Eighth Day

We woke up in Vlorë and were impatiently waiting for our car to be repaired. Meanwhile, I went to the pharmacy with Honzík in the morning due to his rash. There, we were greeted by two very kind pharmacists (a mother and daughter), who immediately concluded that it was an allergic reaction. The older pharmacist then took Honzík aside and gave him an injection in his bottom. The combination of the sounds of Honzík screaming and the pharmacist, of whom I understood not a word, really amused me.

After returning to our accommodation, we had to start packing up, as we needed to be checked out by noon. We went for lunch at a nearby KFC, where we decided to wait until we heard back about our car.

Before three o'clock in the afternoon, we decided to move to the promenade by the sea, and shortly after, a lady from the insurance company called us to let us know that our car was fixed. We then split into 3 pairs: me with Hans, Béďa with Fíla, and Řízek with Maty.

Me with Hans:

We decided that it would be wiser to go to the hospital regarding the rash. So we faced a 3 km long walk, during which we met 6 Czech tourists who were about our age. After sharing impressions from our travels, we continued on. We were surprised by the relatively modern facilities and friendly attitude of the doctors at the hospital. Unfortunately, it was Saturday, so they couldn’t do all the necessary examinations. They had a similar opinion as the pharmacists and prescribed us allergy medication.

Béďa with Fíla:

Our expedition started with the joyful news that the car was ready. We set off immediately, first for cash, as they wanted payment in cash. They chose local hams, exchanged them for euros, and headed to the location marked by the local girl as the bus station.

Here, we hailed a local taxi driver who took on the task of local bus and operated a shared taxi. Along the way, we experienced a real Balkan ride: a packed car, no traffic rules to follow, and stopping for a chat with a friend. In the end, he dropped us off in the village where our car was located. We found the auto service by its location and peeked inside. With some pantomime and an incompetent girlfriend on the phone (the insurance lady), we discovered it wasn’t the right place. A local guy guided us to another shop, and here we finally got our car. Then, with relief in our hearts, we drove back to Vlorë to pick up the rest of the crew.

Řízek with Maty:

Our pair took on perhaps the least entertaining but nevertheless equally important task. To speed things up, we stayed lying in the park on the grass and watched over the luggage of all the others so they wouldn’t have to carry it. Meanwhile, two local natives joined us, and at first, we didn’t know what to expect. In the end, they shared a beer with us, we explained our situation to them, and continued to wait for about two hours for the return of the other members of our expedition.

The timing couldn’t have been better; at the same moment, we returned to our things with Hans and Béďa with Fíla already in the car… finally, something went our way. So we loaded up all the things and set off towards Tirana (the capital of Albania). On the outskirts of the city, we laid out our sleeping bags; some of us went for a run, we had dinner, and then we went to sleep peacefully.