Gjrocaster to Kalpaki

Gjrocaster old town is a well preserved old place, full of steep cobbled streets and stone houses whose roofs are covered in thick slabs of slate. We found a lovley little guesthouse, by far the nicest cleanest place we've stayed in in Albania. The enormous room had a stripped pine floor covered in old traditional rugs, and the carved and inlaid wooden cornicing, pelmet and built in cupboards had also been restored. The room contained beautiful old furniture and an enormous wooden bed, the first one whose springs didn't dig into us, and that didn't threaten to collapse when we lay on it. The old stone house kept lovley and cool, unlike the modern concrete buildings we've stayed in. The guesthouse even provided breakfast, we werebegining to think that Albanians didn't understand the concept as all that's usually on offer is strong soupy coffee. The next day wet off through the last part of Albania and after our lunch stop our Czech cyclist friend caught up with us again. He accompanied us towards the border where we all smugly sailed past a queue of biblical proportions to cross into Greece without a hitch. As we cycled along the incredibly smooth highway the surrounding hills were now covered in verdant trees where there was only scrub in Albania. There then followed a series of climbs which were tough in the heat of the day before we descended to our destination. Our run of good luck and kindness from strangers continued across the border when we were given a spirg of fresh basil and two free drinks when we stopped at a roadside café.
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Total Distance Cycled : 4370m
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Daily Distance Cycled : 58km
Ascent : 378m
Time Cycling : 4h 10
Journey Time : 7h 30
Average Speed : 13.8 km/h
Hotel : N 39°53'22.9" E 20°37'22.4"
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