Tushemisht to Korçë (day 3)

Cobbled Bazzar quarter where we had a couple of drinks

Well the weather forecast for today was spot on, heavy rain and thunderstorms first thing. Fortunately we had brought our waterproof kit including overshoes and over shorts. The rain was not cold and once we started climbing out of town I was toasty.

A bit of a chaotic start as we mislaid Paul on our ride out of Tushemisht, I think his bike may have been playing up as the next I saw him was at the top of our first climb where Armand had dropped him off. Unfortunately the views of Lake Orhid on our way up were best left to our imagination. We regrouped at a gas station and from then on the weather started to clear. We had good views of the rolling farmland. Most of the farming seemed to be smaller scale rather than large industrial farms which ties in which what Armand says about the farming still being traditional in nature. 

A couple of things I noticed/ liked were:

• The haystacks wound round poles and capped off to stop the rain ingress, so conical in nature
• Corn plants tied together in small wigwams once the corn had been harvested
• Grape vines ( for table grapes) used as ‘hedges’ separating orchards
• The roads were generally in excellent condition.
• Kids out from school being friendly as we passed. A few high fived us others wanted to know where we were from. Although Albania is well and truly open to tourists get the feeling that cyclists touring in this area are still a pleasant novelty
• Our coffee stop was welcome and we were glad that the group spread out and we were able to cycle on our own chatting about this that and the other. 
• A very nice lunch at Shaholi resturant. Armand was right when he said the food on this tour would be of a high standard, showcasing various specialities of the areas we visited. The previous evening we had grilled fish which is only found in Lake Ohrid. Very tasty

The ride today was not that long and we arrived early afternoon in Korçë. Strange getting used to riding in a city as we are so used to quiet roads in Wales. Korçe is the 6th largest city in Albania and there was quite a lot of traffic about, although the park and tree lined boulevard as we entered the city centre was very nice.

After some time to get settled and washed up we headed off with Armand for a guided tour of the city. We spent most of the time in the first Albanian school founded in 1887 during the Ottoman Empire. It was interesting as this was the first secular school to teach the Albanian language to girls and boys of both the Christian and Muslim faiths. Prior to this giving lessons in Albanian was done in secret due to constraints imposed by the Ottoman authorities. This school was also very important for the Albanian identity and culture as it was a key centre for work to standardize the written Albanian alphabet. Armand was very proud of this school partly because his grandfather had been instrumental in establishing it during his time as a minister for education. It was interesting to me how out of such a small school, which endured difficulties in operating and gaining funding, so much was achieved in helping the country establish its identity.

Unfortunately we then trooped off to a bar in the old town which was largely filled by (closed) bars / small restaurants and tourist shops. Armand wanted to discuss political matters and to be honest I was not that interested so after a short time I wandered off for a stroll on my own, checking back now and then to see when we would head off for dinner. I would have preferred to have seen some of the other sites of the city however as was mentioned a couple of times on a group tour you have to give up control of most things and go with the flow. Something I must admit is not that easy for me however much I try.

See below for a video of our ride. Note to see the full controls click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen..