Second day

We started the day with an inviting "Israeli" breakfast

Then followed yet another scenic mountain road to Kukes.

After a Birra (Albanian and hebrew for beer) and espresso in a cafe bar just above the lake ( Fierza reservoir of the Drin river)

we joined one of the few Albanian highways and were quite impressed with the "double lane in each direction" idea...

The highway continues through a very long and modern tunnel and when it ended we continued north to Shkoder (second largest city after Tirana).

Florian guest house is situated on the city's outskirts , surrounded by fields. A large gated yard full of grape vines, vegetables and roaming chickens. The Accommodations reminded us of places we slept in 30 years ago in our "Big Trips", which made Eldad become very poetic as we tried to fall asleep with an open window and a noisy ventilator...

Despite this fact, it was interesting to meet this very hospitable Albanian family, eat dinner from what they grow in their garden and drink the wine they make from their grapes.
We listened attentively to Florian's stories about Hoxha, the terrible communist dictator, who held Albania in complete seclusion for over 40 years, and how difficult it is for a very young democracy who just got "acquainted" with the rest of the world (1991!!), to become a real democracy which can provide work and healthcare to all its citizens...

Just before dinner we were able to return the blue Landrover to Edmund and still had time for A sunset climb to the beautiful castle in Shkoder with panoramic views of the city and its surroundings.

After the walk we had another encounter with Albanian hospitality. We saw a pharmacist closing the pharmacy for the day with his wife and daughter waiting for him in the car and asked him where we could get a taxi. They immediately made room for us in their car and were willing to drive us to the hotel. We insisted on a ride only to the taxi station, where we met s very nice (and knowledgable) taxi driver who took us back to the hotel.
We learnt today that 1 in every 4 Albanians lives abroad and sends money back home, most Albanians speak italian and the average monthly salary is 150 euros...

Did we say adventure?

I was waiting for an adventurous journey.  I got it almost immediately...

Edmond from the AMW car rental in Shkoder, was waiting promptly with a blue Land Rover and helped us buy an Albanian sim card for 5 euros in the airport. You get many minutes and texts and most importantly 4 Gigas of Internet !
Edmund stressed a few times that car lights must be turned on at all times in Albania and policemen like to check it, but, the battery doesn't like it if the lights stay on while the starter is off.
Remember Chekhov's words: "A gun In the first act..."


We put Kruje (our first stop) on Apple maps app, and five minutes later found ourselves in a "drive through" of raspberry bushes on an unpaved road that led us straight into the river..,

We quickly deserted Apple's Maps and installed Google Maps like Edmund suggested.
Back on the asphalt road , the scenic way to Kruje (castle and bazaar) went smoothly.
BTW, Waze is only partially working in Albania, as of today...

Important tip:
The beautiful bazaar in Kruje, is by far the best place to buy souvenirs , so don't hesitate even if it is your first day!!!

After learning about the origins of the Albanian flag, (in the photo you see Skanderbeg the albanian hero who is depicted in the castle), we hit the road from Kruje via the pass called Kafa-Shtame, (following Google Maps, turning right at a sign next to a gas station about 1 km from the bazaar). The ultra scenic road (26 km)  is newly "asphalted" and we were thrilled!






(The communist bunker caves adorn the mountain walls too...)













The asphalt ends in a run down camping site and hotel entering the national park of kafa-Shtame, meaning Shtame pass.
We had espresso ( we just asked for coffee...) under the tall trees and were heading back to the jeep to continue our journey, only to find out that although we didn't forget to turn out the car lights, the battery was dead.

Automatic gear ruled out the pushing option. It took about 25 minutes to all the good people who surrounded us, to find s cable, and a handsome Jaguar helped us start the blue Jeep again.


Most of the communication was done using hand signs and the common word "cable".
We offered some souvenirs from Jerusalem to our helpers who seemed puzzled (or just thought we were being ridiculous).
As you will soon find out, these souvenirs weren't enough to cover the "Pay it forward" principle though, maybe because it wasn't forward...

The road from the campsite was a dirt road in very bad condition, winding through the woods, and we were grateful to have the Land Rover with us. No AC and no charging of iPhones now, to keep the battery alive.

About thirty minutes into this very slow and harsh drive, all alone in the woods,  we bump into a German couple, with a simple private Ford Mondeo with open engine cover, both sweating ( the man without his shirt) and very worried. They came from Burrel (on the other side of the mountain) following their GPS, and the car died on them after giving a heroic fight with this dirt road for a lot more than one might expect from such a car...
We spent a long time helping then send an accurate position to the insurance man, and waiting for him to decide whether or not he will send a tow truck today.
We might want to stress that this "German Ford " had a 23 hour drive from Germany to the Albanian border, and then a further drive to this this dirt road  in the two previous days.
We ended up taking the couple with us for another two hours of slow and strenuous drive (with majestic views!), all the way to Burrel.
The dirt road from Kafa-Shtama to burrel would make a great 2 days hike!!!









Our destination was a further two hours drive to Peshkopi, through asphalted road in bad shape, surrounded by rural Albania, with many happy cows, goats, chickens, turkeys etc., on the road and next to it. Lots of water in the river that followed us too!

Burnt corn ear stands, sold by kids ,dotted the road, reminding us of the famous Israeli children's book "Bim Bam Tiras Cham".

The Tu BeAv full moon helped us reach our destination without running over any Albanians (adults and young kids) who were bringing back home their mules, carrying stacks of hay, goats, cows and horses, for the night.
The nice little cabin was waiting for us (BAR RESTORANT HOTEL PICERI PISHINA ZERJA in Facebook). We had a nice italian dinner in honor of the italian couple that we met, trying to challenge our famous mountain road with an RV at around six in the evening...
We wish "Top Gear" were there to film the international challenge: an Italian RV vs. an Israeli Landrover and a German Ford ( who didn't make it...)
And don't forget our brave driver: Eldad!