During the night I felt really bad & was violently sick in the toilet! I decided to stay outside my room & sit in the fresh air for a while. Later, one of the young brothers & his grandfather offered me some water & coke, which helped a little. However, after returning to my room I later had to get up again & dash to the toilet!
After a dreadful night, I awoke at about 7:30am & told Naim all about it, although he clearly heard most of it! I assumed it must have been something I had eaten last night, I did eat a lot of cheese? Naim & I decided to walk to the next door bar called 'Gurra' for a coffee. I told Naim I wanted to travel to Shkodër today & so he asked the bar owner to make some enquiries. I was soon informed there was a minibus at 2pm & it would pick me up outside the bar. The fare would be a massive 1000 Lek!
I didn't really fancy eating anything but Naim suggested I try the local honey. We walked back to the guest house & I was soon presented with some bread & honey & a large pot of tea, which did make me feel a bit better. Naim said he had to return to Valbona, so I wished him a safe journey & we said our goodbyes.
I just about had enough energy to wonder around Thethi again, & so visited the old church & the lock in tower again. I also walked alongside the Shala River & crossed the make shift bridge made from two very large pipes! I was really still too tired & ill to do anything else, so I returned to my guest house & had a shower. I later checked out at 12 noon, & headed back to the nearby bar to wait for the minibus to take me to Shkodër. (The guest house charged me 20 Euros for everything, which I was happy with.)
The lock in tower in Thethi
Thethi
The Shala River (& foot bridge!) in Thethi
The Shala River in Thethi
Thethi
At the bar there was a young lad who spoke very good English (as they all do in Thethi!). He was currently on his summer holidays & helping out, (apparently he was a very good footballer playing at national level!) He took a phone call whilst I was sat waiting, regarding the minibus to Shkodër. Apparently the regular minibus had mechanical problems, but I had nothing to worry about as there would be another one arriving instead! (There is a yellow minibus which was the one broken & another which is orange, which is in much better condition & has a faster driver, so I was told!)
Just after 2pm the minibus arrived & I was soon on my way to Shkodër. In the passenger seat was the local man I'd met yesterday (with Naim) at the mountainside café! No doubt he was stocking up with more supplies of beer in Shkodër! All the rest of the passengers appeared to be from the Czech Republic, including a young couple & their son. After leaving Thethi we stopped at a nearby guest house & it soon became obvious this is where the young Czech couple had stayed & we were here to pick up their 3 bicycles & a huge amount of luggage!
At the guest house there was a lot of discussion between the Czech couple, the guest house owner & the driver. A young girl later came out of the guest house & was able to translate & help out. Apparently another minibus driver had brought them to Thethi & charged them 6000 Lek, but had also agreed to pick them up again & take them to Shkodër. The driver clearly had no intentions of returning & had just ripped them off. I later learned the couple had visited Albania before & decided to return as they loved the country so much.
When we finally set off again, I was soon amazed at how bad the road was out of Thethi leading to Boga. The driver was indeed a very good driver, when he was confronted with oncoming traffic he had to reverse quite some distance back down the mountain very skillfully. He was also very well known, as every person he passed he had to stop & have a chat! Once we reached the summit (& before the descent into Boga) we stopped which allowed all of us to get out of the minibus & take some photographs which was great, (although I did pay 1000 Lek!)
Reaching the summit over Thethi & heading down towards Boga
The road down to Boga (from Thethi)
Looking back over towards Thethi
On the descent I was again impressed with the driver's skills as he negotiated the treacherous hairpin bends. When we reached Boga we stopped at the local café so we all could have a drink. Some of the Czechs had their own cars parked nearby & so continued their own journey through Albania. After a 30 minute stop, the young Czech couple & I boarded the minibus again. Back on the road the driver continued to stop at everybody he passed to have a chat, I was ill & just wanted my bed!
When we reached Kopliku the Czech couple (with their young child) jumped off & I helped them unload their bikes. They told me they had visited Albania 3 years ago & were re-visiting all the guest houses again!
By the time I reached Shkodër it was about 7:00pm. I was dropped off in the Dobrac area in the north of Shkodër. My plan was to head towards 'Hapat e Lehte' guest house, (near 'Tradita' guest house were I'd stayed a few days earlier). By the time I reached the centre of town I was getting quite tired & so visited one of the hotels near the Piazza Park. Inside the lobby were three Americans who were in Albania for a film shoot! The man at the reception said the hotel was fully booked, but could fix me up with a room nearby for 10 Euros! As I was still a bit ill I asked if it had air conditioning, which he said it had. However it later transpired it did not & so I declined his offer as I really needed to pamper myself!
Back on the hunt for 'Hapat e Lehte' guest house, I was really struggling (& began to regret turning down the budget room earlier!) A local man having a drink with his friends offered to help, he knocked on one of the doors close to where the guest house was supposed to be located. A lady soon appeared to say the guest house was now closed down! I decided to head to 'Tradita' where I had stayed a few days earlier. I paid another 30 Euros for the pleasure, & this time my room had three beds & a fridge!
I plan to enjoy my breakfast in the morning & check out at 12 noon & catch a minibus to Tirana!
