Around the World with Hardy(T)Around the World with Hardy(T)
The next day's walk takes us to the village
of Kalu. There are three noteworthy things about Kalu: it's within sight
of the Greek border; it's at the foot of southern Albania's highest mountain
- Papingo; and it has a shop that sells beer! Unfortunately, an asthma
attack prevents me from climbing Papingo, so I join the 'B' team for a walk
along the Vjore valley, exploring some of the nearby villages. This turns
out to be a real treat as we get to meet some more of the ever-so-friendly
Albanian people. As we walk along one stretch of road, every car sounds
its horn and its occupants wave madly as they pass. This continues until
a bus passes and then stops and waits for us. The driver obviously assumes
we would want to get on board, but we try to explain that, thanks all the
same, we are out for a walk. 
The
driver finds this most amusing and bursts out laughing, whereupon every
single passenger gets off the bus and shakes each one of us by the hand!
The walk back to Kalu gives us the chance to explore some bunkers that haven't
been used as a public toilet and also to climb the local knoll and get a
good view of camp. As it's the last night of the trek, we have a few beers
and some raki, plus a good old sing along around the campfire.
We get one last example of Albanian generosity and humility as we're packing up camp. Over breakfast (in a cave, as we're treated to another early morning downpour) we present Uri and Vladimir with a tip in appreciation of all the hard work they've put in on the trek. Immediately Vladimir goes to the beer shop with his share of the tip and comes back with a bottle of Albanian brandy which he decides he wants to share with us over breakfast! After this we say our goodbyes and jump on the bus. Our new guide, the lovely Matilda, takes over for the trip north to Berat...