Himarë to Vlorë via Llogara Pass (day 9) Albania

View across to Dhërmi

Very happy to wake up this morning to a cloudy day, it made the uphill section much easier than if we had done it in full sun. Today’s ride was the climax of our holiday with an elevation gain of about 1,500m to the Llogara Pass. We had not realised but this was one of the mountain stages for the Giro d’Italia this year.

The first section of the ride out of Himarë up to 350m from sea level was I think the toughest section of the day as we had very steep sections of 15 to 16%, so having a motor was definitely a bonus. Lovely rollercoaster ride after that along the coast with some sharp downs and great views of the sea and islands. Had coffee at the aptly named Panorama cafe from which we caught our first view of the road up the pass. Impressive.

Liked the views of Dhërmi, perched on the sides of a steep river gorge heading down to the sea. Just before the side road up to the pass split off from the main coastal road we had a regroup where Armand changed our batteries and gave us a top up of water. Nice touch as although I think I would have enough charge, it took all range anxiety out of the question.

See opposite for a screen show 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

I enjoyed the ride up the pass, the grade was a fairly constant 6 to 8%, the views were expansive and the high cloud kept it cool. Managed to get a fun video on my phone when the group passed me on a hairpin. Nice as they waved as they rode past.

Mike unfortunately suffered on the way up from ‘Albanian belly’ and although he managed to get to the top was pretty wiped out. We think that it was probably something he picked up in Himarë as later that evening I came down with something similar.

We had a nice stop at the top of the pass for a regroup and a cool drink enjoying the views and seeing everyone get up successfully before heading a couple of km down the mountain for lunch. This was one of the best lunches I think we had on the tour. Shame Mike missed it and sat in the shade outside befriending a friendly kitten.

Nice ride through the forest and then down, down, down to the coastal plains at Orikum where we are staying in a very nice new hotel for the last night of our tour. Had a swim in the pool which was refreshing. Didn’t enjoy dinner but that could just have been me coming down with the bug. Mike had some fruit and stayed in bed!

Our travel day the next morning went smoothly. Glad we had hired a taxi as I was wiped out. Had quite a long wait at the airport but we fared better than many of the rest of our group who suffered delays and missing bags. Beautiful views over the Swiss Alps as we flew over them. Crystal clear and could make out a number of peaks in the Valais that we have hiked over. Always fun trying to spot things. Stunning sunset over Lake Geneva on our drive back home. A successful trip. Glad we have captured these memories via our blog, photos and videos to remind us of a very unique experience.

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