Day 10: Short and steep to Dhërmi

Qeparo – Dhërmi 32.13km 🚴‍♀️ 2.30.42 ⏱ 12.8km/hr ⬆️ 665m ⬇️ 640m

We only had a short day on the bike today. At least, distance wise. We knew it would involve a lot of climbing so we started early. The best way to beat the sun ☀️ and enjoy the mountain shade is to cycle in the early hours. 

The view cycling out of Qeparo

We had to push the bikes up from the apartment we were staying at since it was too steep and sandy to cycle. We were a real attraction to the men enjoying a coffee ☕️ in the restaurant on the other side of the road but they didn’t offer any help. Not cool guys. In Albania 🇦🇱 but also in Greece 🇬🇷 we almost only see male customers 🙎🏼‍♂️🙍🏽‍♂️🙎🏻‍♂️in coffee houses and restaurants, sipping espressos ☕️ with shots of local liquor 🍸 and puffs of cigarette on the side. Serving guests and being served. Women are mostly spotted cleaning, cooking or chatting with each other in front of their houses in the shade, if we see them at all. Women also don’t seem to be driving much 🤔.

The first ten kilometres were not too bad and had some beautiful views to get us excited for the day. There was a little uphill but we cycled all the way down into Himarë after. Himarë is this cute little town, touristy of course, but around this time still very nice. We had a nice strong coffee ☕️ and ate some cookies 🍪 before we cycled out of the city.

Pausing for a strong espresso in Himare

The first sign of 10% incline showed 🆙, one we would be seeing a lot today. Our goal was to make it to the ‘Lula bar’ situated at the top of the climb. We had to climb about 500m in 8 kilometres to get there. Some real steep and long climbs but somehow we could deal with it much better than yesterday.

We saw a lot of these signs today

We stopped a few times during the climb to drink water 💧, eat some candy bears 🐻, our trip treat, and enjoy the view. This country is maybe even more beautiful than Greece 🇬🇷. 

When we finally made it to Lula we celebrated it with iced ☕️ . It was pretty gross this time, but at least it was cold. From here it was a winding road, up and down, lots of hair pin turns all the way down to Dhërmi.

Drinking iced coffee with the locals at Lula bar

We learned from yesterday and did groceries 🛒 before going down to the hotel. We bought fresh bread, canned tuna and mayonnaise to make sandwiches. It was a little difficult to find this little paradise where we would spend our afternoon and night. And again, a steep gravel road. It adds a few more uphill kilometres to our total of tomorrow. 

From our balcony we could already see the mountain ⛰ we would have to conquer tomorrow. But first, chilling at the swimming pool, eating the greatest tuna sandwich 🥪 ever and doing nothing but playing games, reading and 🏊‍♀️ .

See those zig-zag roads on the mountain on the left?

We had a lovely lazy afternoon by the pool of the apartment building and later had dinner at the small adjoining restaurant in the evening. Tasty spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino and fresh grilled 🍤 accompanied with an ice cold Corona 🍺, big success!

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