Memaliaj to Gjrocaster

We haven't seen a single traffic light in Albania, probably because they'd be rendered useless most of the time by power cuts. Occasionally a policeman will man a particularly hazardous junction, where their main function seems to be blowing their whistle at anyone who honks their horn. Police can also be found at the side of major roads brandishing minature lollipops, which they use to stop traffic with. We can't be interesting enough to them as all we've had is a benevolent smile whilst cycling up the motorway. We were a bit purturbed at first after passing the motorway traffic only sign, but as it was the only road heading south we decided to take a chance. Soon we were heartened to see every type of nonmotorway traffic conceivable including mopeds ridden by children, horse drawn carts and even a flock of sheep. The pretense of a motorway was soon over when it ended abruptly at a roundabout. Albanians don't seem to understand the concept of roundabouts. The more major road fails to give way and causes a queue of traffic on the roundabout, which builds up until one of the vehicles at the front decides to play chicken and make a run for it. We've even seen cars going round the wrong way to make a shortcut. All this probably stems from the fact that until the collapse of communism private cars were prohibited, resulting in a maximu of 15 years driving experience for any Albanian. This fact is made all the worse because when car ownership was finally allowed everyone went to Italy or Greece to learn to drive. This afternoon we passed yet more roadworks as the road to Greece is upgraded to a motorway. The road was in varying states of destruction and at one point we were halted as a digger caused an avalanche from above only a few meters ahead of us. The rocks were being cascaded down the hill in this way to provide hardcore for building the road.
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Total Distance Cycled : 4312km
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Daily Distance Cycled : 39km
Ascent : 325m
Time Cycling : 2h 45
Journey Time : 3h 40
Average Speed : 14.2 km/h
Hotel : N 40°04'33.3" E 20°08'15.5"
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