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I never thought I would be coming to Greece, even just four days ago Greece wasn't on my itinerary but here I am - that's what I love about travelling. This journey keeps on getting more wonderful and surprises me again and again. I thought Bosnia was off the beaten track, being unable to take a piss by the side of the road without being reminded by my friend Iztok to watch out for snakes and landmines, or cycling along 'primary' roads that in reality are little more than dirt tracks, but then I went to Albania. In my first afternoon in Albania after crossing the border from Montenegro I saw an eight year old driving his parents car along the main road, countless donkeys pulling carts packed high with melons and a man walking a bear on a lead. I just couldn't believe I was still in Europe, the same continent that I was drinking espressos in outside Italian cafes and sampling every pastry in every French village. Albania was something else completely.
One afternoon Iztok and I ventured off to swim in a nearby lake, within a few minutes children came to the side of the lake bringing their sheep and goats along behind them and jumped in to join us. A few could speak English and were eagerly asking us about our travels, I could hear the other children repeating the words "Facebook, Facebook". We all played a game of football and in the morning we let them have a go on our bikes and they let us ride their donkeys. Albania really is a fantastic country, my only problem is that Albanians don't know how to look after the environment. The children by the lake couldn't understand why I took my rubbish with me, "just leave it here" they said. Another time in the Albanian Alps a man helped me empty my rubbish into a bag, then he took the bag and just through it into the forest. I've seen this sort of disregard for the environment in South America and Asia, but I didn't realise it existed on such a grand scale here in Europe. I don't think it is down to education as the only ones suffering from it is them, they can see the results of their actions but they still do it. Albanians are lovely people though, and I got through Albania without being kidnapped by the mafia which I was warned about! When we were in Bosnia Iztok told me how one of the locals explained to him that some men in Bosnia would kill us to get just two hundred euros. A comforting thought.
I said goodbye to Iztok after a week. Iztok was one of the most generous people I have ever met, and he really made me laugh. I told him once that he eats very quickly; "I was in the army", he replied, "if you didn't eat quickly you didn't eat."
Neverthless I am happy to be back on my own. I feel stronger now on my own than I ever have done before. I enjoy the freedom and the challenge. In western Europe I camped in the wild a lot, but I have recently dicovered that in this part of the continent it is far more interesting to go off into a little village as the light fades and ask someone if you can camp on their land, you're soon surrounded by inquisitive villagers. To take last night for example, I went into a village in the Macedonian mountains and met a girl who spoke English. She introduced me to her family and her boyfriend, and we sat outside while her mother brought me honey and the girl, Ana, translated their questions. In the morning (turns out village life starts at six) her grandmother woke me up, took me to her house and made me breakfast - homemade bread, homemade jam, eggs from their hens...amazing. She then gave me the rest of the bread, some cheese and the tastiest tomato I have ever had to take with me. I have been lucky enough to experience a lot of generosity on this trip. Once I was sleeping on a bench along the Croatian coast when at about 2am a girl woke me up holding a plate of spaghetti bolognese, she and her friends had been cooking on the beach. I thought afterwards perhaps they thought I was a tramp, and giving me some food was their good deed for the day. Another time in Montenegro a man saw Iztok and I lying outside a supermarket after cycling through the hottest part of the day (about 50 deg. celsius) over some mountain passes and then consuming about 4000 calories in an hour, and offered to buy us some beer.
I still haven't paid for camping since those two campsites in my first two weeks. I've slept anywhere and everywhere, which is good for my budget but it means I haven't showered for almost three weeks. Bad I know. I'm having my first full day without cycling tomorrow since I left, i'll be taking a train to Athens and then a boat to some island to meet brother Paul. Then i'll continue on my bike in a week or so. It'll feel strange travelling without having to move my legs to power myself!
I'm sure I'll miss my bike too, as I left that mountain village this morning with the homemade bread on the back of my bike and a new country ahead of me, I thought to myself - 'this way of life has really become a part of me now, and I think it always will be.'
Tom
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