Pedalbania – Stage 5
Sarandë – Himarë
29 May 2018
Distance: 49 km; total ascent: 1282m
Stayed at: Hotel Prinos
Today was billed as just a short ride along the coast of the Albanian Riviera overlooking the Ionian Sea. Easy, apart from the two major climbs and a few little ones along the way. This is not a flat coast; the mountains come down to the sea and the coast road goes down to the villages along the way then back up and over the next headland before dropping down to the next village. We were warned when Erlis mentioned “the two kilometre climb out of Sarandë”. This was just the hors d’oeuvres.
Our first coffee stop was in the village of Shën Vasil at the top of the first climb (not counting the 2km hors d’oeuvres).
But it was a fine, warm day with clear skies and wide-open views of the coastline. The road stays high, away from the sea: each village has a road signposted “Plazh” leading down to the coast.
We stopped for lunch at Porto Palermo. Set in a bay protected by a peninsula it’s no longer a port, but it is used as a water sports centre. A group of kayakers was preparing to set off as we ate lunch on yet another shady terrace.
Porto Palermo does have important historical connections though. On the peninsula is the Fortress of Palermo, built by Ali Pasha Tepelena who in Napoleonic times played the other European powers against each other to take control of a large swathe of southern Albania and northern Greece. He was a ruthless dictator, and eventually the Ottoman rulers who were notionally his overlords had enough and after besieging his stronghold in Ioannina for 17 months they captured and beheaded him.
After Palermo it was only a short ride to our hotel facing the south beach of Himarë. Despite the fine warm weather the beach season hadn’t yet started and everywhere was deserted. With several hours to spare before dinner some went swimming, others walked over to the main beach to the north, others sat in the shade of the hotel terrace drinking an Elbar or two – or any combination of the above. And there was always washing of sweaty cycling clothes to be done.
At dinner Erlis handed out the CycleAlbania cycling jerseys people had ordered at an impromptu fitting session over dinner back in the second guest house on Sunday. These were good value, selling at half price for their advertising value (CycleAlbania is the company contracted by Exodus to deliver this holiday). For unexplained reasons the jerseys were only made in sizes L and upwards so James and I, both M, missed out.
Viewranger track of the day.
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