Trekking 2 Days Alone in ALBANIA

What is this place? Oh Lord. You know, that's what I fear the most. I don't know if I'm weird or weird for saying this, but every once in a while I feel this overwhelming need to be

alone

, just me and my thoughts. That's all. There is no one else around. Every once in a while, I like to think that I don't have to answer emails or calls and that I can just zone out. And this last month has been tremendously busy. So, so crazy. I never had a chance to really sit down and have time. And so I got to that point where I knew I was becoming irritable, moody, and exhausted all the time.

And I knew it was probably time to go. Anyway, I decided very spontaneously to take a solo trip here in the south of Albania. I brought my tent, my sleeping bag, some food for the road, some water and decided I should go. It's eight o'clock on a beautiful morning and I'm here with Eni, who is my local guide. Hello. And Eni will leave me at the entrance to the valley. Here we are! We have arrived at the last town, it is called Polican, and from here I walk for two or three

days

. I wish you good luck.

I'll need it! And so, I'm all

alone

here. My plan was to cross the entire valley, 40 kilometers in two

days

. The brave man. This has been quite a bit of up and down, I mean 10 kilometres, it's not much but keep in mind that my backpack weighs around 10 KG. Which makes it a little more difficult on the climbs, no matter how modest they may seem. I have another 5 KM to the town where I would like to camp for the night. And I have maybe three hours to get there. Because sunset... comes quite early in winter. One of the best things about Albania: Byrek.

The food tastes so good after you've walked. It is quite a challenge to cross these bushes. For the rest of my trip to the village of Hoshteve I decided to follow these shepherds' tracks. They cut the tall grass so you can see more or less where you need to go. And worst case scenario, I can always get back to the main road. Oh my god, what is this place? Oh, there I started sweating a lot. Walking through these - aha! - these bushes. So my trip through the bushes resulted in... me losing my microphone windsock. Okay then, wind noise, please come to me.

You know, that's what I fear most when I walk alone. Sheepdogs. These pastures are used for grazing sheep practically all year round. And, you know, sheepdogs are used, of course, to protect the flock. Not wild animals, not people, but potentially dangerous and ferocious sheepdogs. Next time I want to invest in one of those funky little devices that make a high-pitched sound, you know, to scare them. I'm going to see if I can find the pastor and say hello. My God, the pastor is a girl. I didn't expect this, how cool! Oh my gosh, I really want to say hello to this pastor, let me see if I can find him.

Behind the bushes. Hello! Oh so nice. And your name? Me: Eve. Fimio. Oh, I think he was such a kind gentleman. He spoke to me in a mix of Greek, Albanian and Russian about his grandchildren. So sweet. More dogs... in the middle of my way to town. I can see the shepherd and the flock in the distance, but the dogs just....they stayed behind, and they are here and they won't let me cross. So to avoid the dogs, I can go through this little canyon and out there. And so I avoid them completely. Mmmmm. I'm going to put the camera away and be very careful here.

Mission accomplished. Leaves in my hair, bits of bushes and trees, but at least I'm safe. I just walked through this town, it's called Sheper, and it's almost completely deserted, most of the inhabitants, most of the people who live here actually only live here in the summer and the warm seasons. And for the winter, you know, they go to greener pastures, towns and cities where they can live a little more comfortably, you know, so there's no one here. Do you see those? Those small structures are like a hallmark of Albanian history. There are around 200,000 of these bunkers spread throughout Albania.

This is a huge number in a country of three million inhabitants. The story is the following. The former communist dictator of Albania, Enver Hoxha, was so paranoid about foreign invasions that he decided to build a huge, gigantic system (network) of these bunkers throughout the country, to protect Albania from the outside world. In reality, no invaders ever arrived, but the bunkers remain. Imagine sitting here and searching for the enemy... It feels positively medieval. This is what happened. The moment I set foot in the town, I saw Liria, this lady, leaving her house. It's like our meeting was meant to be.

Following this lady to her house. We greeted each other and almost immediately Liria told me that she should spend the night at her house... to which, of course, I said yes. Liria just made me a bowl of bean soup, which she is very delicious... and she is also making me chai. The spoon... And what I like most: fresh cheese. It's amazing. Straight from the sheep. Alright. So good. The boys laugh at me for talking to the camera. Socks! Oh my god, I can't believe it. Liria is... So sweet, she is such a sweet lady. I mean, not only did she welcome me into her home, she fed me, but then she proceeded to tuck me into bed.

And I'm someone she met just three hours ago. She doesn't know me. I am a stranger, a foreigner. We can't even speak properly. We just exchange words that I get from Google Translate. I mean, this goes beyond hospitality. I think this is just genuine human kindness and trust. I mean, imagine that a random person, a stranger who doesn't even speak your language, knocks on your door in the middle of the afternoon and asks if he can camp in your yard or stay at your house. In fact, I feel very, very honored and very, very overwhelmed. Hey, I'm going to bed because tomorrow I have another very long day of walking.

So. OMG, Liria made me a full breakfast with cheese, scrambled eggs, and bread. And tea. I am about to embark on the second leg of my journey, and this is the second day. The weather seems a little gloomy, but... Oh my god, this should help me keep going. It's always hard to say goodbye to people who show you so much kindness, but it was time to move on. I said goodbye to Liria, I promised her that I would see her again and as a small gift of gratitude I gave her a painting of a saint that I had brought for my grandmother.

Do you see that bridge behind me? Honestly, it seems straight out of a fairy tale, and keep in mind that I am deep, deep, deep in the middle of nowhere, in a very remote valley in Albania where there is no road access, and yet... Here is a beautiful and impressive super high bridge that connects the two mountains. Rain! It was so beautiful and sunny, and now it's raining again. Let me find some cover. I saw it coming, so I brought something to cover the camera and make sure it doesn't get wet. A plastic bag. Wow, can you imagine living in this house?

In the middle of the valley, there is no phone signal here. Sheep.... Horses, cows, the mountains. The view of that mountain every morning... The sound of the river below, every morning... And these cats! Well, this is taking a little longer than I expected. I'm 20 kilometers in... it's been a very long day. Lots of ups and downs all the time, three kilometers left and just under an hour of sunlight. Then it gets dark. Alright. Gather all my strength! Come on. You see it? It's there. That's the town I'm going to! It gives me a lot of energy just to see the town and know that it is so close.

OK. And last mission: since it hasn't rained and I haven't had to use my plastic bag to protect my camera, I'm using it to pick up some trash I found along the way, mostly plastic. Oh, here is the town of Pesthan! Oh Lord. 22.7 KM today and eight and a half hours of walking. I'm exhausted, but I'm so happy to be here. Oh Lord. Oh, this feels so good. And that over there is Eni with her red Skoda! Excellent! Yes. Alright, turns out I wasn't completely alone on this trip. Not as I initially expected. But you know what?

It turned out amazing. I feel completely recharged, rejuvenated and ready to integrate back into society. You know, I think the moral of the story is that no matter how obsessed you are with an idea of ​​something, it's always worth opening yourself up to new encounters, new possibilities, and new experiences. And I think the willingness to adapt and change is a really brave quality. And you know what I like to say about being brave, right? The world belongs to the brave. Alright. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you like it and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more adventures from around the world.

Currently in Albania. Alright. See you next time.