Day 11 & 12: Climbing the lenghty Llogara pass & a rest day in Vlorë

Dhërmi – Vlöre 57.20km 🚴‍♀️ 4.20.44 ⏱ 13.2km/hr ⬆️ 1085m ⬇️ 1165m

We woke up to a rooster 🐔 announcing the start of a new day and a flock of chickens 🐓 buck- bucking around. From our balcony we could see the mountain we were going to climb dooming large. We had a quick yoghurt-cruesli breakfast on the balcony before we cycled up to the main road that would lead us to the foot of the mountain. Within a few minutes we were sweating 💦 like crazy since it was already 28 degrees around 7 in the morning. We had already climbed 250 very steep metres before the actual mountain began. 

Since we left early we passed a lot of men waiting for their ride to work. Some sipping on their morning coffee ☕️ at the local bar, others sitting on the side of the road. Sleepy eyes 😑, an early rise or a hangover 🤢, plastic hand bag filled with mama’s homemade lunch. Some giving us thumbs up 👍🏻, others honking or just staring. A bit later we realized this probably had something to do with our bike shirts we had zipped open till the belly button to let in some air. Good idea to wear a tank top again tomorrow instead of a shirt, but hey, sometimes you need to give a man a little something 😚. And the shoulders some sun protection.

And the Llogara pass ⛰ began! On the map we counted five big hairpin turns. From the apartment we had seen the road winding up. We didn’t realize the road was much longer than we could see, 16km long and 1100 meters up. We decided to take it one hairpin turn at a time. It really helps to focus on short term goals and not look 👀 up at what’s still ahead.

We climbed slowly, enjoyed the view, and saw the road disappearing beneath us. At the first stop Mas noticed her knee was bothering her again 😔. The cycling itself wasn’t too bad this time but getting off the bike and walking was hardly possible. So we just cycled on. At some point we passed a lady having her engagement photos taken, not sure where the dude was, but at least she looked pretty 👰.

All in all the climb took us 2.5 hours, but we made it all the way up! It was the first real mountain ⛰ Suuz ever cycled and although it was tough, she did great. Mas was just overheated 🤒 and looking forward to some insane downhill.

Well, insane it was. There was some roadwork 🚧 so directly after we passed the top the road turned into mud holes 🕳, gravel, loose sand and one big shit show. Downhill was almost slower than uphill, with both hands squeezed tight around our brakes. Mas felt cheated because she didn’t get her reward for cycling all the way up. All pissed off we decided to have a second breakfast at a restaurant about 2km down from the top. Suuz all happy, an omelette 🍳 with cheese and there was a cute kitten hanging around. She just loves her eggs 🥚. And kittens 🐱.

We asked the dude from the restaurant and he said the road would be like this for another 2 kilometres. He was right! A very very awesome reward followed. Some sharp curves but mostly a nice wide fast road all the way down into Ossehaas at the coast. At least, that’s how we called it. I can’t even remember the real name 🤷🏼‍♀️, but it started with an ‘O’.

The town itself was not nice at all. The restaurant we stopped at for a cold drink 🍹 was even worse. Or maybe Mas was just overheated and worried about her knee. From Ossehaas we cycled along the coast to Vlöre. A big city with tall buildings 🏢, a touristy boulevard and a real bike path. A necessary bike path since there are no traffic rules. We followed the bike path leading us further and further away from the city to get to our apartment. After a crazy no rule roundabout, we made a right turn and were on a sandy dirt road in the ghetto of Vlöre. Our apartment building really stood out between the half finished (or half started) houses. Our neighbor was walking his goats 🐐 and sheep 🐑 along the road. We took a desperately needed cold shower 🚿 and walked to the beach 🏖 for a swim, some food and a nap in a beach bed after.

After another shower and a huge laundry load we took a taxi 🚕 to a very nice Italian restaurant Suuz had picked out. Actually our taxi was the dude from the apartment who showed us there really are no road rules except you just pretend like you rule the road. The food was really nice. We had a freshly caught fish 🎣 cooked in the oven with some olive oil, cherry tomatoes and olives and a very nice chocolate lava dessert. The waiter was great, seemed to love his job and was proud of the food he served. Completely content, we went back ‘home’ and watched two episodes of ‘the Missing on Netflix’ before bedtime. 

Day 12: a rest day in Vlorë

For the big part of the day we did absolutely nothing. We had breakfast at the apartment, cleaned our bikes, a little, did some more laundry, since that makes Mas happy, and went back to bed for some reading after. In the afternoon we went for a coffee and had a look at the route for the next stretch to Dubrovnik. Since Mas’ knee is a little worrisome and we both aren’t the best in dealing with the heat we decided to cancel a huge climb Mas really wanted to do just before Kotor in Montenegro. We’ll use the extra day we still have to make our cycling days a little shorter and go back to the coast instead of moving inland into the mountains. Tough choices.

Other than that we hydrated and fed ourselves and tried to do as little as possible. It was too hot to move anyway. For dinner we went to restaurant Pulebardha for what we hoped to be a light dinner. The owner however, was happy to see us and kept serving us dished we hadn’t ordered. Saying no was not an option (we tried). After finishing what ended up to be a big meal with a shot of homemade liquor (risky business) we were ready to get back to our airconditioned apartment for a good sleep. From Vlöre it’s seven days on the bike to Dubrovnik where we will see Mas’ twin sister and her husband, jeej!