Balkans Part 2

After completing my Via Dinarica adventure in June 2015, I decided it was time to sample some more Balkan delights. So "Balkans Part 2" started off in Northern Greece, crossed into Albania, and finished up in Montenegro.

I flew to Thessalonki on 18th September, then made my way by bus, train and taxi to Summit Zero Hostel at the base of Mount Olympus.

My first target was Mount Olympus, which I climbed on Saturday 19th September. Then the following day I caught a bus to Ioannina, and another bus which chucked me out at the ghost town Kalpaki just as it was getting dark, and an almighty thunderstorm was brewing.

After surviving a terrifying night in tent, I hiked northwards for 5 days through the wild and rugged Pindos mountains to reach Albania via Mount Gramos.

Once in Albania I had planned to head to Mount Korab (highpoint of Albania and Macedonia), but the weather had been so poor the past few days, I didn't fancy another soggy night in the tent, plus dodging the snarling sheepdogs was getting a bit wearing, so I made an end-to-end dash across Albania by bus, from Erseke to Shkodra.

I then spent a few days at the beach before heading to the tourist hotspot of Kotor. This uniquely fortified town looks just like a film set from The Three Musketeers. From Kotor, I made a 5-hour jog up and down Lovćen / Štirovnik 1749m, in the scorching heat.

My final destination was Podgorica, the capital city of Montenegro, where I saw a few thousand protesters lined up against riot police, on an otherwise quiet and uneventful Sunday morning.