The plan had been to start the day early in order to avoid the big heat and have enough time for the 12/14/16/19 km, but of course we don’t succeed with that.
We set off late after breakfast shortly past 9 and walk through the village of Thethi until the beginning of today’s trail. At that point I realize that I had forgotten my food in the hostel and have to walk the 1,5 km back. I get my food and a ride back by some Albanian guys I stop on the road but this way we start the actual hike around 10:30.
Today’s elevation profile is very straight forward: 1000m up hill for 7km. Then another 800m down for another 9 or so. 1000m in 7km means about an elevation of 140m for each kilometer and it is quite tough at times. Thankfully, there is a bar with cold drinks in the middle of nowhere at about 600m. This is one of the things we had not expected and that would be completely unimaginable in the Alps. What we had also not expected is the quantity of people who already walk this trail. Throughout the day, we get the increasing feeling that we discovered it 2 years too late. There are two huge groups and a lot of small ones and at times it is hard to find a spot where you don’t have to walk with any people or have them in direct sight.
Shortly after the bar and at a patch where I am struggling a little with the heat, an old Albanian man passes us. He is dressed in a black suit, normal back shoes, white shirt, a woolen pullover and 2 other layers underneath and slowly walks towards the pass like this. He does not speak English but we talk a little and he gives us precise information about the minutes we still have to walk until the top. He is 75, and apparently in a better shape than most other people, with no need for any fancy equipment or even a bottle of water or a proper t-shirt. Very authentic.
His minute countdown is very accurate and we arrive to the windy pass at 1800m shortly after. From here it is even fuller and harder to avoid the groups. The whole rest of the day is down hill or flat, which does not necessarily mean it’s a lot easier to walk. It gets hotter again as we descend but we are lucky enough to find a great spot with a small private waterfall and pool for lunch. The water is as cold as the Blue eye yesterday and able to even cool our water bottles in no time.
After the break, we follow the very well marked path further downhill and feel it getting less steep and finally turn into a huge, flat, grey stone desert that is a wide riverbed in spring. We walk through that desert on a dirt road for at least an hour until it intersects with a real road to the village. After another 30 minutes of road, we arrive at the Guesthouse in Valbonë.
The Guesthouse is a relatively big terrain with several sleeping houses and a big garden with tables and benches. It seems to be fully booked and also two of the groups we saw today are guests here. They seem to travel with the same agency that organized for us and they seem to do the same itinerary as us, which we don’t like very much.
Other than that, we have a nice room with sheets and towels (I’m still not used to the incredible luxury on this trail) and a shared bathroom. Albanian bathrooms until now are all the same: small, everything in one room and if you take a shower everything gets wet.
We also meet a couple of Spaniards from Madrid who we had briefly talked to this morning and who are very sympathetic. We have dinner together (today: salad, cheese, potatoes with cheese, chicken, rice) and sit in the garden until bedtime. I feed the kittens some of my chicken rests and there is a weird small animal that looks like a mouse with a squirrel’s tale (I think a small marten) that is very cute and sits on a post watching us for at least half an hour.
All in all a nice and quite average hiking day without any special events to report.
