BALKAN SENSATIONS OF A LUCKY PARTICIPANT.
We are Miguel and Pilar and we have had the immense fortune of having participated in this spectacular “Raid” organized by Territori 4×4. The trip has been great as it keeps a perfect balance between the tourist and 4×4 aspects, allowing the former to literally exhaust the memory cards of the cameras and the latter to enjoy a daily ration of 4×4 driving on tracks that cross dreamlike landscapes. If we multiply these two characteristics by the phenomenal atmosphere of the group of participants with their anecdotes, good humor, companionship, etc. etc., you can imagine that this adventure will remain as an indelible memory in our heads for many years.
Going into the subject, I will try to write the sensations and experiences that Balkan Raid has given me not as a diary or logbook but as they come to my mind. I hope he succeeds.
The first country visited is Slovenia, which we access through lush forests and mountainous landscapes until we reach its capital Ljubljana with its majestic buildings, river and castle from where the entire city can be seen. Spectacular.
We jump to Croatia where we will visit twice, the first to see the Prodojna Caves and the Plitvice National Park and then re-enter through Bosnia-Herzegovina to the touristy coastal area of Dubrovnick. The caves of Prodojna are huge to the point that you can circulate with a small train of wagons inside that gives it a certain touch of “Disney” attraction and makes it a fantastic visit. The Plitvice lakes are another thing, it’s a pity not to have more time to explore them better since it is a magnificent work of nature and the whole environment is very well cared for. In the town of Dubrovnick, apart from staying in a luxurious hotel by the sea and savoring a good swim in the Adriatic, which surprises with its buoyancy I suppose because the water has a higher percentage of salt, the walled old town that takes you back to medieval times stands out. This era is updated at night to today’s times when the youth goes out to party and the female gender is equipped with elegant dresses and high heels that enhance their beauty which left us all speechless. What models!
Bosnia and Herzegovina. We continue devouring tracks with our 4x4s, crossing paths with locals, some more friendly than others, and some mastiff dogs that seem to be crossed with bears, so huge they are. I was shocked to see a grandmother carrying a huge wad of firewood on her bent back as if she were a figurine of the nativity scene and who greeted us with a pleasant smile and friendly gesture. The image moved me. As we advanced, we began to see the signs of war evident in the buildings of both the cities and the small towns that we were crossing, with half-destroyed houses, bullet impacts, etc. etc., proof of the horror that these people went through. Some houses are already rebuilt and their facades painted with bright colors (oranges, reds, pistachios, yellows, etc.) that, respecting the personal taste of each one, I deduce that they have the mission of making forget the sad memory of the war. In the surroundings of Sarajevo we visited the facilities of the Winter Olympics that are completely destroyed, leaving the Olympic rings as proof of such an event, visible but very damaged, as well as all the buildings of the ski resort. We headed for a small high mountain village lost in a valley worthy of Heidi’s famous series of drawings and where its extremely humble people were making woolen garments in a totally handmade way. I bought some peucos type socks that look like they can withstand 50 degrees below zero or more. In the afternoon and after lunch in a minefield (indicated by red signs with the skull) or in an ancestral cemetery, I don’t remember it very well, but both were places coincidentally chosen to liven up the picnic, we entered Mostar, a town famous for its bridge over the Neretva River that was rebuilt and that both this and its surroundings offer an unbeatable aspect with a great atmosphere of shops, restaurants, people walking and at dusk some terraces with a chill-out atmosphere of the most “in” and obviously it brings with it a youth of the most beautiful that it is hard to believe that 15 years ago they suffered a cruel war of an ethnic nature and you see that regardless of the religion chosen they are totally European.
Montenegro. High mountain environment with meadows, forests, wooden houses with a steeply sloping roof which manifests the copious snowfall to which they must be subjected in winter. We stayed in a luxurious hotel in the ski resort of Kolasin, all decorated and built in the most comforting wood. Too bad that due to schedule we could not enjoy their spa that looked impressive.
Albania. I think we all found it the least “touristy” country to define it finely. The access to Tirana, its capital, the traffic is chaotic with unpaved avenues with huge holes with imaginary lanes that become four, six, eight or whatever you want, at different levels, with bicycles loaded with chickens in the middle and vehicles in all directions that force you to drive “determined” if you want to survive. The base people are very humble and on the other hand you see luxurious cars exhibiting an insulting waste and clearly mafia-like appearance. As there was nothing interesting to see in my opinion, this time we did take advantage of the hotel pool that served to rest from the accumulated jog, withstand the suffocating heat and prepare for the queen stage of 4×4 the next day the Albanian Central Trail.
The Albanian Central Trail is the name given to the purist 4×4 stage that crosses the mountains of Albania inhabited only by loggers and wolves. There are a hundred kilometers of “fun” track with deep ruts produced by logging trucks, riverbeds with threatening stones, mud, etc. etc. that tests the reducers, blockages, tires and skill of its drivers. I sweated my own since the height of my Toyota Kdj 120 is the standard but its duralumin protections and 50/50 AT tires perfectly fulfilled their mission leaving the test intact. Well, intact intact no, I think it was a Wolf-Bear that with a claw tore off my right rearview mirror because I didn’t see what is the branch of the tree. At night we entered Macedonia to look for the hotel located on the shores of Lake Orhid and in the morning with daylight we could appreciate the majesty of its surroundings and its impressive dimensions resemble a large sea bay.
Greece. One of the places that has impacted me the most for its visit to the Meteors. These are monasteries located each on top of huge rocks that were difficult to access in the past but that today can be visited perfectly by climbing stairs. Its architecture, location, paintings, icons, etc. deserve an inexcusable visit and you wonder how the hell that could have been built there. It’s worth it.
And that’s it for the tourist aspects of the trip since in the port of Igoumenitsa we take the ferry back to Ancona (Italy).
The participating club consisted of 13 cars and 30 people under the direction of Josep Carbonell and the Territori 4×4 family who were in charge of facilitating such an adventure at all times.
Two groups of 6/7 cars were formed to give more comfort to the circulation of the stages but constantly communicated through the radio stations regrouping at lunchtime and logically at the end of each route. From now on I have 30 more friends with whom I hope to keep in touch and remember the pleasant moments and anecdotes lived that I will only tell you by way of example.
We immediately baptized the official currencies of the countries in our own way, being in Bosnia the chuminei, in Croatia the Churrimanga, in Albania the ostia and in Macedonia because we were there for a short time that otherwise we would have also given it a nickname.
You should always check when starting if the entire passenger is inside the car, otherwise you run the risk of leaving a family member at the gas station like a television advertisement of “he wouldn’t do it”. Luckily not even 5 minutes passed and immediately the forgotten passenger was picked up with great laughter among everyone and from the same employees of the Bosnian gas station.
Also the traffic instructions on the radio station are very particular, especially on unpaved roads and to the voice of “you can overtake, there is broken stone”
If after lunch the car does not move, before disassembling the clutch or getting nervous, check if the gear lever is not in the neutral position (N).
Invitation to lunch by some locals who were in a cemetery celebrating I don’t know what. There were strong doubts as to whether they were of this world or the other before agreeing to his kind offer. I wasn’t in the group but they told me it was very strong.
Long picnic tables were formed to enjoy the gastronomy that each one of us contributed from our drawers and refrigerators.
and a lot of other anecdotes that enriched this fantastic trip that was already exceptional with good humor every day.
Lords of Territori 4×4, when will the next one be played?
Miquel (alias Gepesero) and Pilar (Gepesero’s wife)
