Just yesterday, we didn't believe we would actually be able to leave today, but everything is still going according to plan and we are on our way to Albania.
The Albanian mountain adventure is the most expensive project we have filmed so far. Therefore, a huge thank you to all the kind companies that support us to make this project happen and the big film reach the viewers.
Thanks to: Latakko, Maxxis, Ertegrupa, Estravel Latvija, Hotel Jūrmala spa, Virši, Tērvetes alus, Tcmotors, Tenapors, ML serviss, Wekamper, Emimar.
We could cheer and rejoice, but the great fatigue, many sleepless nights, stress, and uncertainty about the successful outcome of our goal have completely exhausted us. We sit in the car, quiet music plays in the background, and we try to remember if we have really packed everything. But even if we have forgotten something, there would be no more room for it anyway.
In our short videos, both on YT and TikTok, and also in the photos here on FB, we will let you follow our journey, which will last just under 3 weeks, and where the main task is to conquer the highest mountains of Albania and see the most beautiful natural landscapes.
We spent the last night at Hotel Jūrmala spa to recover at least a little after a crazy week of preparation. Here, we enjoyed delicious dinner and breakfast, relaxed in the spa area, slept in comfortable beds, and in the morning, with a fresh mind, got into the car to start our journey.
We filled up the gas and fuel tanks at the VIRŠI gas station, had a delicious coffee, and also took their ground coffee with us, so to speak, to enjoy the familiar flavors for as long as possible.
On Friday, we visited Tērvete, where we got delicious waters and beer. There are so many of these drinks that we can also treat our new Albanian friends.
We have just entered Lithuania and today's task is to reach the city of Krakow, where we will stay overnight in a roadside hotel.
We will tell you about preparing the car for this trip in one of the upcoming YT videos, very soon. We really have a lot to say about it, and changing the tires turned into a whole adventure.
The car is covered with logos of many companies that are partners and supporters of this project. The project is indeed one of the most expensive I have ever been involved in, and it would not be possible without the support of partners. Therefore, a huge thank you to every person, every master, and every company that has participated in our project.
The first goal of the trip is to reach Albania in five days. Why so long? Because along the way, we want to see many beautiful places, meet acquaintances, drive along the coastal roads of Croatia and Montenegro, swim on some beautiful beaches, and see the beautiful seaside towns.
From this trip, 8 excellent series are planned to be created, which will start airing in January 2026.
Not everything goes according to plan, and not everything is as smooth as one would like.
The air conditioning starts to fail, and Hungarian goulash soup is better prepared in Latvia, but Lake Balaton's flies almost ate us.
The first days of the Albanian trip.
On the first day, without much rush and not driving faster than 110 km/h, we reached a hotel located between Krakow and Zakopane. Only when approaching the hotel, I realized that we had stayed at this exact hotel last year when Evita and the children went to the Slovakian gorges to cycle. You can see these series about adventures in Slovakia on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Travel Without Borders).
After a good night's sleep at the hotel and breakfast, we went to Zakopane, to a sports and tourism store, to buy some things we had forgotten at home.
Our journey then led us to Slovakia, along the High Tatras, and each time we entered a new country, we put prepared stickers on the car fender with the "Ceļot bez robežām" logo and the name of the country we had just passed through.
In Slovakia, we don't roll particularly fast; there are many small roads, and with our large car, to pass other oncoming vehicles, we often have to drive one wheel into the ditch or onto the pedestrian path.
After driving several hundred kilometers, we realized that our car was no longer as cool as before. The outside temperature also started to climb, reaching even 29 degrees, so we stopped at the first gas station and dismantled the panel to understand the problem. This time we were lucky and discovered the culprit valve, which had been stuck shut and was no longer blowing cold air as strongly. We opened the valve, reassembled the panel, and drove towards Hungary.
Our car has a good appetite; its average fuel consumption is around 20 L per 100km, but since our car runs on gas and gas is much cheaper in Europe than in Latvia, it's not so bad; 100 km costs us under 15 EUR. The price of gas in Slovakia is 0.59 EUR.
We have reached the Hungarian border, stopped right at the Hungarian sign, and put a Slovakian sticker on the car. We have already put on 3 stickers: Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia.
It's around 4:00 PM, and we want to have lunch, so we decide to find a Hungarian café and taste Hungarian Goulash soup.
The first 30 km were terribly bumpy, and we were shaking as if on ploughed fields. We drove into a small town and saw a café by the roadside. We stopped and went to order Goulash soup. I haven't been so disappointed with food in a long time; goulash soup in any Latvian café is 5 times better and tastier. For 3 soups, one burger, and one meat portion for 2 people, we paid 75 EUR.
Next, our road leads to Budapest. Every time I've been to this city, it has always pleasantly surprised me, and this time was no exception. We put a GoPro camera on the car roof, filmed many beautiful views of the city, driving along both sides of the river, and you will be able to see these views on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām."
We will need to come back to this city sometime and film more; it truly is beautiful and impressive.
It's already late evening, and we have booked a campsite near Lake Balaton through booking.com. It's a little over an hour's drive from Budapest, but the sun is starting to set.
When booking this campsite, it stated that we had an area of approximately 50m2 and 4 sleeping places. Around 10:00 PM, we arrived at the campsite, checked in, and drove into the area, confidently looking for a cabin with those 4 sleeping places. But it turned out that we only had an area to pitch tents and park the car; those 4 sleeping places meant that there were 4 people in the tent.
Tired after the long journey, we were not particularly happy to pitch tents at night and search through our luggage compartment for all the necessary bags. But that would have been a minor issue. Upon entering the area, at any light, be it a car light or a phone light, you are surrounded by 15 million fly-like mosquitoes with white wings. As soon as we turned on any light, these insects were there, with all their buddies, relatives, and friends. There were truly millions of them, and it felt like they were everywhere: under your shirt, in your pants, on your head, and in your mouth. That was quite an adventure: pitching tents, unpacking all the bags, having dinner, and trying to escape the insects, the latter being impossible.
This morning, Rodrigo and I woke up in the tent on the car roof, with a view of Lake Balaton from the tent window. The insects were gone, at least most of them. A few still flew around, but if you touched the bushes, a cloud of them appeared again.
We prepared breakfast, grilled sausages, cooked eggs, made sandwiches, ate tomatoes, drank Virši coffee, and jumped into the lake for a swim.
Our task in the mountains would be to pack up our camp in 30 minutes and be ready to go, but this morning our speed was 2.5 hours. We only need to speed up this whole process by 5 times, and hopefully, we will learn it by the end of the trip.
Currently, we are back in the car and driving on. Today's plan is to reach the Slovenian city of Koper, where we will meet our acquaintance, Simon.
Troubles with the air conditioning in +36 degrees, the beautiful natural landscapes of Slovenia, and a morning in a rural house, in the middle of the forest.
Leaving Balaton, we realized that our air conditioning wasn't working, and instead of cold air, it started blowing warm air. We stopped at a gas station to see what the problem was, but we weren't any wiser.
Roadworks in Slovenia significantly delayed us, and we arrived in the city of Koper 2 hours later than planned.
We went to a car wash to clean off the Balaton flies and met my friend, Simon.
Simon is involved in tourism development in Slovenia and is ready to help anyone who wants to visit Slovenia.
We drove to the garage that Simon had arranged for the next day, talked to the owner, and decided that we would first try to refill the system and then see if it helped.
We went to a store to buy various products for breakfast, picked up Simon's girlfriend Tanja along the way, and headed to the mountains, to a small village where Tanja's parents live and where we were scheduled for dinner.
The drive lasted 20 minutes, and we had ascended into the mountains, where the temperature dropped from 36 to 30 degrees Celsius.
Simon introduced us to his girlfriend's parents and showed us their beautiful country house, which offered an equally beautiful view of the mountains, beyond which Croatia begins.
Although it was still very warm outside, we decided to eat outdoors on the terrace, along with their two dogs.
On the table, they laid out their homemade bread and their homemade dried meats and sausages, tomatoes and olives grown right there, as well as various infusions, homemade liqueurs, and wines.
After satisfying our hunger and tasting various drinks, it was time to move, and Simon took us down the mountain path to a small lake and waterfall in the forest, but due to the dry season, the waterfall was completely dry, and the pond had become quite small.
Upon returning, after 40 minutes, in complete darkness, we were ready for the main course, and it was all homemade again: homemade pasta, truffles found in the same forest we had just returned from, and homegrown asparagus.
Our dinner stretched until midnight, with long conversations about life in Latvia and Slovenia, about hobbies, and our project, the trip to the Albanian mountains.
Before going to bed, we looked at the sky, because a meteor shower was expected these two days, and we actually saw it. The sight was impressive.
We stayed the night at Tanya's parents' house, Larry Roze and Edvards Juhimenko stayed on the second floor, while Rodrigo and I stayed on the first floor, on the sofa in the living room.
We start the morning with Virši coffee and a wonderful view from the terrace. Tanya's mom has prepared breakfast and leaves us to go to work. We stay to enjoy breakfast and at 8:00 AM we head to the town of Koper, where service staff are waiting for us to fight for our comfort and the air conditioner's operation.
Upon arriving at the service, we are greeted by Simon, who promises to be our guide today, both in Slovenia and Italy.
We leave the car at the service and go to a nearby park to walk around, observe birds and animals.
After 40 minutes, the service calls and says our car is ready. We return to the service and our air conditioner is working again. We are incredibly happy, as another hot day is predicted.
Simon takes us to the center of Koper, where we walk through the old streets, eat a very delicious pizza, take photos, and film many interesting shots that we will include in our film about the adventure on the way to Albania, and all of this will be available on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Travel Without Borders).
We walk a little further through the old town, which was an island 300 years ago, and then head back to the car to drive to Italy.
Outside it's again +36 degrees, and the sun is burning our arms, legs, and neck. We want to get to the car quickly, where our Tērvetes water is in the fridge, both new flavors, strawberry and pineapple with coconut. In this heat, this water is flying off the shelves; we'll soon have drunk 30 bottles.
Simon takes us to the Italian city of Trieste, driving along small roads that run by the sea, and all the beaches are overflowing with people. They are everywhere, on the cobblestones and concrete, on the rocks and in the sand.
We drive through the entire city and head along the beach to Miramare Castle. This castle is considered one of the most beautiful in all of Italy, and we confirmed that it is indeed one of the most beautiful. It is very impressive and luxurious, standing proudly on the seashore and looking out at the passing ships.
It has become even hotter outside, already +39 degrees, and after visiting the castle, we head back to the car to jump into the sea and swim as soon as possible.
Returning to Slovenia, we say goodbye to Simon and set a new course, heading towards Croatia, and tonight we will stay in one of Croatia's hotels.
Croatia's beautiful nature, but overflowing with tourists. We got lucky with an apartment on the first evening, but on the second, we only found them in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Having entered Croatia, we slowly move along the coast, towards Zadar. Since we leave Slovenia only after 5:00 PM, we understand that we need to start looking for apartments or a hotel early.
Croatia is overflowing with tourists, so prices for hotels and apartments are quite high, with hotel prices starting from 200 EUR upwards, and almost no apartments left at all.
As we drive, the sun begins to set and it gets darker. After driving for about an hour, we stop at a restaurant and ask if there are any free apartments. There aren't any here, but there are free apartments half a kilometer away. We drive 500 meters further and are met by the hostess, who shows us the apartment. We immediately agree, as 150 EUR for such a spacious apartment, with a huge terrace and sea view, is a very acceptable price.
We settle into the apartment on the 2nd floor and go to the shop located on the first floor of the same building. We buy various goodies for dinner and breakfast and then head to bed, as we are extremely tired.
Edvards Juhimenko decides to sleep on the balcony so that in the morning, when he wakes up, he can immediately see the charming view of the sea from the hotel.
We eat breakfast on the balcony, and immediately after the delicious, homemade meal, we go down to the sea for a swim. The water is cold, but very refreshing.
Today we don't really have to rush anywhere, but with Croatia, anything can happen.
On the way to Albania, we decide to take Croatia's small roads along the sea, instead of the highway, so the kilometers don't add up quickly, but time flies. We drive around the old town of Zadar and head towards Split. On the way, we decide that for lunch today, we'd like to try the small grilled suckling pigs.
We were lucky, we found such a market, bought both a piglet and a whole chicken to take with us, and crossed the road to a cafe to taste the piglet, but we took the chicken with us for dinner. The pig cost 35 EUR per 1 kg, and a whole chicken cost 10 EUR.
We continue driving towards Split and slowly start looking for apartments, both near Split and beyond, but everywhere prices are very high and there are very few apartments.
We found an apartment for 110 EUR, but while we were filling out all the necessary information, someone had already booked it before us.
We continue driving and look for something suitable for us, with a desired budget of up to 200 EUR.
We found an apartment for 176 EUR, turned the car around, and drove 18 km in the opposite direction. After driving about 10km, a local number called and said that, unfortunately, they couldn't accommodate us because something had broken.
We turn the car around again and head in the right direction, towards Albania, and suddenly, we see an apartment with 2 rooms for 100 EUR, but it's located in Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina. We don't hesitate long and drive to Bosnia.
At the border, they ask to see our passports, and after 3 minutes we are in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and after another 10 minutes, we are already at the apartment door.
The owner greets us and shows us the apartment, which has 2 rooms, a kitchen, a shower room. Large pomegranates grow at the entrance to the house, but they are not quite ripe yet.
We settle in, have dinner – the chicken we brought with us – put Larry and Rodrigo to bed, and together with Edvard, head to the city center by the sea. People have already scattered from the streets; some disco areas are full of young people. We take a short walk and then head back to get some rest.
In the morning, I go out into the streets to find a shop that sells bread, a local boulangerie. After 200m, I spot a person coming towards me with bread. I ask him about the shop, and it turns out to be just around the corner. I buy two freshly baked breads, one slice of pizza for Rodrigo, and four sweet buns.
For breakfast, we have Virši coffee, Tērvetes water, Ukru smoked meats, and freshly baked Bosnian bread.
Having packed all our belongings, we are on our way to Dubrovnik. Along the way, we fill up with gas, which costs 0.60 EUR, and an hour later we are in the Dubrovnik parking lot. The parking lot costs 4.5 EUR per hour, and it's about 1km walk to the old town. Heat, large crowds of people, beautiful fortress walls, and locations where the series "Game of Thrones" was filmed – that's how one could describe this city.
After 4 hours, we need to be in Albania, so we don't linger here long and head, guided by navigation, towards Albania and once again enter Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We are currently sitting in a café, we have ordered local food, and we are writing this article.
Have a great Friday and wonderful weekend everyone, see you again tomorrow.
Active wildfires are raging in Albania, and this could change our plans.
I'm sitting in an Albanian mountain valley, a few meters away a mountain stream flows with super cold water, and all around are high mountains with rocky peaks, where there's a bonfire and evening conversations. As soon as everyone goes to bed, I sit down at the table with a small LED lamp and write this article about the first day in the Albanian mountains.
Having driven through Bosnia and Herzegovina, we enter Montenegro. There are passport controls at the borders, but everything goes very quickly. After crossing the Albanian border, we buy internet SIM cards; unlimited internet for 3 weeks costs 33 EUR, and these cards work in all Balkan countries.
Only 30 km remain to the campsite, where we are supposed to meet Arturs Volskis from 4x4overland.lv. On the way to the campsite, we fill up the tank with gas, which costs 0.60 EUR here.
We arrive at the campsite, pay 38 EUR for 4 people for the campsite and electricity. We meet Artūrs and go with him to the city to exchange money and buy food for the next day.
The campsite is located on the lake shore, and as Artūrs says, this is Albania's best campsite, and I can agree with him; this is truly the best campsite I have been to so far. In the middle of the territory there are many good and quality toilets, showers, sinks, there is a large area by the lake, a huge restaurant where to eat, and, for example, breakfast cost 6 EUR per person. If you want to know the name of the campsite, write in the comments.
After dinner with our new team, Artūrs and his wife, Fredijs, who is a local Albanian guide, and a family from Belgium, we go to bed, because the next day we have to leave for the mountains at 9:00 AM.
Even though it's 11:00 PM, the temperature outside doesn't drop below 28 degrees, and for the first two hours I sweat and can't fall asleep. Only in the middle of the night it gets cooler, and with that, a deeper sleep.
The morning begins with packing a lot of things. Everything still doesn't go as fast as we'd like, but we are trying very hard. As soon as we have packed everything, we go for breakfast, and at 9:10 AM we hear Artūrs's first address, in which he explains that due to the large wildfires in the country, there might be changes to our route, but overall, it promises to be a beautiful, exciting, and possibly also a little dangerous adventure.
We leave the campsite and on the way to the mountains, we stop to buy fruits: watermelon, melon, peaches, plums, grapes, as well as vegetables.
Our road leads towards the mountains and the road gets narrower and narrower, and there is an unexpectedly large number of cars coming from the opposite direction. At one bend, even the Belgian crew's car collided with an oncoming minivan, but since the dents on both were not big, they parted as friends and promised to resolve this further via WhatsApp.
The Albanian mountains surprised with their grandeur, and I had never imagined they would be so big and beautiful here. We crossed a pass, and the mountain roads were even narrower. It became even harder to pass oncoming cars, and our Dodge Ram was a bit too big for these mountain roads. We kept up with the team, but occasionally got stuck in a bend, because car traffic here is very intense.
We reach a valley where, between the mighty Albanian mountains, there is a small but beautiful church. We visit it, go to an ancient tower that has a very interesting story, but you will hear about that in our series about adventures in Albania, on the "Ceļot bez robežām" YouTube channel.
After the tower, we head to the river, where the water has completely dried up. Two years ago, in August, it was still possible to swim in this river, but this year, due to the severe drought, everything has dried up. However, the guide, Fredijs, takes us into the canyon and shows us naturally formed pools and how the water, over thousands of years, has carved its way into the stone cliffs.
After exploring the riverbed, we realize we've lost the microphone and the only possibility is that we left it by the tower. We drive back and find it exactly where we thought it would be.
Having rejoined the team, we cross a river and find a beautiful camping spot for ourselves, right between the mountains and between two mountain streams. We set up camp, make dinner, film some shots of the day's impressions, and sit by the bonfire to relax.
We drive through a forest fire, lose a bag, the air conditioner stops working again, and more, and more.
The first picture is from the ferry we are currently taking across Lake Koman, the second picture is from the forest fire we had to drive through yesterday, and the third picture is from the chaos at the port to get on the ferry.
Albanian mountain adventure, day 2.
All night long, the mountain stream is audible, and the first thing we do in the morning, crawling out of the tent, is go to the river to wash our mouths. Our feet almost cramp from the cold water, but it's so refreshing.
We prepare breakfast, boil water for coffee, pour out the Virši coffee we brought, fry sausages, butter bread, cut meat, tomatoes, and cucumbers. What could be more delicious than breakfast among the mountains, in nature, far from the city?
As soon as we've packed everything into the car, we set off, and the first stop is on the road, where a small river has carved into the cliffs. But after another 5 minutes, part of the team is already swimming in this beautiful river, which Rodrigo described as being as cold as in winter.
Our journey continues on a gravel road in the mountains, everything is dusty, it's hot outside, over 30 degrees, the air conditioning no longer works, all windows are open. We climb above 1200 meters and have coffee there, in a small cafe. This is probably the most expensive coffee I've ever had, but more on that later.
Our road then goes up a little further into the mountains, then there's a pass, and then we start driving down the mountain. From time to time, we fly a drone, and all these beautiful videos will be visible on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Travel Without Borders).
From the mountain cafe where we drank coffee to our next lunch spot is about 2.5 hours. We make sandwiches, slice the Ukru dried meat we brought, munch on a cucumber, and have chocolate for dessert. Once we've eaten, we spot the woman who works at the mountain cafe. At first, we thought she had finished work and was going home, but it turns out she had called a taxi and was trying to catch us because I had forgotten my bag, with my wallet, passports, and documents, upstairs in her cafe.
I hadn't even noticed my bag wasn't in the car, but a huge thank you to this woman for her kindness and determination to bring me this bag. I left her 70 EUR for her help and we continued on our way.
We drive to the city, where our Albanian guide, Fredijs, together with the Belgian team, will go to the insurance office to resolve the consequences of yesterday's accident. Meanwhile, we will fill up the car with fuel, replenish our food supplies, and then head to the campsite, located right on the lake shore, to settle in, swim, and tidy up the car a bit.
At the campsite, they show us a spot 2 meters from the lake shore, but there's no electricity there, so we move a bit deeper and connect to electricity to charge all possible batteries.
The campsite has a toilet, showers, two washing machines, and a restaurant. For the campsite spot and 4 people, I paid 30 EUR, but for one laundry cycle, it was 3 EUR.
In the evening, we go for dinner at the restaurant and taste various local Albanian dishes, the price per person averaging 20 EUR.
We wash up, film some interviews with our guide, Fredijs, and with the Belgian family, and all these interviews will also be on our YouTube channel "Ceļot bez robežām."
We start the morning early, waking up at 5:30 AM, because we have to leave the campsite by 8:00 AM and head to the ferry.
We drive for about 45 minutes, and as soon as we reach the port, we have to drive through a tunnel at least 300 meters long, which is so narrow that it's difficult for two cars to pass, and even large vans that have just disembarked from the ferry are coming from the opposite direction.
At the port itself, it's such a mess that it reminds one of the Tanzanian ferry line to Zanzibar.
All our cars are backed onto the ferry, and we can set off.
We will be traveling across this lake for 3 hours, and after that, a real off-road journey will begin. The first 2 days were just a warm-up, so our group leader, Artūrs Voļskis, tells us.
Finally enjoying the Albanian off-roads.
After a 3-hour ferry ride and seeing fantastic natural beauty, having paid 130 EUR for this trip, we are ready to begin our off-road journey through the mountains.
Our Ram car is a bit overloaded and also larger than the other cars, so we will definitely be slower than the others, and our gas tank is quite low, meaning we could snag it on larger rocks, so we have to drive carefully. Also, our air conditioner isn't working, and we're driving with open windows, but the dust raised by the cars in front fills our mouths, so we need to keep even more distance.
The speed at which we travel is 5-15 km per hour, and there are places where we stop altogether and wonder how it's even possible to pass.
I won't delve too deeply into the entire trip or recount every event; you'll definitely see that in our series about Albania, on the "Ceļot bez robežām" YouTube channel. But I can say, it's not easy, but it is beautiful.
All these off-road trails are in the mountains, sometimes even high in the mountains, and I can confirm that what we saw can only be seen by driving a 4x4 vehicle or by hiking.
The mountain views are fantastic and constantly changing. Each region is completely different: some are rockier, some greener, some without trees, only with grass, or again, only oaks.
We have lunch high in the mountains during the day. This time, our menu includes the watermelon and melon bought two days ago; both are very juicy and sweet. Edvard had never even eaten such a melon before.
Later in the day, the roads again have large rocks and various rain-eroded ditches. Fredijs tells us about the rich rock formations found in this region, but all the benefits from the mountains are reaped by the Turks, as they have bought everything.
On the way, we also see an ancient prison, high in the mountains, and hear a story about political prisoners held there for disobedience to the regime.
As evening approached, we found a beautiful meadow to set up camp, pitch tents, prepare dinner, sit by the campfire, and listen to Freddie's stories about Albania and its history. We also strung up a rope and hung out the clothes we had washed at the campsite yesterday to dry.
We haven't had internet for about four hours, and there's none at our camp at all, but it turns out we can manage perfectly well without it. Our only attempt to get internet failed. We attached a phone to the drone and raised it 120m high, but the drone didn't like it and descended back down.
The night is cool, probably below 10 degrees, as we are about 1000m above sea level. Huddled tightly together with Rodrigo, we survive this night without freezing, but we know that next time we need to cover up or dress a bit warmer.
We wake up around 6:00 in the morning; it's still cool outside with heavy dew. I start preparing breakfast, boiling water for "Virši" coffee, cooking sausages, and peeling the eggs boiled last night. We spread bread, slice Albanian tomatoes, and breakfast turns out excellent again. The dried clothes are even wetter than they were yesterday, but we leave them to dry until the last moment.
A little while later, the sun begins to creep over the first mountains, and it quickly becomes warm, or rather hot.
Once we are all ready, Artūrs and Freddie explain today's plan, and most importantly, it will be very beautiful, and we will drive through the national park for most of the day.
Our car is holding up great; of course, the air conditioning isn't working, but we're used to the heat and open windows. The gas cylinder is still in place, so we're ready for new adventures.
The first kilometers are uphill again, with many enchanting views of and from the cliffs. Drones are flown, and filming is done from various cameras.
Today, our car is a bit lighter; Rodrigo has befriended everyone and rides sometimes with Freddie, sometimes with Artūrs. I only see him when we stop. But when the radio is silent, Rodrigo entertains everyone by asking many questions to anyone and about any topic.
Today, the mountain views are truly enchanting and fabulous; sometimes you don't even believe what you're seeing, and at other times you imagine they're not just simple mountains, but rather the remains of some ancient civilization.
The national park is impressive, and although at times it seems our Ram won't make it, it overcomes various obstacles and bravely keeps up with the other cars.
Every now and then, we also have to clear some rocks from the road, but that only makes the trip more interesting.
The video you will see of these mountains will surprise even an experienced traveler, I can guarantee that; for me too, all of this is like a fairy tale.
Having conquered several mountain ranges and various roads and off-road trails, we have earned a night's stay in a hotel. I'm currently lying in bed, having washed off all the dust we accumulated for two days, and writing this blog.
We had promised to create TikTok videos, but it doesn't really work in Albania, so the TikTok videos will be made when we return home.
With half a tire on the mountainside, a 300m deep abyss below, rocks on the road, and burnt forests in the mountains.
Dinner at the hotel consists of lamb, roasted potatoes, and various snacks. They treat us very well, and we pay 20 EUR per person for dinner.
Finally, I get a good night's sleep and feel full of energy again to continue the journey through the mountains, off-road, over rocks, along the edges of abysses, and through recently burned forests.
The first drive up the mountain is over rocks. Larijs' task is to avoid the larger rocks that could hit our car's gas equipment, but every now and then, a rock still hits both the gas cylinder and the rear hitch. If our car wasn't so heavily overloaded, it would be easier to drive, and the rear wouldn't get caught so often on various bumps and rocks.
Our average speed going up the mountain is 5 km/h, and our car's fuel consumption is 51 liters per 100 km.
After the first hour, we reach a small mountain lake about 1400m above sea level. We raise the drone another 500 meters higher and see over the mountains. Freddie shows us on the screen where we need to drive, and it's hard to believe we'll get that far today if the whole road is like this with such rocks.
For the second day, we are driving through the national park, and at times, the forests and meadows are completely burned out, with only black stumps and black earth remaining. Due to the intense heat, the leaves on some trees are completely withered, and it looks like they haven't fallen since the previous autumn.
We often drive along the edge of the mountainside, and looking out the window, down in the distance, you can see a small village, or a house, or simply a forest. At times, we are so close to the edge that everyone's hearts start beating faster, and we even get out to see how much further we can move the tire towards the mountain to get around a rock or an obstacle in our way.
One spot is particularly dangerous: a high mountain curve right by a ravine, with rocks on both sides so large that we cannot move them. Freddie drives his car first, but his car is half the size of our Ram, so we get stuck here longer and only manage to get through this section of the road on the fifth attempt, with half a tire over the edge of the abyss.
Further on, we drive again through burnt forests and burnt meadows. In some places, we can also see small shepherd's huts that have burned to the ground. At times, there are meadows burned as far as the eye can see. The entire national park has suffered from fires, but in the coming days, we will drive through villages that have been completely burned, with some even losing up to 150 livestock.
We have lunch on a large plateau in the mountains, over 1200m high, where everything around us is burned. The smell of smoke is still in the air, and in the distance, beyond the burnt stumps, stand steep cliffs that fear neither fire, wind, nor rain. They are majestic and impressive and delight the passing convoy of jeeps.
While everyone is eating lunch, the team from Belgium removes the front tires and unscrews the flanges because their car was periodically making noises that definitely shouldn't be there. With the flanges removed, all the noises disappear.
After lunch, the roads are again full of rocks, washed-out ditches, and obstacles that are difficult to bypass.
Artūrs and Freddie enjoy every challenging section of the road, but after every harder hit to the rear, we turn on the gas system and check if it's still working.
After a solid hit against a rock, our gas system's reducer is severely bent upwards, but there are no gas leaks, and the car operates without problems.
A few more crazy descents from the mountain, where we get out of the car and walk, filming and photographing both the car itself and the drivers' faces.
Once all the mountain roads have been conquered and everyone has safely descended, we head to the city to buy food, water, fruits, refuel, and look for a camping spot. Tonight, we'll stay by a large river, or rather on the riverbed, as all water bodies are quite dry now due to the drought and intense heat.
Tonight, I decided to sleep on a cot among the rocks by the river and watch the stars.
We just finished dinner, the sun is setting, and complete darkness falls. Luckily, we have many rechargeable lamps and illuminate our camp with them. Freddie and Artūrs light a campfire, and everyone gathers around it for evening conversations.
Edvards and I set up a studio in nature, where we invite all participants to tell the camera about their daily experiences and future plans. These stories will certainly be very interesting, as, for example, the Albanian guide is ready to talk about everything – his experiences in the mountains, life, dreams, and children.
All these interviews will be available on the "Ceļot bez robežām" YouTube channel.
When everyone goes to rest, I take my place in my cot and watch the stars. It's the first time in my life I've seen such a Milky Way and such starry skies. I try to take some pictures with my phone, but nothing really comes out. After a while, I realize that it's so humid outside, possibly because we are right on the riverbank, that my pillow and blanket are completely wet. So, I decide to climb the stairs to the second floor next to Rodrigo after all.
I sleep wonderfully. If I didn't have to climb down the stairs at night to go to the bushes, it would be absolutely perfect.
The morning starts at 6:00; we begin to brew coffee, boil eggs and sausages, slice Albanian tomatoes, and enjoy breakfast with a view of the river and the rising sun above the treetops.
Today is the sixth day of our mountain adventure, and we start it with a service. We wanted to refill the air conditioning, but they've been fixing various system connections for an hour now.
We very much hope that the coming days will be comfortable and that the heat and dust will be a thing of the past.
But there's certainly one good thing about the service: we've charged all the batteries and the large EcoFlow, without which we definitely wouldn't be able to survive here.
Thank you to everyone who reads and follows our adventures, and we'll see you again in one of the next few days when we have internet again.
The wildest wind I've ever experienced while sleeping in a tent, and the wildest thunderstorm while making morning coffee. But we live so close to the moon that the view gives you goosebumps of surprise.
After a two-hour delay at the service center, we left without air conditioning. Since we had delayed the entire team, our guide, Freddie, decided to change the driving plan, replacing the planned crazy mountain ascent with a different route, not as extreme as originally intended, but still extreme and, of course, endlessly beautiful.
All these Albanian episodes, which will be shown on our YouTube channel, Ceļot bez robežām, are not recommended for the faint of heart, as there will be beautiful mountain views every minute, and you will simply want to embark on a new journey – it's inevitable.
After driving for just under an hour, the guides led us to a beautiful meadow for lunch. We parked the car facing the mountains and, while eating meat sandwiches and watermelons, we could admire the views of the valley and the opposite mountains.
Artūrs answers 4 quick and tricky questions for us, which you will also see on our YouTube channel, but as we left the lunch meadow, he said a phrase, "we're heading towards the moon." What that means, we have no idea, at least not yet, but we'll understand it during the day.
The drive today isn't as extreme as yesterday, but we still can't go fast because we have to avoid the large rocks that occasionally threaten our gas system.
Every now and then, we also see bunkers, which are abundant in this country; there are about 27,000 of them here.
After driving through several mountain roads, we stop in a pine forest that strongly resembles our forests: large pines, many ferns, and a sandy road surface like the seaside, only the sand color is reddish.
Freddie takes an electric saw and starts cutting fallen pines, which we load onto the roof of Freddie's car and will take to the evening camp site. Having filled the roof rack with dry pine firewood, we continue our journey. Along the way, we see a shepherd with many goats. We stop next to him and, with the help of a phone, translate that we want to treat him to a cold Tērvete beer. He, of course, agrees and after tasting the first sips, indicates that it's really good.
While we were treating the shepherd, Freddie and the Belgian team had already driven to the campsite, which is only 5 minutes away from us. From a distance, we could already see their car, set up in a beautiful spot among the mountains, almost like on a balcony. We also pulled up next to them and set up our camping spot.
Freddie says that we are in one of the most beautiful places in Albania and are currently on the moon, and it doesn't matter that it's only 1300m above sea level.
We look around and don't quite understand him, saying that the moon looks different. He turns his gaze to the sky and says, "that moon is similar to this moon," and points to the mountains with his finger, adding, "you either have to climb that mountain or fly up with a drone."
Since Rodrigo refused to climb the mountain with me, the second option is the drone.
I switch it on, settle into a comfortable picnic chair, launch the drone, and fly towards the mountain. And what I see when I rise above the mountain surprises me so much that at one point I even get goosebumps on my arms and skin.
I hadn't expected something like that; it's unreal and beautiful at the same time. We'll only include a few pictures here, but the video, which will be available on the "Ceļot bez robežām" YouTube channel, will show much more of this beauty.
We eat dinner—boiled pasta with canned food—and drink Tērvete beer, then sit by the campfire again and talk about the day's experiences. But before going to bed, we take a few more photos of the stars, the Milky Way, shooting stars, and the Starlink satellite.
Rodrigo and Larijs have been sleeping for a while; we also go to rest. I climb into the tent, which is on the car frame, but then a slight wind suddenly starts, shaking the tent and making various noises. The wind gets stronger and stronger until our tent starts shaking so violently that I want to hold on to something, as it feels like we'll be blown off the mountain. I wait for Rodrigo to wake up and ask what's going on, what those noises are, but he just turns over and continues sleeping. I can't fall asleep because the sound is immense; outside, I hear the wind knocking down everything in our camp; everything is falling and crashing. At the moment when it seems there's nothing left to fall, everything has already toppled over, new sounds appear.
I climb down from the tent and go to see what isn't secured and what's making those noises. Finding nothing, I crawl back into the tent. After a while, listening to the sounds, I realize that the tent pole is hitting the car's luggage compartment. I open the window, remove this pole, and the sound indeed disappears. But as this sound vanishes, new tent sounds emerge, where the wind is tearing at the very entrance of the tent.
I hear the ladder starting to detach from the ground and falling down again. I change my sleeping direction and lie on the part of the tent where the ladder is attached. The wind isn't strong enough to lift my weight, and it seems I might be able to fall asleep, but then the wind's strength increases even more, and it feels like we, car and all, will be blown down the mountain.
I toss and turn and can't fall asleep; the sounds are crazy. I climb down again to go through the camp and collect any blown-away items: chairs, tables, banners, bottles. Hoping that sleep would finally come, around 3:30, I climb back into the tent and until 6:00, I roll around in bed, not understanding if I had slept or just held onto the tent, as I was clinging to one of the frames.
At 6:00, the alarm rings, because we had all agreed to climb the mountain and see the moon with our own eyes. I poke my head out of the tent and realize that the wind hasn't died down and there's a thick fog, so our climb is pointless.
After tossing and turning in the tent for 20 minutes, I climb down to boil water for coffee.
Then I feel it starting to drizzle. I remember we have a small shower or toilet tent with us, which could be used to hide from the rain. I set up this tent, put our grill inside,
pour water, and feel the rain starting to pour down, not just drizzle, but really pour. I stand in the tent, which is 1 by 1 meter, boiling water for coffee. The rain is so strong that every tenth drop breaks through the tent, and I'm already almost completely wet.
Then I thought about Edvards, how he was doing in his tent and whether it was dry in there or if some drops were also getting through the tent ceiling. When I was already soaked and the water had boiled, I realized I needed to get sugar, coffee, and a mug. I ran to find everything, and now I can say I was completely wet. So, I unhurriedly found everything I needed, climbed back into the tent, took off my shirt, put it on my head, and warmed myself by the gas grill where the water had boiled. After a while, I remembered that there was a camera and bags with other equipment in the car's cargo area. I ran for these things, carried them to the jeep, opened the door, and there sat Edvards in the front, all spilled and frozen, his tent not only let water through, but he woke up in a small pool.
Luckily, the rain eventually stopped. With a 30-minute delay, we managed all our belongings and successfully packed them into the car's luggage compartment, many of them wet, many completely soaked. Outside, the fog was so thick that we couldn't see what was happening around us, but we didn't change our plans and continued driving on the mountain off-road trails.
We've driven the first half-hour, and the clouds and fog are starting to clear, with the sun peeking through now and then. For lunch, we stop in a meadow, string up a rope, and hang most of our clothes out to dry.
After lunch, we continue on the road that the guide calls Mussolini's road, because in 1939, Mussolini ordered the construction of a 200 to 250-kilometer long road through the mountains, connecting Durrës and the Southern Balkans, to allow his army to move as quickly as possible and to transport as many weapons as possible to the Greek border.
After driving this road, we head down to the city to buy food for the next 3 days, as well as to purchase additional memory to load all the videos, because our 4tb will soon be full.
After the city, we drive uphill again for an hour, seeing several turtles basking in the sun right on the roadside. Tonight, we will stay in a beautiful guesthouse with several villas, a restaurant, and a very well-maintained area.
Have a nice weekend, but we still have 3 concluding days of mountain adventures in Albania ahead, which promise to be very extreme and fantastically beautiful.
Berat, enchanting Albania, sunset in the sea, and the second highest mountain, Tomorr.
I really love our guide, Freddie's, inscription on the rear car window, which is constantly in front of our eyes, and it reads: One life, live it!
If you ask where I disappeared with my writings, unfortunately, in the Albanian mountains, there isn't internet everywhere, and not electricity everywhere, so we write when we can.
In the villa where we are staying tonight, we hang all the wet clothes that haven't dried yet after the crazy rain attack, but we enjoy dinner in their restaurant, eating lamb ribs with salad.
After the sleepless night before, we finally get a proper night's sleep tonight. In the morning, right after 6:00, I go outside. The air is crisp but pleasant, the sun is still behind the mountains, so there's heavy dew, and all the clothes that were dried yesterday are just as wet as they were.
We enjoy breakfast, Artūrs again explains the day's plan, we manage to catch some sun to dry our clothes, and already right after 9:00, we are ready to set off.
Upon leaving the villa, we fill all our canisters and bottles with mountain stream water by the roadside and then head back into the mountains.
Today's task is to drive through a small mountain range, conquer several off-road sections, reach the main road, then an hour to Berat, explore it, and then head back towards the mountains.
The mountains of Albania change at every turn,
so they can never get boring; it's like an interesting TV series that never ends, and you never know how an episode will conclude.
We drive, take photos, film, fly a drone to show you as much as possible, and all of this will be available on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Traveling Without Borders).
Once we reached the main road, the car finally glided smoothly, and we could even doze off a bit—but certainly not the driver. After about 40 minutes, our car ran out of gas. We pulled into a gas station; gas was cheap, 0.53 EUR, but we could only pay with cash; cards were not accepted. Albanians, in general, prefer cash; as soon as they hear you want to pay with a card, they immediately indicate they can't and start muttering something.
After filling up the gas, we continued our journey. After a while, Freddie started telling us over the radio that we were passing through a city once called Stalin City, because Stalin himself had visited it many years ago. There were still many small oil pumps in this city, and indeed, we saw many of these pumps along the way.
Soon we were in Berat. Freddie drove ahead, and we passed through the city, also known as the City of a Thousand Windows. In the center, we turned left and drove down a narrow street towards the ancient town on top of the hill. We parked the car in the uppermost parking lot; to reach it, we had to pass through two ancient gates, and for our Ram to fit, we had to fold in the mirrors.
The first thing we did was go to a restaurant for lunch. The prices here were surprising, much cheaper than in the mountains before. For example, lamb stew with rice was 7 EUR.
After lunch, we walked across the entire city to a viewpoint, from which we could see the city at the foot of the mountain. Three years ago, we were in Albania and filmed a show about this country. We were also in Berat and even prepared lunch with local hostesses in a small restaurant, very close to this viewpoint. You can watch this episode on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Traveling Without Borders).
Walking back to the car, I went into that restaurant to show Rodrigo where we had prepared lunch three years ago. To my great surprise, the owner recognized me and was very happy that we had visited his restaurant again. He said he had subscribed to our channel and watched all our videos. During our conversation, he treated us to various Raki drinks, told us how his father started producing these drinks, we took a photo at the entrance, and then continued on our way.
In one of the small shops, we bought a small floor rug with the Albanian coat of arms, which we will use as a prize in one of our upcoming contests.
After Berat, we headed towards the mountains and drove off-road for a long time, slowly climbing higher and higher until we finally reached a fantastically beautiful meadow at 1300 meters above sea level. In front of us was Albania's second highest mountain, Tomor, with an altitude of 2464m above sea level, and to the right, in the distance, we could see the sea reflecting the sunlight, where an hour later, all of us, seated in camping chairs, watched an unforgettable sunset.
As night fell, Edvard and I tried to photograph the stars and the Milky Way. All the photos and videos will be on our YouTube channel, but I'll say it again: I've never seen such a Milky Way and such bright stars in my life before.
We went to bed around 11:30 PM, and I realized it would be quite chilly tonight, but the next night we would be even higher, meaning even colder.
The highest, most extreme, and at the same time most beautiful ascent by car to a mountain peak, as well as the coldest night in the mountains and the burned village.
At six in the morning, when I got out of the tent and walked down the steps, I saw how beautifully illuminated Albania's second highest mountain was. It glowed in the morning sun and proudly looked down on the Latvian team, who were wiping the morning dew from the breakfast table and boiling water for Virši coffee. We drank coffee, and the words of the song echoed in my head, "Take this morning as a memory," and we certainly took it and treasured it deep in our hearts!
After breakfast, we once again packed all our belongings, which is the second most unpleasant thing, right after breathing dust with the car windows open, because we still don't have air conditioning, and it seems we won't until we reach Latvia.
After breakfast, we set off, and this time we descended the other side of the mountain, further away from the sea. Along the way, our guide Freddie offered us to buy teas collected in the mountains, which cost only 1 EUR, but, unfortunately, it was not possible to buy them on Sunday. However, we stopped at a relative or friend of Freddie's, who gave us several bunches of grapes. The Albanian sun had thoroughly pampered them, and the grapes were fantastically sweet.
Having descended to a small town, we stopped at a cozy cafe for coffee. This is a daily ritual at the start of each day—to drink good Albanian coffee, but our Virši coffee still tastes better.
We hadn't properly washed for a long time, only splashing ourselves with water in the morning and evening, which we had brought in large canisters and refilled from mountain streams. That's why Freddie took us to the river to swim and wash, because to ascend the high mountain planned for today, one must be clean—a joke, of course, but it was so pleasant to wash thoroughly and cool off in the cold river.
After the swim, we headed onto the main road and drove south. After 30 minutes, we stopped by the roadside, and Freddie pointed in the direction where we could fly up and film the large areas of forest that had recently burned down. After we had filmed quite a lot, Freddie pointed to an antenna on the mountaintop, saying that we should fly there and that we would be able to see the burned villages on both sides. Although the distance was considerable, over 3 km, the drone reached the mountaintop, and as soon as I flew over the antenna, I saw scenes I had only seen in war movies: so many houses burned down, all to their foundations. The sight was not pleasant, and the people had truly suffered a tremendous misfortune.
A few minutes later, we turned off the main road, and off-road tracks began again—several gravel roads leading up the mountain, through a burnt forest. We had the option of taking the serpentine road or choosing the straighter paths, which were much more challenging, with large washouts and many rocks. While the rest of the team tried to take the straighter paths, we, without much effort, kept up with them by taking the serpentine.
Having climbed higher into the mountains, we could see that the flames had not reached this far; the forests were alive and the meadows untouched by fire. We stopped by a small mountain lake overgrown with water lilies and decided to have lunch there. Again, we made sandwiches, ate canned goods, meat, cheese, and fruit. We filmed a short interview with Freddie and Veronika, asking them 4 questions, and the fourth question we asked them will only be on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Traveling Without Borders); it cannot be shown on television.
Once we had finished our meal, Artūrs once again explained that today's drive up the mountain would not be easy, but if you don't look around or down, everything should be fine.
The road again led through forests, some burnt, some survived. Every now and then, we saw a shepherd with sheep, goats, cows, all with bells around their necks, which could be heard from afar. Along the way, we saw a large and enclosed grazing area where both cows and horses grazed, but later in the forest, we encountered runaway cows taking their evening stroll, and seeing our car, they rang their bells and disappeared into the thicket of the forest.
We have arrived at a small lake called Black Lake. Freddie says over the radio that we will stay here for the night. This place is 1700 meters above sea level, and you can feel it; the sun hasn't set yet, but the air is quite crisp.
We proceeded a few hundred meters further, up the mountain, past the hotel located by this small lake, and in front of us, we saw a large mountain, entirely covered in grass, looking like vast pastures.
From a distance, we could also see car tracks leading up the mountain, and it was already clear that Freddie would soon follow these tracks and we would head up the mountain. And so it happened. After driving a few hundred meters up this mountain, Artūrs told everyone to stop and gave a brief briefing about this ascent. Artūrs had been talking about this mountain all week, slowly intimidating us by saying it wasn't easy, but definitely worth it.
First, Freddie and Edvard went up the mountain. We filmed with the drone from below, and once they reached the top, Edvard would film everyone else from above.
Artūrs went second, reaching the top without a hitch. The Belgian team followed, also making it up. Now it was our turn. Larry floored the accelerator, the car rapidly approached the mountain slope, and our ascent began. The car is large and heavy, but it felt like it was going into the sky—at least that's how it looked from the inside, as through the front window we could only see clouds and the sun. But if you looked to the sides, you could see the mountain slopes on both sides, and it wasn't easy to see the bottom at all, because we were 2000 meters above sea level. Downshifting, but keeping the gas pedal floored, we too reached the summit. We drove a little further and stopped at the edge of a cliff, all four cars side by side, to make the drone photos even more impressive.
The view ahead is indescribable; mountain ranges in front, a green lake below, and behind us, we can see our little Black Lake, where we will spend the night.
After taking photos and videos, we went down to set up our campsite, again a lot of tidying up, preparing dinner, sitting by the campfire, and then it was time to go to bed.
If not for the campfire, we would have frozen to the bone; it was quite chilly outside, no, rather cold, with the night promising only +7 degrees. We put on all the warm clothes we had and went to rest.
Since I was traveling to Albania, and in summer no less, I naturally only had a thin blanket with me. I zipped up my jacket, pulled my hood over my head, put on 2 pairs of socks, wrapped myself in the blanket, and tried to fall asleep. I fell asleep quickly, but woke up occasionally because I was cold. I snuggled closer to Rodrigo, as he had a thicker blanket, but he kicked around, and I had no choice but to bury my head under the blanket and warm myself with my own breath.
Even though the night was spent trying to keep warm, I still slept much better than I did a couple of days ago when we were bothered by strong winds and greeted by a rainstorm in the morning.
Around six in the morning, I crawled out of the tent. It was really cold outside, but for the first night, there had been no dew, and all the chairs and the table were dry. I put water on to boil for coffee and found a spot in the meadow where the sun was shining, placed my chair there, and waited for the rest of the team to wake up.
The final day in Albania: we have to use the winch to prevent the car from overturning, faces full of dust, and a 41-hour journey home.
While I wait for the rest of the participants' morning routine, cows have come to visit us, so to speak, to check if everything is in order and perhaps borrow a piece of bread for breakfast.
This morning everyone starts in the sun; everyone was a bit cold during the night, at least our car team certainly was. The Belgians have rebuilt their car so thoroughly; they even have special heating so they can sleep in their rooftop tent even below 0 degrees.
The Belgian team, with their entire car, will be visiting Riga at the beginning of February for the Balttour 2026 exhibition, where you will have the opportunity to see their rebuilt Ford car up close.
Breakfast, getting ready, a speech from Artūrs and Freddie – we are ready to hit the road, but the Belgian team's driver wants to try the cold springs located a bit higher up, next to the hotel. People with health problems, such as joint or bone pain, sit in these springs. This water is said to be very therapeutic from August to October, and many locals come here during that time, sitting for 15 minutes in +5 degree cold water, three times a day for three days.
Freddie had reserved a time for the Belgian, and he honorably endured more than 10 minutes.
While we were waiting for the Belgian by our car, some Albanian youngsters approached us and said it was their first time seeing foreigners here. During the conversation, one of them asked if I could give him one of our shirts because he liked it very much. I found one in my bag and gave it to him. It didn't matter that it was 3 sizes too big; he put it on immediately.
Further on, our road leads down from the mountain. It's probably unnecessary to say that there are magnificent mountain views all around, and even though it's the final day, we constantly want to stop and photograph them.
After driving down, another small cafe, and again we drink Albanian coffee. We also charge our EcoFlow charging station, as it hadn't been charged for the last 2 days and for the first time on the entire trip, it was completely discharged. Without this large power bank, it would be tough; we would have to bring a fuel generator, but that takes up even more space.
If it's cool in the mountains, down below the temperature is again over +30 degrees, and even the dogs are hot; one has climbed into a fountain basin and is soaking its paws in the cold water.
Larry rejoiced that it was the last day and that there definitely wouldn't be any more crazy off-roading today, but he was wrong. As soon as we left the small village, Freddie turned off the main road and we aimed high into the mountains again. Larry this time avoided the craziest roads and tried to drive on easier serpentines, avoiding large rocks and big potholes, but such an option wasn't available everywhere.
After 40 minutes of driving, having passed through a charming mountain village, we had again climbed higher into the mountains, and this is where the most interesting part began: a washed-out road, if you could even call it a road, with large rocks in the middle. Freddie went first, overcoming all obstacles and climbing a small hill. Next came the Belgian crew, and we saw that they had stopped around a bend, right on the mountainside, not moving forward or backward. We went to see. Their car, with its front wheel, was perched on a huge rock, and to the right was a ravine where, if they made a wrong move, the car could overturn. So, they quickly deployed the winch, attached it to Freddie's car, which had just passed, and only then, with the car secured, could the rescue mission begin. Together, we gathered many large rocks to place under the front and rear tires so that by driving a little forward and backward, it would finally get out of this dangerous situation. After an hour, the car was off the large rock, and we could continue. Artūrs and Larry also passed this section, and the climb up the mountain continued.
Every now and then, we could see the mountain we had driven up yesterday with our cars, 2010 meters above sea level. In one picture, Rodrigo even points to that spot.
Lunch again in a beautiful meadow. While everyone ate, the Belgian team and Freddie fixed the parts that were damaged when they hit another large rock, right after getting off the first one. We attributed all their misfortunes today to the cold water they had sat in this morning.
After lunch, another small off-road section, again beautiful views, then a longer drive, and just as beautiful views. You will see all of this on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Traveling Without Borders). If you haven't subscribed to this channel yet, perhaps it's finally time to do so!
After descending from the mountains, we finally reached an asphalt road. We stopped by a small river to see an old bridge, and getting out of the car, we realized we were as dusty today as never before. Edvard looked like he had turned gray, and it seemed his clothes were black in the morning, but now they were light. The entire car interior was covered in a layer of dust, and we really wanted to drive it into the river and rinse it out, but knowing that the hotel was very close, we endured and got back into our Ram.
We drove past the hotel, and Freddie took us to two more balconies, which offered a magnificent view of the Osumi Canyon.
Arriving at the hotel, we immediately took a shower with all our clothes on. At 8:00 PM, we had a communal dinner, filmed a few more interviews, and by after midnight, we could go to rest.
In the morning, breakfast, farewells, hugs, handshakes, a group photo, and everyone went their separate ways. Freddie was waiting for the next group, Artūrs was heading to Sardinia, where he would embark on a week-long adventure with a new group, the Belgian team was going to Croatia, where they had a favorite campsite by the sea, but we were determined to get home without sleeping.
We set off around 10:00 AM, drove to a car wash to clean the car and film a small YouTube video (you can already see it on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām"). On the way to Durres, we bought watermelons and melons to take home, then on to Montenegro, where we took a slight wrong turn, entered Bosnia and Herzegovina, then crossed all of Croatia, then Slovenia, Austria, and at the beginning of the Czech Republic, we had breakfast at a hotel cafe, drank their coffee, and ate sandwiches from a gas station and white bread with Nutella. During the day, we drove through Poland, in the evening through Lithuania, and after 41 hours on the road, we arrived home, tired but happy!
In total, we covered just over 7000 km and visited 12 countries.
A brief summary:
- Was it easy? No!
- Was it worth it? Absolutely, yes.
- Will we go again? Absolutely, yes.
- Was it expensive? It certainly wasn't cheap!
- Did we get what we wanted? Yes, and even more.
- Is there anything we would have wanted to be different? Yes, for the air conditioning to work, for the car to be higher, and we could have left half our belongings behind.
- Was the team satisfactory? Not only satisfactory, it was exceptional!
- Did we film a lot? Yes, never before have we filmed so much!
- Will the film be a success? We certainly hope the film will be enjoyable and that we can convey at least a part of all the beauty to the viewers!
