Albanian extremes

Hello from Kukes, Northern Albania.

We're 40 kilometres from Kosovo and everything is going to plan. A couple of days back, it has to be said that we were thinking of flying to China but that has now changed. Plan A is still in place. Morale was very low after our first two days in the mountains of Albania. It hadn't stopped raining for virtually three weeks and pulling huge loads up steep long hills under pouring rain wasn't great fun. Bearable but not great. Since we are now firmly in the mountains instead of climbing out of the coastal plain, the ups are just as long as the downs so although it's hard work, we can cope! We will be in Kosovo tomorrow which should be really interesting to travel in. A country that is internationally recognised by most, yet not by Serbia and so cannot be fully independent. I am sure everyone remembers the conflict in 1999.

Since leaving Dubrovnik under the rain, it rained all through Montenegro apart from one lucky day. The old towns of Herceg Novi, Perast, Kotor and Budvar are all incredibly beautiful and the Kotor Fjord even though it was raining again, is a very special place. Under sunny blue skies it must be out of this world. The road around the fjord goes on forever, hugging the shore, winding in and winding out revealing new and even better views. Something l never mentioned, yes it's possible even with the very long rants l can produce, is that all down the Adriatic coast the water is so clear. So the water is clean, the towns are beautiful and the landscape even better. Just the town of Kotor is a must visit.

From the beginning Albania has been very different. I nearly wasn't let in for some reason. It was raining at the time and the guy wasn't very genial to say the least. It may have been to do with Dorothee not having the same name as l and yet our child having my name. However we will never really know the truth behind this. I was let in with a mysterious nod and a look but no wink and no stamp. None of us got a stamp and when Dorothee asked for one, she was waved away with something not far from disgust. Women definetly don't do the talking here. It seems my other half will have to learn to be more obedient! Poverty is a problem here. 46% of the population live on under 2$ a day and you can tell. Children beg and chase you and are very aggresive at it too. You can't blame them but you can't give to a hundred kids and it woulden't solve the problem either. I don't know if some are orphans or if their parents just put them on the street. I haven't seen children so desperate since spending time in Kenya. A lot of children go to school but there is a large majority who do not. I am afraid l have no idea of firm figures.

Then there is the other half. There are rich Albanians. Organised crime exists massively such as the huge amounts of stolen Mercedes Benz's we see on the road among other cars that often still have the original registration plate. I have seen quite a lot of British cars with the Land Rover Discovery being a particular favourite. A minority are getting rich off this type of dealing but most our having a tough time. Corruption obviously starts at the top. In virtually every town there is a smart hotel and this is where the supposed, 'high society' hang out.

The majority of Albanians are somewhere in between. Every one of them we have met are extremely generous even though they have little to offer. We were camping in an abandoned school one night and it was raining again with a big storm on the horizon. I think we had three visits in the space of an hour and a half, all of them as they were worried for our safety and warmth. I had to smoke an entire cigarette with one older man out of politeness. The same guy brought us Amstel beer and fresh cheese for our pasta. I never smoke but it went down alright actually. Then this morning after packing up, we were invited for coffee and ended up having freshly fried chips as well. I needed a second breakfast this morning before yet another climb up to over 800 metres so it worked well for my energy levels. It's taken four days to get from Skhoder to Kukes via Puke and the road has wound itself up, around and over at least four passes over 800 metres. It has only been 152 kilometres but the road has been worth it and now we are ready to explore Kosovo and Macedonia. Albania might soon be a part of the European Union. There is no such thing as rubbish removal, they often have basic sanitation issues. I really hope they can do something about the poverty here. It shoulden't exist in the EU but it will and it does. We are all very well.

From Albania with love, Rupert.

4899.4 kilometres and 11 flats