Western Balkans September 2009.

[Gipsy]

Elvie and I have been riding for 10 years or so, and we have been fortunate to be able to do at least one bike tour every year since. This is the first ride report we have done, so I hope it's not too boring and that someone might find it useful if not interesting.

We set off in the second week of September having had a very stressful week before leaving which involved many hours without electricity, several visits from a very helpful electrician, and finally the magic words " all sorted " the day before our Channel Tunnel booking.

Day 1 Ashford to Dole

We have been using the Chunnel for a couple of years, and don't really seem to have got the hang of it! Something seems to crop up every time, mainly push starting our friends bikes when they refuse to start just before loading, and then having to catch a later train. This time however, I messed up by missing the call for the bikes to be inspected. We arrived in the bike lane only to be told to follow a white van that would take us around to be inspected. Having assured themselves we weren't terrorists and didn't have any explosives on board we were allowed onto the train, and an hour or so later escaped onto the gloriously empty French roads.

We wanted to spend as much time as possible in the Balkans so we set off down the Peage and stopped overnight in the Etap at Dole. There was a Buffalo Grill next door, and after trying Buffalo for the first time it was an early night ready for the ride into Italy.

Day 2 Dole into Italy

Mt. Blanc was shrouded in cloud as we headed for the tunnel. There was no queue to get through so after we headed down onto the northern plain of Italy.

The traffic got heavier, and more chaotic almost immediately and we pulled over early for the night not far past Milan. The motel was totally uninspiring, but our evening meal was cooked for us by a rugby playing chef whose friend had played against Caerphilly ( a village very close to us back home ) a few years back. He showed us the photograph taken to record the event with great pride.

Day 3 Arriving at Rimini

As the traffic the previous day had been so heavy we set off cross country in an effort to find empty roads. They may well have been there, but we couldn't find them! I think Clarkeson may have been correct when he said there were too many Italians in Italy. All the roads we tried were clogged with cars most of whom kept strictly to the speed limits, even if they were often on the other side of the road.

We arrived at our hotel in Rimini which was the only pre booked hotel of the trip and set off to explore.

Rimini was definately out of season. The Misano Moto GP had been held the previous weekend, and I think the town was preparing for it's winter hibernation.

Day 4 Rimini to Ancona

On the way we popped in here for a coffee.

Unfortunately we didn't see the great man.

We also rode up into San Marino, and then set off for Ancona, where we arrived in good time to catch the ferry.
Here I am waiting on the quayside

This was our ferry.

This is the massive thunderstorm that broke just after we set sail.

As you can imagine we were delighted to have missed out on a soaking, and after a very pleasant evening meal we settled down for a good night's sleep in our cabin. ( we're too old to crash out on floors and be fit to ride ) We awoke full of anticipation for the morning's short ride through Greece and the really exciting bit as we headed off into Albania.

 

[Garry H]

Great shot

 

[Elvie]

Day 5 - Saranda

We disembarked at Igoumenitsa, a small port so we were soon out on country roads. I'd never considered Greece as a riding destination before but loved it! The tarmac wasn't the best but we rode some lovely twisty mountain roads.

Mind you, with temperatures in the mid twenties we were a bit surprised to come across this sign

Our two Zumo's had a bit of a disagreement as to which way to go and in the end took the scenic route to the border at Ktismata. There is a smaller border post nearer to the coast but ,being inexperienced at crossing out of the EU and also with some doubts as to the state of the coast road on the Albanian side, we'd decided to be cautious and go for the bigger crossing. We needn't have worried. The Greeks gave the bikes a thorough inspection before letting us out and the formalities on the Albanian side were straight forward. We bought insurance at €12 ech for 15 days, changed some euro into Leke and we were in Albania!

Isn't amazing how different either side of a border is? This was very rural with no buildings around to speak of but there was no doubting we had changed countries. The terrain had altered from green, hills to a wide barren valley and the narrow A road now widened. After about a mile we saw the first of Albania's signature structures - little concrete bunkers.

Thousands of these were built by Enver Hoxha between 1950 & 1985. I don't think they've ever been used in anger but they dot the landscape particularly at borders, beaches and mountain passes.

Our Zumos were now useless, showing a bike on a blank and barren screen! Our map proved to have all the roads marked on it but not necessarily in the right place! In half the distance we were expecting we spotted the sign to Saranda. A mountain road, protected by intermittent concrete blocks and broken walls, led high over a pass. Frequent shrines proved the ineffectiveness of the barriers and oncoming traffic inevitably in the middle of the road made the ride somewhat....shall we say exciting? The road surface was ok but you had to watch out for the occasional large pothole. Dropping down into Saranda there were extensive road works with a complete lack of tarmac, scattered with potholes & gravel. Road junctions had no signs as to rights of way which was interesting as we approached one three abreast but all managed to negotiate it safely. Traffic was heavy in town & at one point I was shunted in the rear by an impatient driver. No harm done and we soon found ourselves a nice little hotel, the Hotel Kaonia on the beach where we had B&B for €30

Next door wasn't so hot though!

This was typical of Saranda. At least half the apartment blocks around the bay were only half built. It was a pleasant place to stay with a choice of bars and restaurants & a lively evening promenade.

 

[Deleted account Cooperman]

Stayed near Igoumenitsa for a week in the summer

Didn't fancy going over the border to Albania

Looking forward to the next post

 

[Elvie]

Day 5 - Butrint

Had a day off the bikes and took a bus to the ruined city of Butrint, along the coast road we'd avoided yesterday. The bus was a very entertaining way of meeting the locals. We must do it more often as you get to see & interact with people more than on the bikes.

Butrint was a city founded by the ancient Greeks in about C6th BC and continuously occupied until C14th AD. The remaining town walls are impressive

and within them are a mass of ruins including an amphitheatre, built by the Greeks but subsequently used by the Romans, a Roman baths, a basila and loads more all. It was awe inspiring to know that both Julius & Augustus Caesars were frequent visitors to the place.

We enjoyed wandering around for a couple of hours. It'sall set in an incredibly peaceful woodland alongside a river estuary. Later we crossed the river to a small fort on the other side. The crossing is by a chain ferry & is part of the coast road from Greece to Saranda. Note the state of the deck which was decidedly holey! There were potholes on the quay too so cars were having to negotiate their way on & off quite carefully. Being narrower it would have been easier for bikes.

After an excessively long lunch break, as there was a 3 hour gap in the bus timetable, we returned to Saranda for a swim off the beach and another night in the local bar. Time to move on up the coast tomorrow

 

[peejay]

Like this................keep it coming

 

[timsdomain]

Like this................keep it coming

Great trip and report keep it going!

 

[moody]

Excellent report - I am looking forward to the next installment.

 

[Elvie]

Sorry, we should have written all of this off line and then posted it ,in parts, over one or two days. Instead we're writing as we go along and we have visitors for the weekend! Don't give up, but next instalment probably won't be till Monday. We've some nice pictures then of the coast road up to the north of Albania and beautiful Montenegro. Later we went to Mostar, Bosnia, up the coast of Croatia and into Italy for some mountain passes so lots more to come!

 

[Gipsy]

Day 7 Saranda to Vlore

The day dawned with a fine drizzle spoiling the view out across the bay, and I was a little worried over what effect the rain would have on the diesel that was liberally coating every bit of road I'd seen. Despite this we decided to press on and having settled our bill ( 30 euros per night including breakfast for the ensuite with air conditioning ) we set off. The bikes had been parked behind the hotel next to a police bike!

After no more than 10 miles, and as the road rejoined the coast we were rewarded with bright sunshine, and dry tarmac ( although quite often littered with bits of rock which had fallen onto the road, causing the occasional mid corner change of direction.) The views were stunning.

We spotted these few bunkers guarding an otherwise empty beach.

Just around the corner we spotted the Restaurant Panorma ( their spelling not mine ) and stopped off for a fanta. The view was stunning.

We met this family out for the day, and they told us that the local area had at one time been a restricted area, but that the owner as a child had vowed to own a cafe on the spot, and his dream had come true. Just around the corner of the bay Elvie spotted a submarine base!

From here we continued up the coast and crossed the Llogaraja pass. From sea level to 1,027 meters up this road.

A great ride, and Elvie stopped off on the way up to take a few shots.

She's particularly pleased with this one showing the way we had come.

From the top it was a gentle descent back down to sea level, and then on to Vlore, where we stayed at the Hotel Alpine.

We asked about parking for the bikes, I wasn't sure whether the receptionist had understood, but then the hotel owner arrived and opened up his own garage and the bikes were safely snuggled down for the night.
The desire to have safe parking for the bikes was well understood wherever we stayed, and there were no extra charges.

After settling in we wandered into town to take in the Xhiro ( the local take on the evening stroll which seems to happen in many Mediterranean countries ) We had a Pizza on a balcony overlooking the main street where we people watched with great interest.

This bike with the custom paint job was parked on the pavement outside.

No lock or chain, and no-one as much as touched it while we were eating. We had enjoyed an wonderful day's riding, and seemed to be getting the hang of Albanian roads, and Albanian drivers, which was just as well as in the morning we were heading further north where the traffic was likely to be much busier.

 

[Mr K]

Grand!

 

[Elvie]

Day 8 Vlore to Shkoder

This was by far the worst day's ride of the whole trip! It started off on a reasonable single carriageway road but heavy with cars and slow lorries. The scenery was nice enough and at one point the road went through an avenue of huge eucalyptus trees which filled the air with their aromatic scent. With clear noses we then reach Fier and the start of the motorway. This was fairly empty and free flowing but after 50K we were back on a busy, slow single carriageway road, here we had some horses and carts to contend with as well as the slow lorries. We got slightly lost after Durres and had a very pleasant ride on minor rural roads until a stop at a filling station where the local lads helpfully pointed us in the right direction to a bit more motorway. Just before Tirana we turned left onto a major road with major road works and heavy traffic. We had 85K on it & it was horrendous! The extensive roadworks involved large stretches without tarmac but with deep potholes. The cars were really struggling not to bottom out. We arrived at Shkoder mid afternoon but the journey had seemed an awful lot longer!

This seems an opportune time to mention Albanian driving . This is universally condemned as being appalling though, once used to it, we didn't find it so bad, just different. The worst was definitely on this day's journey where fast expensive cars would overtake in the face of oncoming traffic at ridiculous speeds. Fortunately the majority of Albanian cars are clapped out old wrecks that stick roughly to the speed limits. The limits are very low by Western standards so most of the time one had plenty of time to anticipate and react to the usual Albanian modus operandi. Town limits are 20 or 40kph, outside of town is 60kph and the motorway limits are only 80kph. On the motorways in particular there were police with mobile speed traps every couple of miles.

In towns and smaller roads driving was interesting! There were few rules regarding right of way. On the whole major roads had right of way over any minor roads joining ( so that's better than some towns in France!) Cross roads were largely by negotiation, with no road markings and often traffic lights that didn't work. I didn't quite manage to work out the rules for roundabouts! It was acceptable for cars to stop, often at a strange angle, for the driver to have a chat to another car driver or pedestrian and then to pull away without any indication. Mobile phone use was common though it seemed to be the rule to slow to 5-10 mph while you were doing so. No one got angry at other road users and there was no horn tooting. In Vlore the main street was a three lane dual carriageway, though the inside lane and half the middle one was occupied by parked cars. Turning left across it was easy as traffic stopped and gave way. Perhaps they were just surprised by my indicators! Seriously though, while eating we observed pedestrians crossing & they just stepped out into the maelstrom and everything stopped to let them pass. In some ways it was more civilised than home!

Anyway in Shkoder we took Lonely Planet's advice and booked into the 5* Grand Hotel for €65 B&B. We were lucky to get a room as a local football team had all booked in for the same night. There was secure underground parking for the bikes. Our room was pretty plush though the shower leaked and there was no plug for the bath! The electric supply was a bit erratic too but breakfast was a feast! The views from the top floor bar were magnificent so we went up there before sunset to take photos of the gathering storm

and later, the setting sun

.

We had a big meal at a nearby traditional restaurant. Here we met four elderly Poles who'd travelled by car from Warsaw via Kosovo. They'd had no problems in Kosovo although commented that it was an incredibly poor country. It was the one place we'd actively decided against visiting due to warnings of possible trouble near the Serbian border. Perhaps we'll put it on the itinerary for next year? Anyway, afterwards, a good night's sleep and good breakfast banished traffic problems from our minds and put us in the mood for the days ride into to Montenegro

 

[yamonda1]

Loving this ..

Far enough to be exotic and near enough to be (affordably) reachable

 

[Elvie]

Day 9 Shkoder to Kotor

Heading out of Shkoder down country roads we soon approached the border with Montenegro. A couple of hundred yards before it I spotted a carpark with a hand carwash and a concrete bunker. The bikes were filthy & covered with cement as well as road dust so this was too good an opportunity to miss. Ian did the man thing and washed the bikes

I had the more important job of photographing the bunker!

(Most of the close ups of the bunker are on our blog, which we wrote as we went along & is less detailed than this. URL is in our signatures)

With clean bikes we headed for the border post where there was a small queue of cars. We'd heard bikes often got waved to the front but were surprised when the police pulled us forward to drive up the pavement and through the pedestrian side of the border post. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for the 1200 with its larger panniers!

There was the usual instant border change, gone were the open brown grasslands of Albania and into green Montengro. To start with there were even hedges very like British countryside. We soon took a slightly wrong turning so pulled over at a minimarket to have a drink & review the map. The owner was brilliant. He brought out chairs for us, pointed out the route and gave us fresh figs off the tree in his garden. We chatted for about twenty minutes despite having no common language.

We continued on our slightly wrong road which actually was a nice shortcut along a minor road around the hillside before dropping down to the busy coast road. Tarmac here is as good as at home, by the way. We passed the pretty "island" of Sveti Stefan which is often used in tourist posters, and through the seaside resort of Budva.

Further on we headed inland along the edge of the glorious Bay of Kotor to our B&B in the nearby village of Muo.

 

[Elvie]

Day 10 & 11 Kotor

Our B&B was run by the assistant manager of the Montenegrin football team. He'd not long returned from Cardiff where they'd beaten Wales! We had a room up in the attic, there was no window over the bay but we had the whole floor to ourselves which included a kitchen/diner & free wifi for €30 again. There was a private terrace outside and the water in the bay was just beautiful for swimming in, which is what I was doing when taking this photo.

Kotor is a 10 minutes walk around the bay. Along the quayside, large yachts and small cruise ships moor up each day. Overlooking it is the fortress high on the hill above and protecting walls run down either side of the town. These are lit up and night and , with their reflections are a dramatic sight.

The first morning we walked, or should I say trudged up the steep and long path to the fortress.

It was quite a relief to have a sit down at the top. We were very glad to have taken water with us as it was a hot & sticky climb.

It was worth every step for the views. As you see it was a long way down!

but the views of the bay were magnificent

I found going back down harder than going up as it was steep and very uneven.

At the bottom we had a bit of a soft drink pub crawl. It took us a couple of litres each to feel rehydrated! Kotor is full of bars and restaurants, tucked away in little squares. It's a great place to stay though the old town itself is traffic free. There are hotels in there but if you stay the bikes would have to be parked on the quayside.

This was only our second day off the bikes in about 1500 miles & we decided to spend another day in Kotor. Our second day there was spent in total relaxation, sunbathing & swimming off the terrace, catching up with the internet & reading. Oh and eating and drinking plenty! It really was an idyllic spot.

 

[Gipsy]

Loving this ..

Far enough to be exotic and near enough to be (affordably) reachable

Totally agree, that's why we did it!

 

[Gipsy]

Day 12 Kotor to Zabljak

After a couple of days off the bikes we were ready to move on, and we headed off to Zabljak up in the northern part of Montenegro, in the Durmitor National Park. The first section of the route took us up this mountain on a very narrow B road round 27 hairpin bends.

The riding was a little hairy, but the views of the bay of Kotor were superb.

When we got to the top we crossed this bowl shaped plateau, which in winter can have up to 1 metre depth of snow. Truly one of those places where you can swim or ski on the same day as the temperature at sea level is often 15 degrees C in January.

Just as we started the descent from the plateau we saw these hills stretching into the distance.

From here the gentle slope down led us out of the Lovcen National Park, and on towards the capital city of Podgorica. We crossed the city without difficulty and headed up the Moraca canyon towards Mojkovac.
Here's a picture of Elvie riding up the limestone canyon.

After Mojkovac we turned right and followed the Tara river towards the Tara gorge. After just a few kilometres we were several hundred feet above the river and we came across this memorial stone to a skier.

We don't know who he was, or what he did, but the views were fantastic. This is a view down to the valley floor.

The road continued to climb as it headed for Zabljak, and we soon reached the famous Tara bridge whick marks the entry in to the Tara Gorge which at 1,300 metres deep is second only to the Grand Canyon.

From here we climbed even higher onto an upland plateau and pulled into the M B hotel in Zabljak just as the chill in the air was starting to make itself felt.

It wasn't too long until we were settled in the bar with a beer, discussing the day's ride. We both felt it was probably the best ever day we'd had on a bike.

 

[Elvie]

Day 13 & 14, Zalbjak & the on to Dubrovnik

One of the reasons for going to Zabljak was to see the Tara river canyon, only 200m less deep than the Grand Canyon. What we hadn't realised was that the only way to see it was on a one or two day raft trip We didn't fancy that ( it was too cold! - I know....we're wimps!) Instead we enjoyed a walk to the Black Lake, which is beautiful shades of blue and green!

Zabljak being a bit of a one horse town we moved on the next day, taking minor roads towards the coast. This was another fabulous days riding through more mountain scenery. The roads were narrow and a bit rough but no problem for the GS's. I wouldn't have wanted to try it on a sports bike though. Initially we crossed a high mountain plateau where the numerous small herds of cattle showed a definite preference for the roadside verges rather than the acres of grassland

The road then continued twisting and turning down river valleys, through woodland and more mountain scenery

We had hairpins down the steep valley side to the small town of Savnik then more hairpins up the other side. On to the rather more industrial Niksic where we refuelled then took the road to Bosnia past some lovely lakes

The border post was up in the mountains

This was the only border we crossed where the police were rather surly and the only one where they asked about insurance. We were marched to a back office by a gun toting policeman and were aghast to be charged €21 each for only 3 days insurance! This compares to €10 or €12 for 15 days in Montenegro & Albania, where we'd had to ask for & hunt down the offices & officials ourselves.

Anyway, insurance bought, we were allowed into Bosnia and some lovely roads to the Croatian border post in the hills above the Adriatic. This one was a border with a view!

There were minimal formalities and we were waved through with a smile. We left the peace and quiet of the mountains and were soon on the busy coast road heading for our next destination - Dubrovnik

 

[Elvie]

Days 15 & 16,Dubrovnik & Mostar

Dubrovnik has been described as the Pearl of the Adriatic and there's no doubt it's a beautiful city. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see for the crowds!

We were staying in a cramped B&B in the seaside suburb of Lapad and took the 10 minute bus ride into the old town for the day. Unfortunately there were two huge cruise ships moored in the port. They had disgorged thousands of passengers each all of whom were all being led around the town in crocodiles folowing their tour guides.

To be honest after a walk around and a nice lunch in one of the quieter streets we were glad to head back to our bilious green room on the top floor of the Villia Micika.

Next day we went to Mostar. We considered going on the bikes though our insurance would run out mid-day and we begrudged buying more so we took a minibus tour. This had the benefit of providing a tour guide and we could go in shorts not our bike gear.

Mostar is very thought provoking. The old Turkish part of town & the bridge has been a tourist destination for centuries. Now there is the added interest of the recent war, evidence of which can be seen everywhere.

The Old Bridge was destroyed by Croat fire from the adjacent hill. You can see how vulnerable it, & the rest of the city was......and will be! The Croats now live on one side of the main thoroughfare, the Bosnian Muslims on the other. We got the impression it was an uneasy peace.

 

[Elvie]

Days 17 & 18 up the Croatian Coast

We were glad to get back on the bikes and head north along the coast road of Croatia. This is a lovely road particularly the more northerly half and runs alongside several National Parks which sadly, we didn't really have time to visit.

Along most of the route the mountains come down to the sea and the road winds around alternating small coves and headlands. The tarmac is perfect and all the bends are beautifully cambered. Even if you don't venture further into the Balkans this is a road not to miss either on a GS or sports bike.

At times the road headed inland. We rode through one village where the number of ruins and abandoned, shrapnel marked houses way outnumbered the inhabited ones. The streets seemed empty though there was some new building going on. Neaby were the warning signs of a minefield. This was the only significant evidence of the war that we saw in Croatia but really brought home the terror of living through it, if you survived. Having read up on the Croatian war I think this was the site of the Skabrnja Massacre A very sobering place to come across.

Anyway we didn't push too hard on this part of the trip and pulled over in the old town of Primosten in time for a few hours on the beach & a swim in the sea. One word of warning if you're heading this way - you need beach shoes. There's no sand, no nice round pebbles just sharp grit! Our entry into the sea was not elegant!

Our apartment here cost us €30 for the night and included a bowl of fresh grapes and figs from the owners garden

Later spent an hour taking photos of the sunset before a nice meal in one of the many restaurants

For our second night along this coast we stopped at the large seaside resort of Crikvenica. The Tourist Office suggested a small hotel and rang the owner to show us the way. Berto was wonderful, a large cheerful man riding a small red scooter and wearing a red builders hat as a lid. ( He also owned an Aprilia RSV Mille ) The whole time we followed him he rode one handed while talking into his mobile! Berto's Motorrad Pansion was lovely, with a balcony & sea views, a small bar and cost.....yes €30 ( there's a bit of a theme here!)