Day 947: 2013年3月29日

Berat, Albania (Berat Hostel)

86,743km

さて、ギリシアに向かうぞ！と気合を入れて起きた、が、しかし雨降ってる！

I was ready to go to Greece! But it was raining when I woke up at 7:30am...

なので二度寝。

So I went back to sleep.

再び起きたら雨は上がっていたけど、また降りそうだし。

When I woke up again, the rain had stopped, but it seemed like it could come back any time soon.

朝飯を食べながら様子をみる。

So having breakfast, I was seeing the sky and deciding if I should leave or stay.

これはいけそうだな。10時だけど、まぁ、日は長い。

The clouds were getting less and less thick, so I started to gear up. It was already 10am but I still had almost whole day ahead.

で、出発の準備が整う寸前に、また雨が降ってきた…。

Then I was almost ready to go, the rain came back...

これは今日は行くな、ってことだな。

This would be the sign I should stay one more day here.

荷物を降ろし、まぁ、雨が降ってるから宿でゆっくりするしかないな。

I took off luggages from Esperanza and went back to the common room.



ここでアメリカ人のエリザベスの知り合った。なんと彼女は去年の8月まで高知で英語を教えていたのだ！

Then I got to know Elizabeth from the States. She was teaching English in Kochi, Japan till last August!

旅の話し、日本の話し、アメリカの話しなどで盛り上がる。

We talked a lot about the trip, Japan and the States.

昼過ぎになって、ちょっと晴れ間が出て来たので、ワシは裏山に行ってみた。

In the afternoon, the sky got cleared a bit, so I went for a hike in the hill behind the hostel.

桜(?)が青空に映える。

The contrast of the blue sky and Sakura (?) was beautiful.



裏山の頂上からは向かいの山の城がよく見えるらしい。

From the top of hill, the view would be nice, so I heard.

路地を伝い登っていくと、行き止まり…。

I walked up the alleys, but it ended up to the dead end...



何回か行き止まりに当たってようやく頂上への道を見つけた。

I got to the dead ends a few times and finally I found a passage to the top of hill.



おぉ、雪山が見える。

The snow capped mountains were in front of me! A nice view. Unfortunately it got cloudy again...



晴れ間は束の間で、また雨が降りそうだ。

It seemed like raining again.

結構な急斜面を登る。石が濡れているから結構滑る。

The slope was steep and the rocks were wet and slippery.

で、ようやく頂上！ヒツジも喜んでおる！

Finally I got to the top! Mr. Sheep was enjoying the view!



くまも。

The bear was too!



が、しかし、ここで雨が降ってきた。

Then the rain was back again...

急いで、しかし、滑らないように降る。

I went down quickly but carefully.

宿に戻って、エリザベスも散歩から帰ってきたようで、また歓談。

Back to the hostel, Elizabeth also came back from her walk, so we chatted again.

夜は宿のオーナーのスコットと映画「The Usual Suspects」を鑑賞。

In the evening, with Scott we watched the movie "The Usual Suspects".

ケビン・スペイシーの演技が光る。カイザー・ソゼ。

I like Kevin Spacy. He is brilliant!

映画の後は再び歓談。エリザベスは日本で3年過ごしたので、彼女の目からみた日本について話しが聞けて大変ためになった。

After the movie, we talked again. As she spent 3 years in Japan, to get to know her insight of Japan was really interesting and meaningful to me.

まだまだ日本は改善すべき面がある、と改めて思うのだった。

There are lots of things we, Japanese, need to address for the better future.

明日は天気は幾分いいらしいから、ギリシアに向かう予定！

Tomorrow it will be better weather, so I will head to Greece, I hope!

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
思いもかけず骨休みの一日でした。しかも結構有意義な話も出来たし。さて、明日は走るぞ。

本日も「世界一周」ボタンをクリックして応援をよろしくお願いいたします!!

スマートフォンからご覧の皆様、
お手数ですが、画面の一番下までスクロールして頂き、「PC」に切り替えた上で「世界一周」ボタンを押してください！

I am competing in "Round the World Trip Blog". Please click the button below!!
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓



にほんブログ村 *******************************************************************************************************************************************************

Day 946: 2013年3月28日

Kotor, Montenegro to Berat, Albania (Berat Backpackers)

86,427km to 86,743km = 316km

さて、今日は何処まで行きますかね。

I wasn't sure how far I was going today.

天気は曇り。

It was cloudy.

アルバニアはヨーロッパ最貧国というレッテルが貼られているくらい発展が遅れている国だそうだ。

Albania, where I was heading, is as called "the poorest state of Europe". Due to the mismanagement by the government, the economic development of the country has been far behind from its neighbours.

道路などのインフラもあまり良くないらしい。

The infrastructures such as roads are not good either.

で、なんとワシのGPSのアルメニアの地図が幹線しかデータが無い！

And I realised that the Albanian map of my GPS did not have details! It had only the main highways of the country...

普段は予約した宿や目星い宿の所在地を予めGPSに入力しておくのだけれど、それが出来ない。しかも街に付いてからも手探りで宿を探すしか無い。

Usually I key in the addresses of the destination beforehand, but in Albania, I cannot do that. If I want to find an accommodation, I have to look around...

フム。

Well.

面倒臭かったら一気にギリシアまで抜けてしまおうかな、と。

If I get lazy in Albania, I might go through to Greece today.

それはアルバニアの道路状況次第だけど。

But it depends on the road condition of Albania. It might take longer to go through the country than I expect.

コトルは7時半に出発。モンテネグロもまだまだ開発途中で至る所で道路工事。これによりなかなか前に進めない。

I left Kotor by 7:30am. There were many sections of the roads still under construction in Montenegro. Which delayed my advance.

でもアドリア海の景色は素晴らしい。生憎の曇りだけど。

But the view of Adriatic Sea was great as usual. Well, it could be better if it was sunny.



モンテネグロは狭い国だからいつの間にか国境に到着してしまった。

I got to the border without realising it!



ここはモンテネグロとアルバニアのパスポートコントロールが一体らしく、スタンプは一個だけ。

Here I got only one stamp for both Montenegro and Albania. Unusual.

保険のことも何も言われなかったけど、国境を越えたら直ぐに保険屋ブースが在ったからそこで購入。15日間で13ユーロ。

The officer did not mention anything about the green card. But I found some booths selling a green card, so I purchased one. For 15 days, €13.



アルバニア人はイタリア語を話す人が多いらしく、ここではスペイン語で対応。なんとか話は通じるもんだ。

It seems like many Albanians speak Italian, so I spoke in Spanish to communicate with them. The basic conversations can be done in this way.

「両替商は無いのか？」、と訊いたら、「レストランやガソリンスタンドではユーロで支払い可能だ」、そうだ。

I asked if there was any money exchange, but there wasn't. I was told I could use Euro in petrol stations and restaurants.

さて、59ヶ国目アルバニアを走るぞ！

So I am in Albania, the 59th country of my visit on this trip.

ロバが走っていたり、羊の群れが路肩にいたり、何だか中南米を彷彿させてくれる。

There were donkeys running on the road, pulling a trailers, the herd of sheep on the road side. Those reminded me of Latin America.

道路の舗装状況は悪く、「最貧国」というのも頷ける。

The pavement was really in bad condition in many parts of the roads. I could tell here was much poorer than the neighbours.

ゴミもよく落ちているし…。

The trash was everywhere on the road side too...

丘の上に砦があったので、写真撮影。

There was a fortress on top of the hill, so I took a photo.



やたらとガソリンスタンドがある。こんなにあったら潰し合いにならんのかな？

There were many petrol stations along the way. I wondered if they were cannibalising each other!?

そうそう、ここアルバニアは国全体がネズミ講詐欺に合って経済的にどん底になったことで有名。

It's a famous story that more than half of Albanians lost their fortunes with multi-business.

経済感覚は大丈夫なのかいな…？

I am not sure if they learnt a lesson from the experience. But the way them built so much petrol stations, I doubt that.

道路は良くなったり悪くなったり。結構これでもか、と言うくらいボコボコの舗装がある。幹線道路なのに。

A few sections were beautifully paved, but there were more sections the pavements were damaged beyond comprehension. Those were the main routes of the nation...

運転マナーはそんなに悪くないけど、他のヨーロッパ諸国と比べれば粗い。

The driving manner of Albanians seemed to be fine. Although they were more rough than other Europeans.

そうそう、結構警官が取り締まりをしている。

And there were lots of police on the way. They did not bother me though.

路面の悪い所では速度はあんまり上げられないから、なかなか距離が稼げない。

As the road condition was bad, I could ride in high speed. It was taking longer time than I planned.

雨も降ってきた。

It started to rain.

数多あるガソリンスタンドなんだけど、必ず看板に「Bar Restaurant」か「Bar Kafe」と書いてあるんだけど、殆どそんな施設は併設していない…。

As I mentioned earlier, there were lots of petrol stations. Every one of them had a sign saying "Bar Restaurant" or "Bar Kafe". But many of them did not have those facilities at all... I wondered why then put those on the sign.

何軒か「レストラン」を当たってみたけど、ユーロは使えない、っていうし。

I made a few stops at those "Restaurant" but they did not accept Euro...

ユーロが使える所は飲み物しかないし…。「レストラン」って書いてあるじゃん！

And some places where I could use Euro would not provide any food... But the sign said "Restaurant" clearly!

で、ちょっと高そうな「レストラン」が併設してあるガソリンスタンドで「ユーロは使えないか？何か食べ物はないか？」、と訊いたら、ユーロは使えるけど、食べ物は無い、と。

Then I made a stop at another petrol station with a "Bar Restaurant". It looked like a very pricey place. I asked if I could use Euro and if they provided any food. They would accept Euro but they did not have any food...

が、しかし！ガソリンスタンドで両替してもらえるよ、と！

But he told me the guy at the pump could exchange Euros to Albanian Leks!

そこで20ユーロを2,700アルバニア・レクに換金。これで飯が食える。

So I exchanged €20 to 2,700Leks. Now I could eat something. Well, if I could find a place serving meals.

が、しかし、なかなか飯が食えそうな場所が無い。

As guessed, now I could not find a restaurant!

で、遂に見つけた！

Finally I found one!

アルバニアは長らくトルコに支配されていたからケバブが郷土料理になっているみたい。

Albania was occupied by Ottoman for a long time, so Kebab became one of the Albanian local foods.

これで250レク(215円)。

It was 250Leks (€1.80).



食べていたら、ウエイターのベルナルドが話しかけてきた。

While having the kebab, the waiter Bernard came to talk to me.



「ここに座って話しをしてもいいかな？バイクで旅してるの？しかも日本から！スゲぇ！」、としきりに感心。あ、彼は英語が話せるから英語で会話。

"Could I take a seat here and talk to you?" He asked in English. "So you are travelling on the motorbike! And from Japan! Really!!?" He was so surprised and was happy to get to know me.



向こうの席にはボスとその友人たちが昼飯を食べていて、いろいろ話しをして仲良くなった。

There were 4 guys at the table behind me. It was his boss and boss's friends having lunch. They joined our conversation and we made friends too.



エスペランサとベルナルド。こういう出会いというか体験が旅をしていて楽しいのだ。

I took a photo of Esperanza and Bernard for a good memory. This kind of experience is what I like the most while travelling.



今日はあても無く走っていたけど、ちょっと訪ねてみたいな、と思っていたベラトはここから50キロくらい、とのことでベラトに行くことに。

I wasn't sure where I was staying today, but I had a place in mind if I could not get to Greece. It was Berat. They said Berat was around 50km away.

ベラトも中世の街並みを残した街。

So I decided to stay in Berat. Berat was another town with the medieval touch.

石畳の路地を走って、今日の宿「Beret Backpackers」に到着。残念ながら駐車場はなくてエスペランサは路駐…。

I rode into the old town and went through the stone paved alley. I found "Berat Backpackets" there. Unfortunately it did not have a parking space. So I had to park Esperanza on the alley.



宿のオーナーのスコット曰く「絶対安全」だそうだけど。

But Scott, the owner if the hostel, said there would be perfectly safe. Some motorcyclists parked their motos there over night.

宿には桜(？)が咲いていた。

There was a tree bloomed at the hostel. Wasn't it Sakura?



さて、旧市街と城に行ってみよう！

I went to explore in the old town.



旧市街はドブロブニクやコトルよりも寂れていて、生活感が漂っていて面白い。

The old town kept more "local" and "everyday" atmosphere than Dubrovnik and Kotor and I liked it!



路地が良い雰囲気。

Those alleys were nice.



城へは結構な斜面を登って行く。

There was a castle on the top of the hill. A steep ascend I had to make.

中々大規模な城だ。

It was bigger than it seemed.





なんと城の中に街があって人々が生活している。

Inside the castle, there were houses and shops! People were living there!



川の流れがよく見える。クネクネと流れている、自然な川。

From the top of hill, I could see how the river flowed through. The flow looked natural, which I wouldn't see in Tokyo (of course!).



治水はどうなっているのかな？

But I wondered if there was any flood.



もう陽が暮れてきた。宿のある集落を見下ろす。

The sun had set. From the top, I could see the block where the hostel located.



さて、宿に帰って明日の予定でもたてるかな。

Well, I get back to the hostel and made a plan for tomorrow.

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
ヨーロッパの北朝鮮、とも云われるアルバニア。確かに経済状況は芳しく無いようです。人はそこそこ人懐こいし、自然も豊かだからもう少し頑張って欲しいものです。

本日も「世界一周」ボタンをクリックして応援をよろしくお願いいたします!!

スマートフォンからご覧の皆様、
お手数ですが、画面の一番下までスクロールして頂き、「PC」に切り替えた上で「世界一周」ボタンを押してください！

I am competing in "Round the World Trip Blog". Please click the button below!!
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓



にほんブログ村 ******************************************************************************************************************************************************