[Chris_1631]

Right next door a small shop with a fake AK 47.... well I hope :

Besides, there was no salesman, maybe he went to pee (or went to strip the corpse of the guy he shot...). Ok, well... I'm taking off! Only 90Km to go before Greece.

Around 18h30 I arrive at the checkpoint to enter Greece. I introduce myself, I wait for the guy, I pass him my passport : " Hmmm ah ! Portuguese, you cannot go".

My self : " Hein ! What ??". The guy told me that the border was closed except for Greeks and that I had to go through North Macedonia.

I had a stressful moment, I have to cross the border tomorrow night at the latest, I don't have the maps of North Macedonia and I don't want to put my tent in Albania (it seems that the country is not very safe).

So I turn around and go back to a Gigaoil station I had spotted. I fill up the tank and ask in English if they know how to enter Greece. A charming little woman with an a**-smelling look on her face humm humm... she spoke a bit of English. She was surprised that the border was closed and didn't know how to pass to Greece.

When it was time to pay, the attendant was sweating like never before and shaking as he held the device for me to pay with my VISA card. I have the impression that there are a lot of VISA scams in Albania.
Small miracle of Maps, in a nearby city, Maps showed me hotels with ratings. I head for a well rated hotel in Korçë.

Arriving in town I was surprised by the quality of the roads and houses. The town looks like any European town, even a nice little town. There are decorations, I have the impression that there is a city festival (a bit like in many cities in Portugal in summer).

I go to see a policeman. The policeman is very nice, he receives me with a smile and tells me that he doesn't speak English and that I should ask the young man behind. He indicates me where is the hotel (just next door ^^).
I go to the hotel and ask for a night. Considering the standing I expected to pay a lot: 70€ (the most expensive night of the trip ^^ in Albania). Frankly in Paris I would have paid 200€ for a room like that.

I was knocked out. I didn't go out to visit and I regret it. There was a good atmosphere in the street and I regret a lot today not to have gone to see all that.

This trip I did not do it to discover cultures, meet people bla bla bla... but to live an adventure and enjoy the beautiful roads and landscapes on my motorbike.

However I think it would have been really good to ride around this city in celebration and it would have left me good memories of the country.

Well, at least I took advantage of the wifi to find out how to enter Greece. Because of Covid Greece has only left 1 border with each country open and in my case I will have to cross all the mountains to the coast to be able to enter Greece. There is also a way to Greece without a border post far to the south but I'm afraid of running into military/police.

It's decided I'll cross the mountains tomorrow and finally get into Greece !

 

[Chris_1631]

In the morning at breakfast there was a group of French people in GS and with a 4x4, it's a small world.

Well, I load the BM, I pay the night and head for Greece!

By leaving I pass by small streets and it is true that apart from the main streets, the buildings are more dilapidated and poor.

It's a pity I don't have a video to get some screenshots but this trip was done through the mountains and very beautiful mountains.

Frankly, this is the moment where I feel the most "lost in the middle of nowhere" of this trip. I feel like I'm exploring the world and discovering a part of the world.

It's a wonderful feeling !

There are moments where I had the impression to be in Peru especially while crossing a village with stone houses and the inhabitants with the matt skin and very skinny body.

On the way, on the mountain, the land is cultivated. I often met peasants who did not have tractors or cars and who rode and work with horses.
They were very tanned and skinny. Clearly, they don't always have to eat their fill.

I was told that Albania is another age and well I can say that I thought I was in 2021 in the city and in the mountains I had the impression to be in the 19th century.

 

[Chris_1631]

No police in the mountains. I rode with pleasure at my own pace, dynamic pace without big speed 😄

And thanks to the Karoo Street on the Scrambler! It's my first trip with mixed tyres and it's a pleasure to ride on all terrains (dirt and asphalt) in safety and always with a good grip!

I didn't eat at noon to be sure to cross the border in time (otherwise my covid test would be not valid 😅 ).

The border crossing went smoothly. All my papers were in good shape.

I leave Albania frustrated. I had nothing to do with this country on my road book. I had rather fear corrupt cops and finally I would have liked to explore the country (well the east and the south-east) during 4 or 5 days, quietly. It's during this crossing that I feel more like in an adventure than a big motorbike ride. At the same time, if I hadn't been in such a hurry I would have felt different.

Anyway. I will come back to Albania, after covid, one day, on a motorbike and with time to explore the country!

 

[Lelc2]

Hi. Beautiful trip and post. I am interesting in your lonerider saddlebag. Can you explain something about this? Rear rack? How it is fasten? Why only left side? Not possible right? Thanks in advanced.

 

[Chris_1631]

For the Lonerider bags :
I chose them because they are bulletproof and waterproof (not exactly, there are two holes to evacuate the water at the bottom when you close the bag). I chose them because they are bulletproof and waterproof (not exactly, there are two holes to evacuate the air at the bottom when you close the bag) and because they can be installed on any tube support. However, I would recommend using the inner bags of BMW cases to be able to wrap the entire contents of the Motobag at once.

23€ on Aliexpress.

Rear rack?
I use Hepco Becker racks (top case and cases). All are solid but I have to unpack the 58L top case to empty the Motobag.

How it is fastened?
Lonerider now sells its Motobags with a quick release system that locks into place. You have to uninstall the aluminium back plate of the bag and adapt the fixings to the Hepco Becker brackets. You have to drill the plate and adjust everything (it takes a bit of time) but when it is well adjusted it doesn't move.

Quick realise system on my right side motobag :

Why only left side?
Well… au début j’ai voulu partir suelement avec un sac à gauche et un sac de selle + top case pour faire l’économie du sac de droite et je me suis rendu compte lors d’un test que c’était une très mauvaise idée… Du coup à la dernière minute j’ai du acheter une valise Aluminium (de Holan) pour lecoté droit. La valise est bien faite aussi mais aujourd’hui j’ai acheter un deuxième motobag pour le coté droit.
Google translate:
Well... at first I wanted to leave suelement with a bag on the left and a saddle bag + top case to save the bag on the right and I realized during a test that it was a very bad idea... So at the last minute I had to buy an Aluminum suitcase (from Holan) for the right rating. The suitcase is well made too but today I bought a second motobag for the right side.

I'll do, one day, a topic « Half-hard pannier VS Hard pannier ».

 

[Chris_1631]

I fogot to say that for the Scrambler version, you have to change the exhaust for with the H&B support rack. I use a HP CORSE GP exhaust (the one for the euro 3 9T standart). But the Unit garage high exhaust works too and perhaps the high exhaust from ARROW.

 

[Lelc2]

Thank you very much. It helps me a lot.

 

[Chris_1631]

Finally in Greece! The next destination is the meteor monasteries. But it is still far, I pass to Igoumenitsa to drink a glass and seek a cheap hotel and I rush to the town of Janina to spend the night in a Yoga/Hostel.

Breakfast where I discussed with an American who was also in Albania. He confirmed me this impression that the country works in 2 different times. Tirana, the capital, offers a lot of activities, bars and in the countryside there is a lot of poverty.

I jump on the 9T and head for the meteors!

I take the motorway to save some time and avoid boring looking roads.
The weather is quite heavy, hot and cloudy.

The twisties are nice to ride, very few cars too but the grip is not as good as in Croatia. Here the roads are really older.

Little by little I see that I am getting closer to the rocky peaks and then the Meteors appear.

 

[Chris_1631]

The Greeks, in the 14th and 15th centuries, built monasteries perched on top of rocky peaks. It is this set of monasteries that we call the meteors.

It is the most spectacular landscape I saw during my trip (behind Plitvice park in Croatia). The photos do not do justice to the place, you absolutely have to see it with your own eyes to realise how spectacular the landscape is!

There are monasteries that can be visited but this kind of visit is not for me. I go back to Euboea, an island very close to the mainland, to walk around.

By the way, I stop to take the Top Gun picture ^^ :

 

[Chris_1631]

The next day I was in Euboea. I may not have chosen the right roads but I'm having the fun I thought I would on the road. At noon I stopped for lunch and on the way back I deactivated the ABS to take a dirt road and then forgot to reactivate it. Shortly afterwards, there were quite a few cars on the road and I started to lanesplite.

I brake slightly and suddenly I lose the grip on the front! The bike starts to fall to the left, it goes towards the earthen ledge!

Instinctively I don't drop it and I recover the front but I lose the front again and it falls to the right. At this point I either get the front end back but in that case I risk hitting a pole or the car ahead or I drop it.

I was going about 30km/h. I preferred to let the BM fall to limit the damage. It's amazing how fast you can think when your life is in danger ^^

This road was as slippery as an ice rink...

A lady who had to go to work helped me lift the bike. Not one Greek motorcyclist stopped or even another car... Not cool except for this woman.

On the bike side the Hepco crash bars saved the engine and my trip too. Without crash bars the road trip would have taken a bad turn (I would have had to have the engine repaired on the spot and that would have cost me a fortune and a lot of time!)

On the driver's side my equipment did the job but the shell of my right elbow slipped and I took a shock. My elbow was very sore. In the evening I bought frozen peas and put them on my elbow for 30 minutes to relieve the pain.

With ABS this probably wouldn't happen.

I was really fed up with the trip in Euboea and needed to rest. So I decided to take a ferry straight to Athens to rest my elbow.

 

[Clarkson]

Glad you and your bike are ok after the fall, and that your adventure is still unfolding!

 

[Chris_1631]

The next morning I take a ferry from Marmari to Rafina to reach Athens via the mountains (nicer than the highway).

When I arrived in Athens I realized how sprawling the city is. It is huge, but at the same time 33% of the Greek population lives in Athens.)

Oh yes! In Greece the motorcyclists don't wear helmets, nor the passenger ^^'
I arrive quickly in Athens to stay in an AirBnB close to the historical centre.

First thing to do ! ... a laundry I arrived on my last T-shirts then I made a tour of the centre and in the evening an Italian restaurant (I know it's not local but so good) :

Prochella :

Lemon Pie :

The next day I did a guided bike tour of Athens with Americans and English. I like this kind of guided tour, it allows me to understand better the places and to get the good addresses ^^.

The (very good) guide told us several anecdotes including the history of the Pythagoras cup (look it up on google, it makes a nice gift to offer (I offered one to my father who sometimes likes red too much ^^)) but also about the rotation of the guards below.

These poor boys in military service have been selected for their athleticism and have to do this funny walk every hour to respect the folklore and for a salary of... 9€/month ^^.

My guide was telling him that he was small and skinny because he could avoid those guard posts in Athens. He was watching screens on a Greek island. Ah but not a beautiful island like Milos or Crete but a small island lost not far from the Turkish friend!

This bike tour was really nice and it made me realize that only the historical centre of Athens is nice for tourism. The rest of the city is not very interesting to visit.

 

[Chris_1631]

On my last day in Athens I signed up for a food tour with a guide, Julia. The group was made up of Americans (including a watchsniper who directly recognized my Khaki Field, another American's Sport 5 and the Cartier of a lady in the group) and a Saudi couple.

As a side note, I met a lot of Americans during my trip and they were all very social and friendly (well, one of them asked me for a picture of my d**k.... ^^') and that made me want to do a trip to the USA one day

We started with a Greek coffee (Croatians have the same one but they call it trukish coffee) and the last Greek yogurt made in Athens itself (served with honey and nuts). A great breakfast!

Then we visited the Athens market where we tasted most of the olives of the country (there are really olive trees everywhere in Greece). Then in a delicatessen, Julia prepared us a homemade tzatzíki while tasting some wine and local delicatessen.

Then a lunch in the street:

On my way to a bakery to have a dessert before leaving I came across an old custum beemer!

And the dessert: Galaktobourekos!

I spent the afternoon doing some shopping (like a battery operated razor for my beard) and in a small natural but private lake south of Athens (Lake Vouliagmenis).

In the evening I take a night ferry to the island of Crete !