ALONE NOW
Alone into the unknown…
10th April - 14th April | 2023
The next morning it was time to say goodbye as James has to go back home, whilst I carry on travelling. He will catch me in Turkey end of June to spend the summer together doing Turkey, Georgia and Armenia! From now on, I am on my little own! That feels very weird thinking about it! I have been travelling in the past on my own or last year, but it still feels really weird. Maybe as it is this time further away from home.
At lunchtime, I left the hotel to drive up to Barcelona for the ferry to Civitavecchia in Italy. As it was the end of a long weekend it took me nearly 90 mins longer due to all the traffic.
After I got my ferry ticket, I went into town to fuel up my bike, as fuel in Italy is still expensive. Also, I needed some drinks and snacks for the ferry ride. As in Spain Easter Monday is a bank holiday, so I had to do my little shopping at the petrol station!
The ferry left on time to Civitavecchia. It is a big ferry! I didn´t know that my ticket was also already my cabin key! So after running around with all my luggage on the boat, I finally made it sweaty to my room, where I had immediately a shower. Good thought of me leaving my hair out, as it was only a trickle coming out!
As I didn’t fancy going to the disco or sitting at the bar listening to some live music I went to bed, where I fell asleep pretty soon. At 9am a voice came over the loudspeaker to announce that people for Sardinia had to leave their rooms. Wow, we are already in Sardinia! After unloading and loading has been done, the ferry was suddenly delayed for nearly 4 hours. No idea why, but it will not please the host of the guesthouse I am staying at tonight. Originally I was already stretching the check-in time, but being nearly 4 hours delayed ... I messaged him after 2 hours about the delay, to keep him updated.
Finally, at midnight, I arrived in Civitavecchia. Once rolled off the boat it only took me only 15mins to get to the hotel. What a wise decision by the time I did the booking! After I did the check-in, another BMW rolled into the parking lot. That was really funny as it was the scottish couple I just met on the ferry as they live in Portugal (having a Portuguese number plate).
After breakfast and talking to the lovely couple the next morning, I headed towards Bari for the next ferry ride. It was only 500km, but it took me nearly 10 hrs (only 3 short petrol and cafe stops including)! And I already stretched speed and road laws to get moving on! I still had the feeling I will never arrive.
At the coast, I stayed in a nice apartment room in Trani (www.colonnarooms.com) and they accepted my request to stay until 14h00 the next day (normally check-out at 10h00). Like that, I finally could catch up on all the "loose ends" of work that needed the internet. And the bonus was having a washing machine, so I also could wash my clothes before I have to go commando.
After check-out, it was only a short ride to Bari, where I went to a Decathlon to buy a wormer shirt as I must have been too optimistic when packing. At about 17h00 I was at the harbour and by 18h00 was through customs waiting in front of the ferry to Durres, Albania. Unfortunately loading didn’t start until 19h00 and that was for the lorries first. It was really interesting to watch all of that happening, but I started to get cold standing and waiting in the cold wind. Finally, they let me on the boat and park right in front of a big lorry. We were with 4 people moving Schimmelchen to the right position. Let´s hope all goes well with the strapping down as they are not very much used to transporting motorcycles on this route (yet).
The lorry driver, Neji, next to my bike was super helpful and took me a bit under his wings. He was super helpful and nice. We had really good conversations, starting in English and once realising he spoke very good German, carrying on in German. Once the ferry left the harbour, I updated Pavel (www.treesforlure.org) about the times and then I went to my cabin to sleep. During the night I suddenly realised I forgot to put my bike into 1st gear, so I was really worrying as it was a bit of a bumpy sea (nothing compared to the Drake Passage though!).
The next morning we arrived on time in Durres, Albania. Once off the ship, it took me a while to get through customs and then finally meet Pavel (IG: farandfurther) again. Once I settled in we headed off to town as I needed a local SIM card and some cash. Pavel had to sort out some bank business for the non-profit charity www.treesforlure.org.
After all was sorted, including a car battery charger, we got home and I finally met his lovely girlfriend Mira.
Sorry for nearly no pictures, but there was not much to do so as only ferry hopping.
In the next blog, we all will go up into the mountains to Lurë. Sit down and have a Cappuccino while you are waiting for more adventures.
Places | Cities:
SPAIN:
Barcelona
ITALY:
Porto Torre (Sardinia), Civitavecchia, Trani
ALBANIA:
Durres
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 2335 km
Information (in April 2023):
Easy for Germans - only ID sufficient extension of bike insurance for Albania.
Maintenance | Breakdown:
./.
Health issues:
./.
Special thanks to:
www.colonnarooms.com to be helpful and flexible with my stay.
Pavel (www.treesforlure.org) and Mira to give me a warm welcome and looking after me!