Day 16 Dhermi - Mesolongi
Another lovely day - another very nice breakfast.
Sorry to say goodbye to this spot but needs must. A lovely drive along the coast on motorcycle friendly roads. Wonderful views and the roads fairly quiet.
Arrived for coffee in the seaside resort town of Sarande, lovely little harbour town with a couple of visiting super yachts moored in the bay. From here we rode through a national park until a river blocked our path, for 300 Lek we were transported to the other side on a wooden barge.
From here we had about 20k to navigate over rough and narrow country lanes until finally emerging back on the highway. Quick stop for gas then the border which was quick and straightforward.
We have loved our time in Albania and could have spent more time exploring this hospitable country. But we’re on a mission......
So into Greece, followed the coast for a while then inland through fairly uninspiring country but as we moved south the lush valleys appeared and also what must be Greece’s main crop. Olives. Trees absolutely everywhere. Riding was pleasant in about 22 degrees and very little traffic, the Greeks obviously don’t do much on a Sunday. Stopped for a late lunch and got ourselves sorted for accommodation about 150km away. We then realised we had lost an hour changing countries so elected to blast out the miles on the motorway. Not sure how the toll system works here but when we arrived at the booth we were told "its free today". Result. We are now in Mesolongi in a nice apartment. Went for wander to the town square and this place is going off. The bars and restaurants are jammed, once again not very much drinking but everyone having fun and conversation and the actual square is full of kids running around and having a ball. There is also a bit of a road circuit which skirts the square and also directly under our bedroom window unfortunately, several cars are cruising trying very hard to wear out their horns. It’s all good clean fun and part of the local culture it seems.
And at 10pm.....it all stopped!
Turns out they had just elected a new mayor. Bit more enthusiastic than Manawatu local body elections I have to say.
After 2 weeks on the road we are beginning to get a rhythm going, not always in time but we’re getting there. The co-pilot has proven adept at finding good deals, interesting things along the way and is intuitive as to when the pilot needs a bit of support. Looking good for the road ahead.
Sorry to say goodbye to this spot but needs must. A lovely drive along the coast on motorcycle friendly roads. Wonderful views and the roads fairly quiet.
From here we had about 20k to navigate over rough and narrow country lanes until finally emerging back on the highway. Quick stop for gas then the border which was quick and straightforward.
We have loved our time in Albania and could have spent more time exploring this hospitable country. But we’re on a mission......
So into Greece, followed the coast for a while then inland through fairly uninspiring country but as we moved south the lush valleys appeared and also what must be Greece’s main crop. Olives. Trees absolutely everywhere. Riding was pleasant in about 22 degrees and very little traffic, the Greeks obviously don’t do much on a Sunday. Stopped for a late lunch and got ourselves sorted for accommodation about 150km away. We then realised we had lost an hour changing countries so elected to blast out the miles on the motorway. Not sure how the toll system works here but when we arrived at the booth we were told "its free today". Result. We are now in Mesolongi in a nice apartment. Went for wander to the town square and this place is going off. The bars and restaurants are jammed, once again not very much drinking but everyone having fun and conversation and the actual square is full of kids running around and having a ball. There is also a bit of a road circuit which skirts the square and also directly under our bedroom window unfortunately, several cars are cruising trying very hard to wear out their horns. It’s all good clean fun and part of the local culture it seems.
And at 10pm.....it all stopped!
Turns out they had just elected a new mayor. Bit more enthusiastic than Manawatu local body elections I have to say.
After 2 weeks on the road we are beginning to get a rhythm going, not always in time but we’re getting there. The co-pilot has proven adept at finding good deals, interesting things along the way and is intuitive as to when the pilot needs a bit of support. Looking good for the road ahead.
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