Day 150 – EU – Albania [Lushjne to Fier]

21/07/20

37.5km

  From Lushnje (Albania) to Fier (Albania)

Europe

Tranquil run amongst the fields and cattle of Albania’s plains – sunny and friendly

I had planned today’s run to avoid the main road and cut through the countryside. It was worth it! The only vehicles I crossed paths with today were horse and donkey carriages, bicycles and every now and then the odd moped. Mostly though, I met shepherds, with herds and dogs in tow – all kinds of herds, like I had never seen being walked around: geese, turkey, ducks..!

I got a bit lost on the country trails at some point. I passed an old woman and her grandson who were minding their geese herd. They shouted at me as I passed them by. I thought maybe they were afraid I would scare their geese, so I tiptoed around very slow and careful. But they kept shouting. So I stopped and we chatted. Well..! We tried to communicate is a better way to put it! I understood I was not supposed to continue straight on. I was supposed to get across a makeshift bridge and cross the local stream.

That was perilous, the bridge was literally two pieces of wood stuck side by side. And in addition to me, there’s BoB the stroller who’s a 30kg monster on 3 wheels! They helped me and somehow we made it safely across. I was on my way again – I took a picture with them before leaving. They have no idea what I am doing or all the way I have traveled. I must have looked very strange to them. And yet they were extremely friendly and went out of their way to help me, stopping me from getting lost in the swamps. Kindness at its best.

I rest this afternoon in the city of Fier. One word about the weather. These days I am leaving early enough to finish my runs around 11am. This way I get to avoid running in the hottest hours of the day. I have not encountered a heatwave like the one that nearly floored me 3 weeks ago in Croatia (day 132 blog). I think getting to properly rest in an air conditioned room is also key to an appropriate recovery and being better prepared to deal with the heat.Tomorrow I’m off to Vlore, on the coast again. It would be nice to get to enjoy a sea swim again, it has been a while.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: