made the sign of the cross and said thanks be to god. No comment from me on that one!    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    1
    Day 15

    Onwards and upwards in Dubrovnik

    May 26, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Onwards and Upwards
    Never has a saying been more apt than here in Dubrovnik.
    Everything is either up a hill or down one. Our apartment is up 67 steps with no road unless you go back down or go up another 100 plus so the bike is about ten minutes away tucked between two scooters on a footpath. Smart cars park at 90 degrees because parking spaces are so hard to find.
    What a beautiful place this is as you will see from the photos, stunning views. Today is my third full day and Mandy's fifth. We have been to the nearby town of Cavtat on a boat which took 45 minutes to get there. We had paid 15 euros each at the ferry landing but others had paid 50+ through a third party so if you come here beware. We went for a walk around the city wall in the rain today which takes over an hour and was very nice despite the weather like everything else here it is up and down but worth it. There are several nice churches and every restaurant we are in had very good food well cooked. Price can be high but not everywhere.

    On Tuesday morning Mandy fly's home and I head for the border crossing into Bosnia and Herzegovina then if I get in I head for a hostel in Mostar where I will stay a few days until the weather improves and I can head for the mountains of Montenegro.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    12121
    Day 17

    Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina

    May 28, 2019 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    I had some Croatian currency left as I went through border control so I used most of it to pay for the insurance I had to buy as this country is not included in your green card list. I paid the balance with a 20 euro note but that was too much so he gave me some Croatian currency back. I rode to a cafe near the border and bought a coffee and gave her all my Croatian currency and asked for the change in B&H currency, she obliged giving an excellent exchange rate. The currency here is called the convertible mark. There are about two of them to an English pound. Petrol is cheap at about £1.10 per litre.
    I've booked into this hostel for two nights and it might yet become three as the weather is not due to break until Friday. I was lucky again to ride all the way here with no rain and have time to go for a walk before it started raining. Right now it is lashing down. The bike is in a good place covered up and I'm in a nice warm private room which is just a five minute walk from the famous Mostar bridge.
    The man and wife who own the hostel invited me to dine with them this evening she said everything is home made and traditional. It was really nice. Their other guest was a local who now shares his time between here and Melbourne Australia where he has a business making leather fashion bags.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    Day 19

    Montenegro problems

    May 30, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ 🌫 4 °C

    No photos I'm afraid.
    My phone got wet and doesn't work. I use it to transfer photos from my camera so until I get it working or get another one I have a problem.
    As long as I can find WiFi I can use my tablet to communicate and make bookings.
    Today started with me leaving Mostar in 24c heat and ended in 9c soaking wet with no one to let me in my booked accommodation. So I'm staying at the house next door who took pity on me. I've had a meal at the local restaurant and I'm warm and dry. Despite the rain I had a great day riding much longer than I anticipated because I was refused entry at my border crossing of choice. The man who would sell me insurance for the bike didn't turn up today so I had to ride over an hour in the wrong direction to the next one. I ended up with a four hour ride taking 8 hours. After the border I had bad weather for a while followed by long time in a road with the surface missing, it was just mud and big pot holes so first and second gear only for a long time. The bike is so filthy now.... Then I stopped at a cafe and meet a group of Spanish motorcyclists who had shipped their bikes and were having a great time. I had a great laugh with these guys. The next two and a half hours was heavy rain which stopped as I arrived in this town. When I got here there was no one to let me in so I got my mobile out of my pannier and tried to call them as I was cold and my feet were soaked again. There was no answer and without thinking I dropped my mobile into my pocket which had half an inch of water in it. So when I took it out it didn't work.
    The good news is the weather forecast is good for tomorrow. I should have stayed one more night in Mostar.
    The roads here when they are not under construction and missing any surface are very good. Very little traffic and good quality with endless bends and hairpins as you snake through the mountains. Tomorrow I head back to the coast as it's time I started heading south again.
    I will stick to the coast from now.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    Day 21

    Ulcinj Southern Montenegro

    June 1, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    I set off from Zabljac in the mountains of North East Montenegro in 7c temperature with my boots still damp and my spirit a bit low. The sun soon came out and the scenery is stunning . My reason for that destination was because it is surrounded by 22 peaks over 2000m and 17 lakes. The roads were very good and I didn't take that unmade road of the day before.
    The ride to Ulcinj took about five hours including stops. It's not that far but it is very twisty, great on the bike. I had to stop to remove my jumper when I came down from the mountains and the temperature rose to 23.
    The host here is like the people in Mostar and can't be more helpful. He got a pressures washer and together we washed the mud off the bike then he took me on his scooter (without helmets) into town to a mobile phone repair shop and as I write he has gone to see if it is fixed or it is dead. I'm staying here two nights to sort out the phone and decide where next.
    I've just had breakfast. They don't serve it so I went to a corner shop and bought. A loaf of bread, tuna paste, ham paste, 2 eggs a carton of milk a box of peach juice, a yoghurt for 3.5 euros. The locals tell me compared to this Albania is cheap. More photos will be added when I get a phone working. The one you see is taken with the tablet from my balcony outside my very nice room which cost €25 a night.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
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    Day 22

    Berat Albania

    June 2, 2019 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Said goodbye to my excellent hosts at Ulcinj in Montenegro and set off to the border with Albania. I had been traveling for about 10 kilometers down a really nice newly tarmacked road when all of a sudden it was closed as they were putting tar on the next bit. The car in front had Albanian number plate so when he turned round I followed him, then at a junction I came along side and said Albania he said yes follow me, so I did. After at least half an hour we rejoined our intended road and got to the border. This is a double border so the one policeman signs you out of one and into the other.
    Rain threatened once again but it didn't happen in the four hour boring ride with nothing of interest to take photos of. I really am struggling to find nice things to say about the greater Albania. I'm sure further inland it will be prettier as there are mountains and also the coast is probably nice but this middle bit I had to use because of time riding and a big distance was not pretty. I did stop for a chat with some Swiss bikers who had shipped thier bikes to Greece and were riding them back.
    A thunder storm greeted my arrival here so it only rained for the last few minutes of the ride. I was glad of that because it really rained hard for over an hour while I was in my room.
    A lot of Berat is a UNESCO world heritage site and it is pretty so my photos today are from my walk around town or from my 4 star hotel balcony (£30)
    Tomorrow 3rd June I have a short ride to the ferry at durres to go to Bari in Italy. I've decided not to go exploring Corfu because of all this rain. I'm hoping Italy will be a bit better and I'll be out of Albania and back into territory where I can use data on my phone again and my bike once again will have proper insurance and breakdown cover. So my next footprint will probably be from Lecce Italy    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    11
    Day 24

    Matera

    June 4, 2019 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    I'm in sunshine.
    I'm in warmth.
    I'm in Italy.
    Yesterday I sat in Berat Albania watching the heavy rain from my hotel, praying it would stop or at least ease before I had to leave at 3pm. It didn't so I lined my boots with plastic bags and set off to the port of Durres to catch the 10pm ferry to Bari Italy because like another motorcyclist I met on board the ferry I'd had enough of the rain in Albania and abandoned plans to go to Greece and Corfu. It rained most of the way but not all the way to the port. When I arrived I sat with 10 motorcyclists from the Czech Republic who had shipped thier bikes to Greece and where riding them back home after playing in the mountains of Montenegro. They booked on one ferry and I on the other. As it turned out we were all on the same ferry which was fun. As we got off they headed north and I head south to Lecce. I stopped at a filling station just outside Bari and checked my email to see my friend Bill had moved from Lecce and i remembered a find Penguins note from John saying Matera is really nice. So thanks John it is very nice indeed as you will see from the photos. It's a world heritage site of some significance. Google it if you like history.
    On the way from the port to Matera I rode for about an hour through vine yards and at one point was surprised to see a young lady pop out from between the rows wearing a bikini and nothing else then a bit further and there was another. I was curious as there isn't a beach anywhere near then a bit further and a girl wearing a bikini and fish net stockings pops out and waves. I don't think they were selling grapes.
    I'm in a hostel called Rock Star in Matera and as usually have met interesting guests. Tomorrow morning I breakfast with Bill and decide where to head next on my way to Sicily.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
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    11
    Day 25

    Ciro marina. Italian South Coast

    June 5, 2019 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Lovely weather and a nice ride through the rolling countryside. In the four hour ride I don't think I saw one motorcycle which I thought very unusual for this trip. I did see a few more of those girls standing by the road, a bit more modestly dressed than those of yesterday but I don't think they were waiting for a bus.
    I chose this place as it is half way to Sicily from Matera and it is a small town with a beach front hotel which happens to be four star. So as I write this I'm being waited on in the restaurant by more staff than there are customers.
    The food is some of the best I've had. I love it.
    The photos are of the ride plus several from the hotel and it's surroundings as it is so nice.
    I needed to do a bit of work to the bike when I arrived as the chain needed cleaning and new grease after all the rain. So I sprayed it with a cleaner then wiped it with several rags during which my hands became very black. As I entered this posh hotel I tried to hide my black hands and smiled at the concierge who said Mr Sprot here is your passport.    Read more

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    Day 26

    San Martino. North Sicily

    June 6, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    It was a long and enjoyable ride across the foot of Italy followed by a busy ferry ride to Sicily. I renewed to buy my ticket from a petrol station out of town which is cheaper than at the ferry. There were some nice views today but I didn't take photos until I arrived at the Villa Quiete up in the hills.
    My sat nav decided it would put me and the bike to the test in the last half hour of the ride when it took me up farm tracks so steep that could only be taken at speed in first gear. I checked the settings when I arrived at the Villa which had an easy single track road from the other direction. It was set to use unpaved tracks. The bike was great. I thought it would feel really heavy but it was more like a trail bike as it easily skipped over the bumps and holes and slithered down the valley, I enjoyed it.
    I don't think my photos can do justice to the views up here it is spectacular. My room looks directly at the volcano Stromboli and a walk around the back of the house to see another called Etna.
    I've had to change my plans for the next days and not tour as the only ferry company operating to Malta is fully booked every sailing except tomorrow Friday night 9.30pm so I've booked myself on it. I might pop into Noto on the way for a look. I can always spend time on the way back instead.    Read more

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