Day 119: our six week tour of the Balkans has come to an end. It has been fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. We’ve visited seven Balkans countries and now feel we have a better knowledge and understanding of the region.
I couldn’t finish my Balkan blogs without reference to the buses. We took trains when we could in Bulgaria and Kosovo but most of our movement was by bus. I’ll start with a confession. In order of preference, I like to travel by train, then bus, then car and lastly airplane.
Until the 1970’s, flying was fun when most passengers received first class service. Now, us economy passengers are made to feel like terrorists, smugglers or illegal immigrants. I’m not saying I won’t fly again but if I didn’t it would not be a lose. In addition, I am uncomfortable with the environment implications. I have no time for people who fly 10,000 miles to sit on a beach for two weeks… Rant over.
Back to Balkan buses. Our last bus journey was Tirana, Albana to Ioannina, Greece was perhaps the best example of the problems we encountered throughout the Balkans. It was frustrating from start to finish.
We did our research online and tried unsuccessfully to buy a ticket. I got all the way through the convoluted website, identified the date and time we wanted to travel, completed the registration and ticket application. Entered my bank card details only to be informed that somone would call me… they never did.
We then decided to go to the bus station to buy the tickets. In Tirana International Bus Staion I estimate there are 15 ticket offices Each of the private companies that operate from there has its own office. Sheila and I visited 8 of them, some on multiple occassions in our quest to buy tickets. We were told there was no bus today, only an overnight bus. We eventually bought two tickets on a bus leaving at 2pm.
The bus was a little rickety, the front passenger door was locked closed with a piece of wood and a rope. It was filthy inside and out but it left on time. We were informed that it would be a 6 hour journey but with a border crossing we anticipated it would take a little longer. Little did we know.
We arrived at the border after 5 hours in a long queue. I recalculated. One hour at the border and a further hour to reach Ioannina. Not too bad.
It took an hour to get through the Albanian customs. That involved all the passengers removing their luggage from the bus to allow it to be checked by Customs Officers. They were uninterested in mine and Sheilas luggage but took great interest in some of the locals possessions.
Onto the Greek side. Our bus waited in a queue until it was our turn. There was a little excitement but as we don’t speak Albanian, we couldn’t understand what was going on. I approached our driver to be told that the border had been closed, presumably to allow the border guards to take a break. When I asked for how long? The driver shrugged his shoulders! At this stage, I was close to going into ‘Victor Meldrew’ mode.
We eventually passed through the border into Greece after a 2.5 hour delay.
We were told by the ticket agent in Tirana that the bus did not go into the centre of Ioannina but stopped at the airport 4 km from the city. She advised that it would simply be a case of taking an €8 taxi ride from there to our hotel.
At 11.30pm, the bus stopped at the airport. We walked the short distance to the main entrance only to find that it was closed! Worse was to come. We looked around in a growing sense of panic as we realised there was not a living soul anywhere. No taxi’s or anybody to obtain advice from.
Sheila said, “Oh well, we’ll just have to walk the 4km in the city”. I responded, yes, that would be fine, if we knew which direction to start walking. We were literally stranded.
After 10 minutes, with just the odd car driving past, I saw a young guy on a bike. I flagged him down and explained our predicament. He proceeded to call us a taxi. Not only that. He waited with us until it arrived. An absolute star. The taxi driver, a lovely chap, couldn’t find the hotel and drove us around tbe city centre for what felt like ages, before, finally dropping us off. As we got out of the cab, I said to the driver, the hotel looks like its locked up how will we get in? He responded, don’t worry, go to the front entrance. Apparently, he had stopped at the rear. We eventually got into our room at 12.20am, over 10 hours after we got on the bus for a 6 hour journey.
Sheila and I will not miss Balkan buses.
Proudly showing off her Irish passport, welcome everywhere . 
Queue at Albanian border. 
Our bus… worrying 
Tirana International Bus Station
Wandering Boomers 