Trek to Shkodra Lake

We had noticed farmland on the map, which was appealing to us. One day we went to check it out. When we got to the right area according to the map, we couldn't see any farmland because of everyone's high walls and gates. We could smell horses, and we heard a cow lowing. The boys peeked through a space between walls and saw some large ducks. 

A few moments later, the owner of the ducks and cows came out of his gate. I tried to let him know that we were on a walk, or shëtitje (shu-teet-ye) and that we like animals and wanted to see the farms. I was using Google translate a lot. He was very nice, but I didn't know if walking in his neighborhood was acceptable or not. I hadn't really considered that it wouldn't be okay, seeing that it was public property. He kept mentioning "Dobraç" pronounced Do-broch. I later realized that it was the name of the area that he lived in.

We had seen on the map that there was more farmland along a main road nearby, but we decided that we would check it out another day. 

Several days later, we set out to go and see what we could on that particular road. We really didn't see any farms, but we did see people who had fences or low walls, allowing their yards to be seen. We got as far as this rotary which had breathtaking views all around. We were 2.6km/1.6 mi away from the hostel and decided to turn around there. 

"Rruga," as seen above, means road. A double "r" means that you roll the "r" with your tongue. 

It was a pleasant surprise to see the western mountains along that route.

Shkodra (which is what Shkoder is called in Albania) Lake, shown above, is the largest lake in southern Europe. Part of it is also in Montenegro. 

We are staying only about 5.3km/3.3mi miles from it. It was a destination that the kids were really determined to get to. On our walk that I just described, we were close to a road that would take us to the lake, but I decided to wait until we could get an early start and go there directly.

The next day, we set out for the lake. Once we got out of the city, we came to a rotary where we were able to see this clearing and mountains all around us again. 

We ended up following a small herd of cattle down the road that led straight to the lake.

After the man led his cattle to pasture, the road was completely deserted, besides us. 

Some of the most beautiful places in the world are left alone while the rest of us are busy going about our work and our lives.

It was so picturesque!

We had been seeing on the map for days that there was a free camping place right down here by the lake.

According to the map, this was it. It's not quite how I pictured it! The boys came across a snake in the grass. The grass was beautiful, but quite long.

I managed to keep my shoes clean, but they apparently weren't very worried about theirs!

Boys will be boys! 

Ugg! 

Hmmm. What now? We were so close, but we really weren't prepared to trudge through mud the rest of the way!

The best thing that I could figure was to zoom in as much as I could and take a photo of what we could see of the lake through the trees.

I wonder what he was thinking? 

We turned around and headed back. 

Cattle! 

Edward Jr. commented on how they really make use out of anything! I hadn't noticed, but this farm made their gate out of bed frames!

Back to the beginning of where it had gotten deserted. Sometimes to get to these beautiful places, we have had to go through some unpleasant things! A lot of broken pavement and garbage had been dumped here.

Here we got into the residential area. People are very friendly and kind. There are many people out in the streets and we talk with many of them. They are often interested because we have so many children, and we are foreigners. 

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The Road to Bardhaj (Barth-eye)

On our trip to the river that I shared in my last post, we had talked to some locals who told us that there was a bridge going over the river a little farther down the road. Without food or water with us, we decided against it. The next day, though, we decided to go to the bridge and see what was beyond it. We had seen a nice little village from where we had been on the river bank. We headed out with a couple loaves of bread.

I was enjoying the beauty so much, that I didn't notice the clouds

This must look quite different when the river is full. The water is very clear

Just after crossing the bridge, we saw a woman sitting on the edge of a grassy lot that had a couple of tethered cattle grazing.

We saw several men driving horse-drawn carts, some loaded with hay. 

It was so beautiful. People in this part of the world really make the most out of their land, growing all sorts of things on it. 

Every new step gave us another angle on our scenic route.

A house with a view of mountains in every direction. We had been walking for quite a while. With no public restrooms around, and children with little feet and legs, I kept thinking that we should be turning back. Scottie informed me that it was only another ten minutes to these foothills pictured above. I had no intention of going there, but apparently the boys did. Being almost 5km/3mi (which I didn't know at the time) from the hostel, I knew that, as beautiful as this road was, I didn't really want to ever do it again. I figured that we might as well keep going if they were up to it. 

After turning around at the foothills we got to see the beautiful sights again. 

As I was admiring the view from where all of these people live, we noticed a sign that said that this property is for sale. So appealing!

Many yards that day, had piles of hay that they had cut with scythes.

This one also had cattle grazing.

A kush looking field. 

Here was another plot for sale.

We were finally about to cross back over the river. We got caught in rain multiple times.

We got back on the main road with the large mountain to the north and the hostel to the south. We picked up our pace and made it home before too long. 

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Down By the River

 Living out of two rooms in a hostel has been pretty easy, but without much to do, we have taken to going out for a long walk everyday to explore our surroundings. We bought a couple of used strollers for Tucker and Willem. We're still a bit slow. Every older child is responsible for pushing a stroller or holding one or two siblings' hands. I'm so thankful for the beautiful spring weather that has helped to make it so pleasant, and to have enough older kids to look out for the younger ones on these walks. 

This was an unpleasant industrial road with a wonderful view of a large mountain at the end of it. 

The next day, I asked the kids where they wanted to go. They said that they wanted to go to the river, which we hadn't seen. Although it's not too far from where we're staying, the map showed that we had to go quite a ways to access it. We headed down the dismal industrial road to get to the river.

After getting off of the main road, we went through a quiet and pleasant neighborhood. Everyone has high walls and gates, so you can't see into anyone's yard. Crossing this old railroad track, we were almost to the river. 

The garbage was awful, including a HUGE dead dog that looked like a lion. The views were amazing. Breathtaking! We could see mountains all around! I don't think that I had any idea that we were surrounded by mountains, because we had spent several days surrounded by buildings! 

The pictures truly don't do it justice, as in person you could look with one glance and see such a beautiful expanse while feeling and breathing in  the fresh air. Also, this format doesn't allow you to zoom in. 

We just had to look past the garbage. We took this dirt road for a while, which apparently was a public road that followed the river. We saw several women out taking care of their gardens and animals. 

Above is a herd of sheep with bells around their necks, traveling by themselves down the railroad track. 

Everything looks very fertile around here. I was wondering if they are selling their produce in town. 

Willem had a great time! 

Someone had been working hard! 

I wonder if the people enjoy the views from their home, or if they think of it as commonplace. Growing up in Rhode Island where there aren't any mountains, and having spent the last many years in a flat area of South Carolina, the mountains are amazing to me! 

There was a flock of chickens living within what looks like a teepee made out of scrap wood. I think that they belong to a woman that I had seen working in her garden, just beyond it. "Mirë mëngjes (mere munjess)!"  I had called out to her, which means, "Good morning!" 

The kids really thought that we should get out of there! They thought that we were intruding, but as far as I could tell from the map, it was a public road. We were just the only ones on it. I was having a great time, and was inspired to sing, "Climb Every Mountain!" 

I jad them pose for a picture before heading back. Just as we did head back, we saw a herd of goats coming around the corner. I was relieved that it wasn't a pack of dogs! Several goats had big udders. It made me wonder about our two pregnant goats that we had sold to a friend before moving. I knew that they should have been due to have their kids anytime. 

I was delighted, to say the least, to wake up this morning to a text with these pictures from my friend, telling me that Buttercup had given birth to a little doeling the other day!

We would have loved to be there. We had been eagerly waiting to see them give birth. We are so happy for them! 

You can check out our other works! If you like them, you can help us out by sharing our links on your social media accounts and asking your contacts to do the same! Thank you!

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