We decided to stay two nights at Lake Shkodër.
After an eventful night, we woke slowly, having been woken by Cass in the middle of the night again. Persistent thunder meant that she was afraid and ended up in our tent, whilst the thunder rolled in. There had been a little rain too, but not a significant amount. Needless to say, it was a little bit of a restless night and we were showing signs of it in the morning!
The day was warming up already by mid morning and today was going to be administrative, I had decided that the sheets, towels and pillow cases needed to be washed! We also needed to get some food, so finding a market or supermarket was high on the agenda. The owner of the campsite told us that there was a shop close by.. just walk up to the main road, over the bridge and there is a shop there. So having handed over our dirty washing, as he had a washing service, we set off by foot for the shop.
As we walked we were shocked by the rubbish we saw on the side of the road and dumped in ditches, We passed two young boys by the overpass burning their rubbish. It was a reminder that Albania still had ways to go, with the public facilities we take for granted.
We were perspiring by the time we got to the shop and had to stop for a cold drink at one of the bars. It was a little warmer and further than we had anticipated, hehe. Afterwards we went to the shop and bought essentials .. water, beer, biscuits and other food items. Now for the walk back! It was getting warmer quickly.
Back at the campsite, Cassie made friends with a young girl from a German family staying a few pitches down. She played all afternoon with Lea and her brother Nic. It was nice for her to have company, and Lea wanted to practice her English as she had recently started learning it at school. Win-win situation, we took advantage and relaxed.
All day Thunder had been rumbling in the background but despite this, it had been warm and sunny.. with a slight cloudy haze. But by afternoon, the lightening started making an appearance and we decided to pack up Cassie’s tent and head for the restaurant/bar. And a good thing we did, as the heavens opened with an almighty bang and gush of wind and it did not let up for hours!
We spent some time planning our next stops and reading the Bradt Albania guide.
We had grabbed a table inside and here we stayed for the most of the evening.
Eventually to be joined by Frank and Anjita, Cassie’s new found friends’ parents. The evening was great. We swapped travelling stories, places to visit and even swapped blog addresses. It’s always nice to make friends along the way, so thanks Fank and Anjita for a great evening.
There was also a second Land Rover at the camp, owned by a Scottish couple that were travelling. We had spoken to them the day before about their set up and swapped maps for tips on places to travel. Anyway, Gus and Helen also ended up at the bar/restaurant and as our table was already full, they sat with a trio of Austrian guys next door to us.
As the evening progressed, they ended up joining our table too. We all had a wonderful time drinking wine and beer and swapping stories. Thanks Gus and Helen for your tips and your extending fork!
