Monday 17 June

 It looks like another hot day. Now poor Simon is not 100% and is lacking energy. We are transferred in a 4WD Land Rover along a rough track to a dried lake bed which shortens today’s route a little. We head out over the meadow once again surrounded by a million varieties of wild flower and something that smells like jasmine in a low bush form. Mountainous rocky pillars tower above us. We have a long hike up through a beech forest. At least there is shade but I know how poor Simon is feeling. We head on steadily over two cols up and down before the longest and steepest descent I’ve ever done. Nearly 2 hours of knee busting downhill. Thank goodness for trekking poles. We speak to a group from the Chech Republic, an Austrian woman who is also feeling the heat and an Irish girl who has been sleeping in the mountains in a bivouac bag! We feel rather humbled! After over 5 hours we reach a welcome oasis of a cafe where we gulp cola, iced coffee and a packet of salty crisps! Refreshed we trudge the last hour or so down to the Albanian town of Theth where we sit under a tree waiting for our bags to be delivered and Simon has a well earned rest. This has certainly been a physically and mentally challenging trip for us both. But we’re glad to have done it. Tomorrow is a half day local exploration before long car journeys back to Shkodër and then Tirana.