Monday 22nd April
It would be a unfair not to touch upon Albanian coffee and baking, considering the extent to which it has powered this trip.
Small town bakeries are one room affairs usually with a counter up front, kitchen in the back and a temporary divider between. There will be one shelf dedicated to sweet filo and nut based treats, another to spinach and/or cheese filo pasty and a third shelf for various combinations of half dome sugar biscuits, dusted with icing sugar and apricot jam or cream filling. The biscuits have become a real highlight, possibly some of the lightest and softest I’ve ever tasted. I found one sugar biscuit per 200m of riding ascent to be more than sufficient to keep energy levels high.
Larger establishments will have cake on offer, however this tended to be more cream and overly sweet, even for me.
The bakeries do not sell coffee, but are always located right next to a coffee shop, sparsely filled with tables and chairs, a hi-if, wood burning stove if in the mountains, espresso machine and a shelf of alcohol - these venues double as the town bars. Coffee is always a gritty espresso, with tinned milk on request, severed with at least one large sachet of sugar sat expectantly on the saucer.
Coffee and a copious amount of baking could be had for about a Euro or two, sending me spinning the pedals out of town in high spirits.
This morning I tried a sort of barley and honey syrup based warm gloop topped with cinnamon - sort of Albanian porridge! This was wonderfully warming, I can only hope the hills have been sufficient to warrant all the treats!
Cycling up the 'Albanian Riviera' today provided wonderful views over the sage hills sloping down to turquoise blue waters. Unfortunately the water was more for looking at than swimming in, thanks to recent developments occupying the beaches and flat sections of the coast and polluting the bays.
Of the many rapidly expanding resort towns I passed through, only one seemed to be trying to preserve the charm of the old town. Dog incidence was high, as were prices, and the locals less friendly than elsewhere. Therefore I decided to push on, swapping plans of a relaxing beach camp for a large hill climb to a hotel bed back in Vlore.
Track Day 4 - Sarande to Vlore
https://www.strava.com/activities/2316186049
It would be a unfair not to touch upon Albanian coffee and baking, considering the extent to which it has powered this trip.
Small town bakeries are one room affairs usually with a counter up front, kitchen in the back and a temporary divider between. There will be one shelf dedicated to sweet filo and nut based treats, another to spinach and/or cheese filo pasty and a third shelf for various combinations of half dome sugar biscuits, dusted with icing sugar and apricot jam or cream filling. The biscuits have become a real highlight, possibly some of the lightest and softest I’ve ever tasted. I found one sugar biscuit per 200m of riding ascent to be more than sufficient to keep energy levels high.
Larger establishments will have cake on offer, however this tended to be more cream and overly sweet, even for me.
The bakeries do not sell coffee, but are always located right next to a coffee shop, sparsely filled with tables and chairs, a hi-if, wood burning stove if in the mountains, espresso machine and a shelf of alcohol - these venues double as the town bars. Coffee is always a gritty espresso, with tinned milk on request, severed with at least one large sachet of sugar sat expectantly on the saucer.
Coffee and a copious amount of baking could be had for about a Euro or two, sending me spinning the pedals out of town in high spirits.
This morning I tried a sort of barley and honey syrup based warm gloop topped with cinnamon - sort of Albanian porridge! This was wonderfully warming, I can only hope the hills have been sufficient to warrant all the treats!
Cycling up the 'Albanian Riviera' today provided wonderful views over the sage hills sloping down to turquoise blue waters. Unfortunately the water was more for looking at than swimming in, thanks to recent developments occupying the beaches and flat sections of the coast and polluting the bays.
Of the many rapidly expanding resort towns I passed through, only one seemed to be trying to preserve the charm of the old town. Dog incidence was high, as were prices, and the locals less friendly than elsewhere. Therefore I decided to push on, swapping plans of a relaxing beach camp for a large hill climb to a hotel bed back in Vlore.
Track Day 4 - Sarande to Vlore
https://www.strava.com/activities/2316186049
- An excellent start to the day -
- View up the winding coastal road of the 'Riviera' -
- Pannier broken by the bumpy roads required some redistribution of luggage around the bike, and was an excuse to stop for more baking -
- The seaside towns were mostly deserted except for building work in preparation for the high season -
- Fortunately I found an open restaurant, and had a delicious lunch, including this fellow -
- I was quite excited to spot this submarine base built into a hillside! -
- Sacks to get me over the pass to Vlore (having already eaten an ice cream, banana, croissant and peanuts). I ended up returning to the shop three times in a row, buying extra snacks before the climb -
- Road snaking up the pass, fortunately not too busy -
- At the top, with more streamlined luggage setup after the pannier failure -
- These little communist era pillboxes are dotted ALL over the Albanian roadside, apparently at an average of average of 5.7 bunkers for every square kilometer!
- Luxury! Hotel room and take out for under 15 Euros -
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