Dhermi, Albania

Next stop: Albania! Although being warned for bad road conditions, we were pleasantly surprised when hitting the yet unfinished A1 motorway as soon as we entered Albania. Credit where credit is due: this road is an impressive piece of infrastructural engineering that I had not expected from a country such as Albania. That being said, it was slightly worrying that a small part of this gorgeous, smooth motorway had already collapsed! Unfortunately, we were unable to stop along the way and take some pictures.

Heading towards coastal Durres, we were hoping to avoid the capital Tirana but found ourselves riding right through the thick of it. Unfortunaly, as the new A1 motorway abruptly came to an end, so did the smooth ride and we were introduced to the true Albanian riding experience: pothole after pothole, randomly untarred road, a complete lack of road signs and road markings, pedestrians on the road, etc. We didn't find the campsite we were looking for but were happy to spend the night in a friendly little hotel.

As we were not too impressed with Durres, and had been put off by the advice of bad coastal conditions (overcrowded, littered beaches, muddy water), we decided to head towards the more positive sounding south. And as we conquered the LLogaraja pass, we were not left disappointed as the white crescent beaches and clear blue water tempted us from below.

We are now spending a second night in a cabin in Dhermi, with views of Corfu. Although the water of the Ionian sea is slightly cooler than the Adriatic, it's wonderfully refreshing to take a dip after soaking up the sun. This place is very relaxing and beautifully scenic. Thankfully, although popular with locals and some Italian tourists, it is not (yet!) a built-up and overcrowded tourist spot.