Tuesday, 8th of September, 2020.
My Workaway host in Tirana had asked me, weeks ago, for me to come and leave a few days later. The only change that made on my plans was, that I would add one or two more towns / places to visit. As I was first planning to cross from Montenegro to Albania, I wanted to visit this beautiful small town, in the mountains, called Theth. When I could not enter Bosnia and had to cross through Serbia and Kosovo, I replaced Theth for Kukes. It was more about what was in the way and I could easily reach than actually what was the best place. There is actually not such a thing as better places though. There always tourist places where everybody goes and less visited ones, that is all.
This morning in Patok I allow myself to stay longer in my tent. I am in no rush, the place where I am does not represent a threat and I want for my tent to get dry, so I need to wait for the sun. While I am packing, a car came over and even though several metres from me, the guy starts a conversation. He seem friendly but I do not get why people always want to talk.
I get to this crossroads which is a small commercial area. I could either hitchhike there or on the way to the highway. But since all the cars will basically leave from here and I know I cannot hitchhike in the highway itself, I remain there. Of course the few locals around there disagree with me. I bet they always think I am a kid, who just start doing some travels and know nothing of life. So they keep telling me (in no English) that nobody is going from there to Tirana. And I cannot explain to them in English what I just told you about the location.
Finally, a men driving a taxi decides to take me for free to the highway. I think he would be going there anyway, looking for clients in the road, so he decides to be nice. We grab one client in the road but he does not charge that guy either. He drops me under a bridge, in the highway, but in this part it is not freaky dangerous with many cars on high speed. There is a man waiting under the bridge, hitchhiking kind of, and he says that is the best spot for it. I disagree because I see a gas station under one kilometre ahead. When I ask him where he is going, he says it is not far, just some hundred metres ahead. I tell him he should walk and I leave.
I first get some water in the coffee shop at the gas station. Just after a few minutes a car stops. There are two men and the driver (a nice guy) tells me he is going just outside Tirana but I can grab a local bus for 40 Lekes and I will be in the centre. He tells me which bus to take and he drops me at the bus stop. He even try to give me 200 Lekes but since I have the 40 I will need for the bus in coins already I say thank you but I refuse.
In Tirana, a guy dressed with an “official” vest, crosses the bus charging the people. The transportation is very cheap considering the size of the town. But then Albania itself it is a very cheap country to leave, at least to European and Balkans average. Of course that based in my opinion.
From the last stop, at what I know now be the Skanderbeg square, I find the directions to Kavaja street, based in the position of the National History Museum and I walk towards Hostel Albania. It is not difficult at all to find it and I am there before midday, just as I had wrote to my host, C., two days ago.