After my stroll through Kotor last night, dinner was waiting for me at my accommodation. Sandra, the owner and namesake of the hostel, had persuaded me to try the dinner that her mother-in-law (supposedly a professional cook) prepares - there should be fresh fish. And there it was with lots of vegetables, rice and potatoes and even more olive oil. It was really worth it. Besides the good food, fate brought Ismail to my side. He had also stayed at the hostel and had been persuaded to join us for dinner. So we spent the evening together.

Ismail comes from Morocco and is a business analyst in the agricultural sector there. He is also on the road by bike. He started in Thessaloniki and is basically riding my tour to Dubrovnik in the opposite direction. However, he still wants to make a detour via Mostar. A really nice evening with interesting stories about cycling in Morocco.

Today I left already at 6 o'clock to avoid the heat. At the end of the first climb there was again a great view of Kotor.

After that, the track should creep over small paths through the mountains - he did. Yes, until the road was suddenly just not there. Apparently, half the mountain has slipped there - to continue in the planned direction was no longer to think. So I turned around, drove back into the valley and onto the main road. On the main road I then stayed until more than half of today's stage (until shortly before Bar).

Then it went east into the hinterland towards the Albanian border. Here the roads were good and essentially empty - nice to drive. It was noticeable that the church steeples in the villages became minarets as the route progressed. A slow transition towards the Islamic world.

From the Albanian border to Shkoder it was another 15 km. Shkoder calls itself a bike-friendly city in Albania. And indeed, there are some (few) bike lanes and people moving around by bike - and even a bike store (see photo).

It was clearly noticeable that we now find ourselves in a different cultural environment in Albania. And that applies not only to our standards in terms of electricity, waste disposal and housing. However, I do not sense any danger here (so far). The. People are rather reserved but friendly when you talk to them. Let's see if this then also applies to Tirana - there it goes tomorrow with a rest day in the city. That means sleeping twice in the same bed - what you can be so happy about...

These are pictures from today's tour: