Published: 08.05.2019
So we thought we would have an easy day of driving to Greece today, but then everything turned out differently.
We didn't follow the GPS for once, and it immediately suggested a new route for us. Naively, we drove further and further into the mountains, kilometer after kilometer. Eventually, there was only a dirt road with huge potholes and puddles. 15 km back, 22 km ahead, and only going at about 10 kilometers per hour.
We decided to keep going. Everything went well until it didn't anymore. Our car ended up in a ditch and Dani went off to find the nearest locals. And how helpful they were. One woman had a daughter who spoke English, so we communicated, through three degrees of separation, over the phone, in addition to using hand gestures. They didn't want a thank you (it was an honor for them to help), but they offered us an apartment and we exchanged numbers. Very cool.
We couldn't continue driving on the road (we didn't quite understand why the locals advised against it), so we turned back and after five hours, we hadn't made any progress at all.
Exiting Albania was also quite an experience. After the customs check, our car and van were scanned and then searched. Now we're almost in Ioannina and hopefully we'll find a campsite. Have a nice evening ☆