I had originally hoped to get a bit closer to Ancona yesterday but there is a bit of an accommodation vacuum on this route…so we risked the night in Nocera (…and so worth it too!)…but it meant that we had close to 120kms to bike…to catch our ferry!!I
And when I say accommodation vacuum…it is evident that this is a remarkably “un-touristy” part of Italy! So worth a visit!!
Anyway……..I do not mind long days…but it adds a bit of tension when one has a ferry to miss!! Haha
And the day started with a gruelling 500m ascent….steep, steep, steep averaging over 10% for over 5km! At this pace…we will certainly miss the ferry…I thought!
But what goes up must come down…and so we did…hurtling down through the most delightful Italian countryside…with the sun shining!
And for the first time this trip …I dispensed with my rain jacket! And then I dispensed with my ‘warm’ biking jacket!
Bliss!!
What a gorgeous ride!
And we cruised into Ancona with a good two hours to spare!
But…alas…my back tyre had lost too much air…..and it was a bit of a hairy descent to the port…with my tyre providing all too little support!
The bikes have both been going so well…this was a bit disappointing. Leaking valve? Leaking spokes (tubeless of course)…who knows?
Not a major major issue…but frustrating all the same.
The good news? No battery stress at all! Indeed…despite that gruelling ascent…we did not need to change batteries until well after the 90km mark! So good….! (…you need to have done this to understand!)
And so the the port…checking in…and beers at the very same snack bar Iain and I stopped at in 2023 en route to Istanbul!!
The boat is surprisingly busy! Mostly Albanians I would say….almost exclusively men. And it was Nae who pointed out that Slavik/Serbian/Balkan men have unusual head shapes…in that the back of their heads are remarkably flat…or vertical…without the curvature of the standard caucasians. And once one has that idea in your head….One could not help but observe how many flat-back-headed men are on this boat!
Is it really a thing? I must look it up.
But to my mind…. Nae is correct…it certainly IS a thing…notwithstanding what gems of support Google might provide! I do wonder why that might be!
Did I mention? Martin and I are sharing a cabin for this trip! That sole-use cabin on the Barcelona-Civitavecchia ride was an bargain. But this – significantly shorter – trip to Durres…..cost each of us well more than three times as much…despite having to share a cabin! Go figure!
It is an OK boat though. And the cabin is big. The shower does not drain…we both flooded the floor!! Such is life!
The weather is good enough to enjoy outside beers etc…where I spotted this wonderful sign…attached to the very outside railing of deck seven!!
Who would have thought that might be necessary? Hahaha
(..to be fair…the tiny – empty – swimming pool was not too far distant!)
And so to bed! The end of a big day…!!
Tomorrow……Albania!! How strange…it feels like we have just left!
We have really…!
France on Tuesday…Spain on Tuesday…ferry on Wednesday…cycling across Italy on Thursday, Friday and Saturday…and arriving into Albania on Sunday!
Happy Easter!
I did, in fact, look it up!! 😅😅 But I think it may be quite specific to Albanians, and particularly those from Kosovo…