I had put in the effort the previous day confirming details for my place on the boat and checking the route to ensure I would not get lost on my way.
It was an early start (about 5:30am) and I was checking out of the hotel which meant everything had to be packed and loaded too. (in hindsight I should have made arrangements to put all of my gear and panniers in storage until I returned that night…….but you never know what can happen out on the road so I had everything with me.)
It was great leaving so early in the morning while the streets were clear and the weather was cool as the sun rose. All signs suggested it was going to be a pretty good day ahead.
I rode off along the route I had checked the previous day and continued on further. As I rode up the hill and rounded the corner the system of lakes became obvious.
The first of the lakes I would see on the day.
Still a beautifully still morning.
As I rode around the narrow bends and twisting, potholed road, taking a few photos along the way, a private chauffeur van with 2 guests loomed behind me and then sped past. He had obviously driven the road many times and wasn't too fussed about a smooth ride for the guests.
A short distance from the tunnel which leads through to the ferry there is a steep incline where I passed several cyclists who were doing the abridged version of the trip - unless they left a good few hours earlier…..
The tunnel through to the meeting point to the ferry is an experience in itself.
The start of the tunnel to the ferry.
You enter the dark tunnel which is only a short distance from the landing place for the boat. The dark tunnel curves around through the mountain and you are surprised as you exit the tunnel in the bright sunlight at the short distance from the other parked vehicles. You only have a moment to decide where to go and where to park. I chose to park near another motorcycle. There weren't many other options anyway. Most of the vehicles there are just taking up space, or holding their passengers until the boat arrives, which doesn't leave much room from those of us that need to get on the boat.
I parked near another motorbike and was glad that there were others joining me.
A great spot to wait for a boat trip with a motorbike.
The other motorcyclists had a snack - the hotel gave me a takeaway brekky.
The group of motorcyclists joining me on the ferry trip were planning a much more adventurous journey northwards after we got off at the other end. Based on the experiences of other motorcyclists I had met (Mark and Martin - Berat) I was hoping that their route ahead was the experience and challenge they wanted and not a dreadful, testing ride that could easily cause damage and injury. One of the riders was rather skilled (he had competed in several enduro races) and his pillion never got off regardless of how challenging the section of road might be.
The small ferry boat arrived…..5 bikes needed to fit on there somewhere.
After all of the people and the sacks where unloaded the pedestrian passengers, the cyclists and the bags, pipes and who knows what were loaded it was obvious that the rush to get the bikes on had increased. To get the bikes on the boat the local fellas used a short and narrow plank to bridge the gap and then they manhandled each bike down the narrow port side walkway. The first bike was loaded on with a fair bit of assistance from its owner and he chose to stay with his bike. Each other bike was the same until the last which was mine. It seems mine was both the heaviest and the widest…..
The bikes get loaded.
Last and certainly not least.
My bike took all available to turn it around on the steeply sloping ramp down to the boat. Once the back end was on the boat and then between the rails and the cabin there was still the matter of getting the front half in place. One of the mirrors was in the way and ended up loose, the crash bars were useful at protecting the bike although they got in the way of the cabin and the hand rails and ended up scratched and touched-up with blue paint. After my bike was loaded it was time to get our luggage and ourselves on the boat.
We ended up sitting on the sacks and motorbike luggage at the front of the boat - there was nowhere else to go.
The man who went on with his bike first
was stuck at the bad of the boat by himself for the duration of the journey.
Once we got going all of us were happy that the scenery and surroundings were amazing. The boat and its passengers were the only sounds to be heard and I would be rather surprised if anyone could have hoped for a better day. The hills and cliffs meet the lake's green edges spectacularly and the water is beautiful (although it is apparent that the locals are not too worried about throwing everything they are finished with in it).
The bikes, the boat, the trees, the rocks, the water - beautiful.
It was so still and smooth.
There were signs of life……not thriving though.
Small areas of the slopes were farmed/cropped and hosted the home.
In speaking with the local passengers it seems many of the farming areas are used to do all they can to produce what they will need for the winter ahead. The boat is used to bring in what they need and take out what they can when they can. They are often without electricity and certainly don't have landlines or internet - mobiles however seem abundant. When winter comes they are either staying in or staying out since the only transport, the boat, doesn't run during winter.
There were even signs of 'public art'……?
One of the drop-off/pick-up points along the way.
Cliffs define the narrow gap along the lake.
The mule, donkey or ass waits to help with passengers and their luggage up the steep hills.
Still very still.
The departing passengers would climb the cliffs to the plateau above.
A boat trip for the mascot - how lucky?
The cabin on the boat is from a bus and still uses the bus steering wheel.
We would dock with an old car ferry to unload the bikes.
After all of the pedestrian passengers alighted from the boat we backed up and brought the boat in front of an old car ferry that was moored at the shore. (I had heard the car ferries were no longer used after one had sunk with a few cars abroad.)
Once again the short and thin plank was used to get the bikes off the boat. I am not sure how many of the short thin planks they have lost, or bikes for that matter, since we almost lost the plank on my bike and every other bike afterwards. We got the bikes onto the old car ferry, reloaded our gear and then looked ahead to getting off the car ferry and continuing our journey on our bikes……
The ramp off the car ferry was very steep downwards and the loose dirt ramp up the other side was very steep too. As a result the exit from the boat and to safety was not easy, pleasant or a fait accompli. I was not the first to try it…thankfully.
The first two to go both spinned/stalled/stopped and needed some assistance up the other side. I took a wider angle to try and smooth out the approach and ascent and thankfully made it up the other side without trouble, although the loose, slippery and muddy surface did not bring back my off-road, fully loaded confidence just yet. The last to leave was the experienced rider/racer with his pillion aboard - he had no trouble at all.
After we had parked and regained our composure at the small store, in the mud on the slope down towards the lake, we readied ourselves to leave. I was heading back to Shkoder over relatively safe and sure roads while the others would head northwards through potentially exciting (non-existent) roads, mountains and countryside off the beaten track.
After a very short period of riding on dirt/gravel/mud roads after the ferry we encountered a concrete mixer truck pouring its load down the hillside into a large retaining wall. All well and good except that meant the main road was blocked and we needed to use the construction road below. After first having to reverse fully loaded motorbikes we made our way to the construction road.We dropped steeply down on the gravel/mud construction road before it levelled off so that we could survey the road out………
The road out was a quick and steep drop down before a rather steep rise up again out of the low point. I had not ridden roads/tracks like this since I did the BMW Off Road Skills Course in Wales with Simon Pavey on an unloaded, knobbly tyred 1200GS. I thought of nothing else but making it up the other side and gave it some. I got going, selected second gear then spun my way up to the top and was so relieved to have made it. Although nobody said anything specific I got the impression that they thought I had done a pretty good job knowing I was well and truly fully loaded.
After that last little bit of excitement it was time to get going. If I remember correctly it was about 35km from the boat drop-off back to the main road above.
Another dam wall on the way out.
It didn't take long to realise that the road out was not gong to be a freeway. There were spectacular views of the valley and then the dam walls along the way. Unfortunately the road varied from smooth and well surfaced, to rough and potholed. These road conditions combined with the steep and twisting nature of the road out of the valley meant slow progress.
One of many bends along the way.
What I had read to be 35km from the place where we departed the ferry to where I could join the main road took 2hours. I can appreciate it was twisty and steep but 2hours for 35km's is slow. I do not have the ODO reading to confirm the distances - all I know is that it took 2hours to get from the river to the top of the mountain.
On my way back I was shagged/ruined/destroyed. I had eaten some of the little brekky provided by the hotel and obviously needed to stop for more. Along the way back to Shkoder I encountered some fellow bikers who had also stopped to boost their energy levels. They were complaining of the heat (with the man having his bike gear rolled-up on the legs and his jacket off) while they had a little something to eat and drink. I joined them with the left-overs from my breakfast and accepted their offer of coffee.
He seemed to like my bike.
We talked about our travels and enjoyed a little to eat and drink together. We were heading back most of the way together so we rode for a while. It was obvious that 'he' preferred to ride off much faster than 'her' and I think he was thankful that I could follow them. He sped off for some twisty sections only to come back again and join us to do them all over again. I was happy for him to demonstrate his urgency and enjoyed a relaxed ride back towards Shkoder and ultimately left them to their own journey.
I returned to Shkoder and checked-in at Hotel Colosseo where I had confirmed a booking the day before.
It had been a long day on the bike and I was glad to be back in Shkoder with somewhere to sleep, with an internet connection and perhaps working air-conditioning……..
Tomorrow I would be out of Albania.