Don't Look Down, Look Forward

As the doors sealed shut on another Jimbotours first I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned, 5,292 ft, that sounds very high up. As we embarked on our ascent in our flimsy cable car, Jimbos words were ringing through my ears. "Albanians are great builders mate, I'm sure it'll be fine"

I would have taken those words seriously if it wasn't for the fact that I had an aerial view of what can only be described as a Ted Talk for how not to build a roof on a house. If they can't work out roof tiles or driving around roundabouts (more on that later) why on earth are we trusting them with the complicated physics of getting us to one of the highest points in the Balkans.

As my fellow tour comrades debated where would be the best spot to fall should our glass coffin fail, to suppress the waves of acrophobia anxiety washing over me, I looked out over the horizon at the stunning views and contemplated how far we've come on our annual European escapades.

So as you will have ascertained by now the latest dot on our map takes us to Albania. The home of sweeping natural beauty, amazing coastlines and an entire population of learner drivers. You see, even up until the early 90s it was illegal for Albanians to own a car, so as such everyone in this town is still getting their head around driving decorum. The only way I can describe a taxi journey in this town is like playing Colin McCrae on the PlayStation but your controller doesn't work properly.

As far as the former points is concerned, Albania's natural beauty cannot be denied. It is a truly amazing spot on this spinning rock and to some degree it seems a shame that the locals don't seem to appreciate it as much as we do. They love a bit of fly tipping and their more recent attempts at city architecture look more Baghdad than Barcelona.

Putting their lack of driving skills and recycling disciplines to one side, the Alabians are cool bunch. I would describe them as polite and sort of friendly. Tourism is definitely on the uptick here and they are building infrastructure for future generations of Jimbotours, so good on em.

As far as the place is concerned it's seriously fun. An amazing climate which has the perfect temperatures for walking tours around Tirana, supping cold beers in Durres or watching the sunset at the beach in Golem. All of which we have done in the last 48hrs... its been a busy few days.

Just then a big crosswind gales past our floating aerial tomb and brings me back to the present. We've made it to the top of Mount Dajti and I can breathe a seigh of relief, that is of course until we need to descend back down.

For now, let's enjoy the view, the beers and the journey... just don't look down.

Shauny G