From Thassos, Greece to Albania, Montenegro, Croatia

Bikes in their pyjamas, outside Hotel Logis in Florina, Greece

From Thassos we caught the ferry to Kavala on the Greek mainland and headed to Thessalonika. Didn't see much of the city as we were in a hotel on the outskirts. Arrived next day at Florina in northern Greece, near the Albanian border. Florina seemed to be full of Melbourne Greeks! Good food in Florina and very friendly people!

The next day (Wednesday 25 May) we climbed an incredibly steep range north of Florina and sampled some spectacular alpine scenery as we crossed into Albania. Our destination was Pogradec on the shores of Lake Ohrig.

Albanian fishermen netting in Lake Ohrig, Pogradec

(A couple of hours work yielded an ice cream container full of sardines)

From Pogradec we descended through the mountains to the Albanian coast and spent a night at the port city of Durres. The most interesting thing about Durres is its Roman amphitheatre and King Zog's villa that he built in the 1920's. It's derelict now and closed to the public but by bribing the guard we got through the razor wire.

"Hub" leaving Pogradec, Lake Ohrig in the background.

Albanian countryside - after leaving Pogradec

The Roman amphitheatre at Durres, Albania

Mosaics at the Roman amphitheatre

Brian in King Zog's Villa, Durres, Albania

King Zog's Villa

From Durres, Albania, we rode to Tivan on the "Montenegro Riviera". The scenery and architecture changed dramatically once we crossed the border into Montenegro. What a beautiful country and such a contrast to Albania! Marcel and I decided to lash out and eat at a quality restaurant adjacent to our hotel and enjoyed  first class Macedonian and Slovenian wines with our Adriatic seafood platter and Venison casserole. Quince brandy accompanied the coffee!

Private motor yachts at Tivan, Montenegro

John, Myles, Marcel and Dave - in front of our hotel

Our hotel at Tivan

Today we had a long ride of over 300 km from Tivan in Montenegro to Split in Croatia. It involved three border crossings! (Montenegro/Croatia/Bosnia Herzegovina/Croatia). Scenery was spectacular the whole way and there was the bonus of a modern motorway on the final run into Split.

On the ferry in Montenegro. (It took 50 km off the drive.)

Dubrovnik with its fabulous bridge and port

(We rode past it)

John and Myles admiring the bridge at Dubrovnik

Major breakdowns still occur with the bikes and diff changes, gearbox changes, head changes are a daily routine. My bike has generally been running OK but it won't idle and it's hard to start when hot. This means that I hold up the queue at border crossings and toll booths when it cuts out and I jump on the kick start in a frustrating attempt to get going again. The toll booth attendant at Split helped me push the machine out of the way today to let all the other (impatient) traffic through......

Our numbers are down to seventeen out of the original twenty riders. So far three have pulled out but, on a brighter note, our Ukrainian mechanic, Sasha, and his wife, Nadia, have joined us after three frustrating weeks of being turned back at borders, having ferries cancelled, etc. Sasha has already put in long night time hours doing major work on some bikes....

As I write, half the team are still to make it to Split. A major breakdown made it easier to put up in a hotel between Dubrovnik and Split rather than ride in the dark.

We'll have two days here at Split then drive to Zador to take the overnight ferry to Ancona in Italy.